Ministries

Chain of Lakes Videos

Select a link below to view recent past videos of worship services. For all past worship services go to https://vimeo.com/chainoflakes/videos Don’t forget to also check out Pastor Paul’s blog

June 15, 2025
Guest Preacher Rev. Gary Hanson – “Suffering”

June 8, 2025
Pentecost, and “Twisted Scriptures” – Divorce

June 1, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – God Won’t Give Me More Than I Can Handle

May 25, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

May 18, 2025
Youth Sunday

May 11, 2025
Mother’s Day

May 4, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Everything Happens for a Reason

April 27, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Only Christians Go to Heaven

April 20, 2025
Easter Sunday

Daily Devotions

Comments about the devotion can be emailed to pastor@colpres.org

Daily Devotions June 16 - June 21, 2025

Monday, June 16
Exodus 3:13-15
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.
Traditionally God has been described as “Father;” however God is described with all sorts of different names in the Bible. On this week after Father’s Day we’ll have the opportunity in this devotion to reflect on six particular names that have been used to describe God.
The name “Yahweh” occurs 6,828 times in the Bible and is by far the most common designation to describe God. The word comes from the transliteration of the Hebrew term yhw.
When God asked Moses to go back to Israel and ask Pharaoh to release the Israelites, Moses wanted to know who had sent him. Moses wanted to know the name of God. God responded by telling Moses to say that “I am who I am” or “YHW” told him to go back to Israel.
People have debated for centuries what this means. One way to look at it is God is ultimately indescribable. We use language to put a name on God or to describe the qualities of God. But our human language can’t capture completely the essence of God.
So to say “I am who I am” is to say that language can’t completely capture God. God is—that is the important point. Our task is to accept that God is—that God exists.
Have you had times in your life when you addressed God as Yahweh? Please share.

Tuesday, June 17
1 Samuel 4:4
So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.
The name “Lord of Hosts” occurs 261 times in the Bible. The idea is that God is enthroned as the king of heaven. The cherubim are angels, and God is above the cherubim. Putting this together we can see that the writer saw God as above everything.
In this story in 1 Samuel the people brought the ark. They wanted God to help them defeat the Philistines. The ark represented God and God’s favor to them. The “Lord of Hosts” would help them in their battle with the Philistines.
Just as the ark represented God and God’s favor to the Israelites we might have a special item to us that represents God and God’s favor. What would your item be?

Wednesday, June 18
Genesis 28:1-5
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, “You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women. Go at once to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, land that God gave to Abraham.” Thus Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother.
In verse three God is translated from the Hebrew term, “El Shaddai.” This divine name occurs seven times in the Bible.
“May [El Shaddai] God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and numerous, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your offspring with you, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien—land that God gave to Abraham.” Genesis 28:3-4
El Shaddai was the name of a famous song that Amy Grant composed many years ago.
It often means God Almighty as it was translated in this verse. It can also mean God of the Mountain.
Here are some words from that song. You can see the immense power that El Shaddai represents.
“Through Your love and through the ram
You saved the son of Abraham
Through the power of Your hand
Turned the sea into dry land
To the outcast on her knees
You were the God who really sees
And by Your might
You set Your children free”
El Shaddai               Amy Grant
How would it be for you to pray to El Shaddai? Please share.

Thursday, June 19
Psalm 7:1-2, 17
O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
    save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
    they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
Another name for God is “El Elyon.” This is also translated as Most High.
The name is a designation that God is superior to any other God. The name occurred four times in Genesis 14.
When we call God “El Elyon” we are recognizing God’s supremacy. We acknowledge that God is the greatest God that exists and far superior to any other God.
We say this when we read the last verse of Psalm 17:
“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, [El Elyon] the Most High.”
Try addressing God today as El Elyon.

Friday, June 20
Mark 14:32-36
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.”
When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane he called out to “Abba, Father.” This is a term of endearment. It was as if Jesus was calling out to Papa.
Many people get snagged in the gender of the term, Father. God certainly is described as male, but God transcends gender. Just as with any term, gender can’t capture God. We use gender because we’re almost forced to use it in using a personal pronoun to describe God.
For Jesus it was his relationship with Abba that was more important than the gender of Abba.
When Jesus was under great pressure he prayed to Abba. He knew that everything was possible through Abba. At this moment he wasn’t concerned about the gender of God. He needed help and he reached out to Abba, Father, Papa.
What would it look like for you to describe God as Abba—someone intimate to you? Please share.

Saturday, June 21
Isaiah 46:3-4
Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
    all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from your birth,
    carried from the womb;
even to your old age I am he;
    even when you turn gray I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
    I will carry and will save.
In this passage God displays characteristics of a mother. God was sharing with Israel that they had been born from God and that God had carried and nurtured them throughout their existence. Just as a mother nurtures us God nurtured Israel.
Once again we acknowledge that language about God gives us part of the story. Yesterday we recognized that describing God as father doesn’t capture God. Today we can recognize that saying God as mother doesn’t capture God. Describing God as father or God as mother are images that can be helpful to us as we understand God. However these images are not complete as no language can completely capture God.
For many people thinking of God as mother is hard as this is a new way to think of God. And the debate about gender and God have made the idea contentious.
However think of the beautiful qualities of your own mother or a mother who you admire. It’s certainly possible to think that God has these qualities.
As you pray today, give thanks for the mothering images of God like the one shared in this passage.
How would it be for you to address God as mother? Please share.

Daily Devotions June 9 - 14, 2025

Monday, June 9
Deuteronomy 24:1-5
“Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife. Then suppose the second man dislikes her, writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house (or the second man who married her dies): her first husband, who sent her away, is not permitted to take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt on the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession. When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married.
This is the first time that we come across the idea of divorce in the Bible. The English word for divorce comes from the Hebrew word that is transliterated as “karath.” It means cutting off. A divorce is a cutting off of a relationship.
It’s significant that the process for divorce was for a man writing a certificate of divorce. No mention is shared of the possibility of a woman writing a certificate of divorce. And with the understanding of the extreme patriarchal character of that society, it would have been rare for a woman to initiate a divorce.
The certificate of divorce does give the woman a small amount of protection.
The teaching is certainly strange—a woman who is divorced twice cannot be married to her first husband. The teaching is contextual and should not be applied to our current day.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Tuesday, June 10
Matthew 5:31-32
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Pastor Paul spent extensive time in his sermon this past Sunday teaching about this passage. The sermon can be found on the Chain of Lakes web site—colpres.org.
These verses are part of the Sermon on the Mount—the most important sermon ever shared. Jesus shared this sermon with a large crowd of men. Perhaps a woman was part of the crowd—but most likely not many were.
In sharing this verse Jesus was sharing the costs of divorce with the men to whom he was preaching. He didn’t want to make it easy on them to initiate a divorce.
It’s important to know that Jesus was using hyperbole in making his point. It would be tragic to make this teaching into a universal religious law. That wasn’t the point that Jesus was trying to make. By taking these verses and causing a person who experienced divorce to experience shame is a travesty of interpretation.
You might know of someone who has been hurt by the church when the person was divorced.
What are your thoughts about this passage and interpretation that is being shared? Please share.

Wednesday, June 11
Matthew 19:1-12
When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there. Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
This teaching that Jesus shared on divorce is consistent with what Jesus shared in the reading from yesterday. The conversation is a healthy one—the Pharisees were interested in the thoughts of Jesus about divorce.
Jesus shared that marriage is a beautiful expression of the Kingdom of God. Jesus didn’t say this, but we can imagine him saying that the best of marriage reflects love, faithfulness, and compassion.
But the Pharisees wanted to know about divorce. They asked the question whether divorce was allowable for people.
The intention of marriage was not for people to be divorced. This makes sense. No couple who ever gets married is thinking about getting divorced.
Like yesterday’s reading the teaching about adultery is aimed at men. The power difference between men and women was high—and it was reflected in divorce. Men could use divorce as a source of manipulation.
Using divorce in a manipulative way would not be right—certainly it would be a sin.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Thursday, June 12
Matthew 1:18-21
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Divorce was not prohibited when Jesus was alive. When Joseph discovered that Mary was pregnant, he assumed that she had been in a sexual relationship with another man. Hard to be critical of Joseph for this assumption!
He decided to dismiss her quietly. He didn’t want to bring shame to Mary or to her family.
This shows the character of Joseph. Though he must have been internally crushed by his belief about Mary’s actions, he wasn’t going to publicly shame her. He was planning on doing this quietly.
An angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and set him on the right path. During the dream Joseph was told what had happened. When he woke from his dream he agreed not to get a divorce. He took Mary as his wife.
In this story we see the desire of Joseph to do the right thing. Whether it was dismissing Mary quietly or getting married to Mary—he did the right thing.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Friday, June 13
1 Corinthians 7:10-11
To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband) and that the husband should not divorce his wife.
These verses written by the Apostle Paul are similar to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. The Apostle Paul was sharing a vision for society, and in this case a vision for marriage.
He didn’t want a man to divorce or separate from a woman and also didn’t want a woman to divorce or separate from a man.
Part of this entire passage is about resisting lust. Paul would prefer that people would remain single, but because of the possibility of sexual immorality it was good for people to be married.
This logic isn’t usually used when people get married today.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Saturday, June 14
Genesis 2:18-25
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field, but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
    for out of Man this one was taken.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
One of the purposes of marriage in this story is of companionship. It was not good for the man to be alone. His life would be difficult if he was alone. So God made for the man a helper as his partner.
The last two verses of this passage are often read in wedding services. The man leaves his parents and starts a new family with his wife.
Verse 24 is a reflection of the patriarchal character of this age. A woman is taken from the rib of the man and brought to another man to be married. She is like a piece of property.
Being companions in marriage is a sign of an effective marriage. This companionship is a reflection of the teachings of this story.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Daily Devotions June 2 - June 7, 2025

Monday, June 2
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
Yesterday Pastor Paul continued a sermon series called, “Twisted Scriptures” by looking at the phrase, “God won’t give me more than I can handle.” He shared many reasons why this phrase is not consistent with the teachings of the Scripture and not consistent our own understanding of God.
The phrase is often thought of as coming from these verses in 1 Corinthians. The thought is that God will not test each of us beyond our own strength.
However, this interpretation is not consistent with the passage. Another way to translate the word, “testing” is “temptation.” Not that God gives people temptations. Instead, God always offers us a way out of temptation.
Jesus understands temptation as he himself was tempted at the start of his ministry.
The good news of these verses is not the truth of this twisted phrase. Instead, the good news is God has given us the resources to resist temptation.
Resources that can help us resist temptation are our own faith practices—worship, prayer, serving others, and reading the Scriptures.
Have you found some resources that help you with temptation? Please share.

Tuesday, June 3
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
   He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
   he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.
This Psalm is probably the best-known Psalm of the 150 Psalms that are in the Bible.
The first part of the Psalm is beautiful. As the Good Shepherd, God helps us lie down and rest in green pastures, God leads us beside still waters, God restores our souls when we need this.
The Psalm pivots in verse 4 with the two words, “Even though.” “Even though” we have these beautiful experiences, each of us will still go through difficult, hard and challenging times.
This is not a surprise to any of us. All of us have experienced suffering or been close to family or friends who have suffered in ways that don’t seem fair or just.
“Even though” we go through these times, God is still with us.
God doesn’t cause these hard things to happen. God doesn’t give us these “even though” experiences. However, God is present and helping us on this difficult journey. As Pastor Paul has said in the past, “God is not the cause of our pain, but the source of our healing.”
What are your thoughts about verse four of this Psalm? Please share.

Wednesday, June 4
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
One of the theological ideas that the phrase, “God won’t give me more than I can handle” is free will. Does God cause everything to happen in our lives? Are all our situations caused by God? Do we as humans have free will?
This story reinforces the concept of free will. The man and the woman had the freedom to choose to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden. Even though God told them not to eat the fruit of this tree, and even though the two knew that it was wrong to eat the fruit of this tree, the two people still ate this fruit. God didn’t cause this to happen or give the situation to the two people. The people had the freedom to make their own decisions.
God wasn’t responsible. The two—who historically are known as Adam and Eve—were responsible.
God gives us the freedom to make decisions. Sometimes these decisions are counter to what god wants.
What are your thoughts about free will? Please share.

Thursday, June 5
John 11:28-37
When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
These verses are part of a longer story about Lazarus. If you have extra time today, read the whole story—John 11:1-44.
Something terrible had happened. Lazarus had died. Martha was upset that Jesus hadn’t arrived earlier to prevent the death of Lazarus. “Lord if you have been here my brother would not have died.” John 11:21
Jesus could have gotten into a theological conversation with Martha about who was responsible for the death of Lazarus. But he responded in a much more powerful way. He shared compassion through his tears. Jesus was very sad about what had happened.
When someone is suffering most of the time the person or people are not looking for a conversation about who is responsible. Instead they need people who will share compassion. People who will weep at the sadness of what has happened.
Have you had the opportunity to walk closely alongside someone was or is suffering? Please share.

Friday, June 6
Romans 7:14-20
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin.I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.
One of the assumptions of the phrase, “God won’t give me more than I can handle” is that we as humans can handle everything.
Unfortunately this is not true. Humans cannot handle everything.
On Sunday Pastor Paul shared in his sermon that every hour eleven people die by suicide. This tragedy reveals that not all of the time can people manage or handle their lives. People choose to leave life by intentionally dying.
This is sad and tragic.
In this passage the Apostle Paul was sharing that often people will do things that they don’t want or intend to do. His words share that humans can’t handle everything.
What are your thoughts about this passage? Please share.

Saturday, June 7
Psalm 13:1-4
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I bear pain in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
    my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
The writer of this Psalm was upset with God for God’s silence.
“How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Psalm 13:1
The sense of God’s absence is a refutation of the phrase “God won’t give me more than I can handle.” The perceived absence of God is exceedingly hard for us to handle. In many cases and the writer of this Psalm is intimating that we cannot handle the absence of God.
We are not weak if we cannot handle something. Instead our lack of ability to handle something is a reflection of our humanity. This is not a lack of strength, it’s a reflection of humanity. We need not hide from others this reflection of our own humanity. Instead, it’s important to be authentic.
What are your thoughts about this devotion? Please share.

Events

Church Calendar

Please note that the Google calendar is not showing up on iPhones, but will show up on Android devices and all desktop computers (including iMac). Your patience is appreciated while we troubleshoot this issue!

Community Gardens

Chain of Lakes Church is excited to offer a Community Garden Ministry next to the new church building at 2650 125th Ave NE, Blaine, MN 55449. It’s just east of Malmborg’s Garden Center on 125th Ave NE in Blaine or .8 miles east of Radisson Rd on 125th Ave NE, Blaine.