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

August 3, 2025
“My Favorite Scripture” John 3:16

July 27, 2025
“My Favorite Scripture” Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

July 20, 2025
“My Favorite Scripture” Micah 6:8

July 13, 2025
“My Favorite Scripture” Psalm 23

July 6, 2025
“Dangers of Christian Nationalism”

June 29, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Homosexuality is a Sin

June 22, 2025
“Twisted Scriptures” – Women Shouldn’t be Preachers

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

Daily Devotions

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

Daily Devotions August 11-16, 2025

Monday, August 11
Jonah 1:1-17
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
But the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and such a mighty storm came upon the sea that the ship threatened to break up. Then the sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god. They threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten it for them. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, “What are you doing sound asleep? Get up; call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish.”
The sailors said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” “I am a Hebrew,” he replied. “I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men were even more afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so.
Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.” Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.
But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
This week we have the opportunity to have our own personal Bible Study on the book of Jonah. The person Jonah is known as a minor prophet. The book of Jonah is one of the shorter books in the Bible—only 48 verses in four chapters. Many chapters of the gospels are longer than 48 verses.
In this chapter God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh, the great capital of the Assyrian empire. Instead Jonah went the opposite direction. One of the questions of the book of Jonah is why did Jonah disobey God?
What is so significant about the message of Jonah is how God responded to Jonah’s disobedience. God didn’t ignore Jonah or try to punish Jonah. God pursued Jonah. God’s pursuit happened through a great storm and involved the safety of many mariners or sailors. But eventually Jonah jumped off the ship in order to save the people on board.
And when Jonah jumped overboard, God was ready. God still provided. God had a large fish swallow Jonah to save Jonah from drowning.
Have you had experiences when you or another person disobeyed God, but God responded with care and love? Often we think of God as punishing us for our sins, but God’s response in Jonah is much different than that. Please share.

Tuesday, August 12
Jonah 2:1-10
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,
“I called to the Lord out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
how shall I look again
    upon your holy temple?’
The waters closed in over me;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
    at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
    O Lord my God.
As my life was ebbing away,
    I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
Those who worship vain idols
    forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
Then the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out onto the dry land.
Jonah was now safe—safe in the belly of a big fish! Jonah shared a psalm of praise. In this Psalm Jonah recognized how God had helped him.
The last three verses of this Psalm are especially significant.
“Those who worship vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have owed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
Jonah 2:7-9
These last five words are especially significant. God authors and shares deliverance. This is grace, as often deliverance is shared when people do not deserve it.
Jonah did not deserve to be delivered. He had disobeyed God—wanting to escape God and the task that God gave to him.
What does it mean to you that God is willing to deliver humans? Have you seen examples of God’s deliverance? Please share.

Wednesday, August 13
Jonah 3:1-9
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Humans and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.”
The story practically begins again in chapter three as once again God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh. With the experience of what happened when he first said “no” to this request, Jonah now said, “yes.”
The message that Jonah shared with the people of Nineveh was very simple. “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” It was so short and simple that some people believe that Jonah’s heart was not in the message that he shared. Jonah didn’t spend a lot of time communicating this message. In the story we read that Jonah only shared eight words.
But miraculously the people of Nineveh followed Jonah’s message. They believed God and proclaimed a fast. When the king of Nineveh found out, he repented himself. He told everyone in the city to repent. He even commanded the animals to repent.
The king of Nineveh hoped that God would not destroy the city.
It’s quite amazing to think that this all happened because of eight words from Jonah who was not really committed to the message.
Do you have a story of God doing something that you never imagined would happen? This happened not because of you or your actions, but because God acted in ways that we didn’t expect. Please share.

Thursday, August 14
Jonah 3:10
When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.
This is another amazing verse in this short story of Jonah. God changed the divine mind about what had happened.
Some people believe that everything is set in advance—that God predestines every activity that happens on earth—that humans do not have free will.
This verse obviously contradicts this idea. God was ready to destroy Nineveh. But God changed the divine mind because of the actions of the people of Nineveh.
Jonah’s work as a prophet was making a significant difference. As we read yesterday, his prophecy was not shared with passion or expectation.
For many people it’s troubling to think that God changed the divine mind. For God to change the divine mind based on the actions of humans gives humans ultimate power.
For others this is one of the purposes of prayer. We implore God to do something that is important to us.
What are your thoughts about God changing the divine mind? Please share.

Friday, August 15
Jonah 4:1-8
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning, for I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from punishment. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.
The Lord God appointed a bush and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort, so Jonah was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
Now we learn why Jonah fled God at the beginning of the story. Jonah knew that God was gracious, merciful, and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God was willing to relent from punishing the people of Nineveh.
Jonah didn’t run from God because Jonah was afraid of God. Instead Jonah fled from God because he knew that God was so gracious and loving. Jonah knew that God would rescue the people of Nineveh, and Jonah didn’t want that to happen.
For the second time in this short book Jonah was ready to take his own life.
And once again God provided for Jonah. God provided a large bush that provided shade for Jonah. This pleased Jonah. Then God had a worm destroy the plant. This was displeasing to Jonah.
In a way God was sharing with Jonah that God had the freedom to act as God wanted. God didn’t need to justify the divine intention to save Nineveh.
What are your thoughts about these verses? Please share.

Saturday, August 16
Jonah 4:9-11
But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left and also many animals?”
God had one more lesson to share with Jonah. Just as Jonah was concerned about the bush, God was concerned about the people of Nineveh. God had the freedom to care about these people, even if they were enemies of the people of Israel.
God is sovereign and free. This is the message that God was communicating to Jonah in these last verses of the book.
The sovereignty and freedom of God is a basic belief about faith. It might be so basic that some might wonder why it is even communicated. But Jonah was critical of what God was doing in saving the people of Nineveh. He was not happy that God was sovereign and free. Jonah wanted God to act in ways that were pleasing to Jonah.
All of us at some level want God to act in ways that we want God to act. In this sense we are like Jonah.
What are your thoughts about these verses? Please share.

Daily Devotions August 4 - 9, 2025

Monday, August 4
John 3:1-7
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
This past Sunday Pastor Paul preached on John 3:16, one of the most well-known Scriptures in the Bible. It’s very important to see the entire story that surrounds John 3:16. We will do this by looking at the third chapter of John this week in the devotion.
The story starts out with Nicodemus coming to Jesus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, but unlike other Pharisees he had a deep appreciation for Jesus. Three years later when Jesus died, Nicodemus was at the cross and helped take the body of Jesus down from the cross.
Nicodemus came to Jesus at night which illustrated that there might have been danger for Nicodemus to talk to Jesus.
Jesus told Nicodemus that no one could enter the Kingdom unless the person had been born from above or born again. There has always been disagreement about this translation.
What people can agree about is the power of having a faith experience. No matter what a person’s age a person can grow dramatically with God.
You might have had this type of experience or known of someone who has. If so, would you share?

Tuesday, August 5
John 3:8-10
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
Nicodemus couldn’t understand what Jesus had shared in the passage we read yesterday. He couldn’t wrap his head around what it meant to be born from above or born again. For him to be born meant that a person would reenter his or her mother’s womb. He was limiting himself through his own language.
But Jesus wasn’t making a literal statement. He was sharing a teaching that people would have to receive through faith.
Jesus used an illustration in saying that people know that the wind exists, but they didn’t know the origin of the wind or what happened to the wind. People accepted the wind in experiencing the wind.
This is similar to the Spirit. People experience the Spirit even though they do not know where the Spirit comes from or where it went.
It takes faith to believe in Jesus. We can search all of our life for answers, but at times we don’t understand what happens. The doorway to understanding isn’t pulled open with our knowledge; instead the doorway is opened through faith.
Have you had an experience or an idea that was very confusing to you? You couldn’t receive understanding through knowledge. Instead you needed faith. Please share

Wednesday, August 6
John 3:11-15
“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
In verses 14-15, Jesus referenced a story of Moses lifting up a serpent in the wilderness. This is a story that we can read in Numbers 21:4-9.
In that story the people were upset with Moses and God for what had happened. They had no food or water and complained about this to God. God sent poisonous serpents to bite the people.
When this happened, the people realized they had sinned and asked Moses to pray to God that the serpents would leave. When Moses did pray, God told Moses to put a poisonous serpent on a stick and to lift the serpent up high. When the people were bit they would live by looking at the serpent.
Similarly when Jesus was lifted up on the cross, people would be saved. They would receive eternal life.
What are your thoughts about this story? Please share.

Thursday, August 7
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
This passage is one of the most well-known passages in the Bible. In his sermon on Sunday, Pastor Paul shared that this verse is the most searched for Scripture on the Internet. People want to know more about what this means.
If you have some extra time, you can read in other places in John where similar ideas to John 3:16 are shared. Look at John 5:24, John 6:40, John 11:25-26, or John 20:31.
By believing in Jesus people receive life from him. Life in this world and life in the next world.
Jesus told his followers that they would receive eternal life through their belief, but he didn’t tell them how it would happen. He gave them and us the “what,” but he didn’t share the “how.”
For some people having the “how” is important. They need to know how they will transition from life on this earth to life beyond this earth. For others the “what” is enough.
One way to think of faith is letting go of our need to know and accepting what Jesus said.
How hard is it for you to accept the “what” when you don’t know the “how?”
Please share

Friday, August 8
John 3:17
“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.
God wanted the world to be saved through Jesus. God was bringing the world back to what had happened in the Garden of Eden. In this archetypal story people experienced perfection. But the act by Adam and Eve of eating the fruit of the tree God told them not to eat, caused them to be thrown out of the garden.
Now people would be restored to this place. We call this “place” heaven.
Some people think of God and Jesus as agents of condemnation. If people don’t accept him, they are condemned to a life that is not desirable. But Jesus shared that his ministry was not of condemnation. Jesus wanted to save people—to restore them to a life that was experienced before.
Heaven or the Kingdom of God is a realm that people would experience after death. And it is a realm that people can experience in this life. In his sermon on Sunday Pastor Paul shared ways that people can live out the Kingdom here on earth. We don’t wait for heaven; we follow God right now to help create it here on earth.
What are your thoughts about heaven after death and heaven here on earth? Please share.

Saturday, August 9
John 3:18-21
Those who believe in him are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
Jesus concluded this statement he shared with Nicodemus by saying that he was the light that came into the world. The light of Jesus would shine through the darkness. This would appeal to Nicodemus because as we read at the start of this passage he came to Jesus at night and in darkness.
The idea of the light shining in the darkness is an important theme in John. Remember the Prologue of John (John 1:1-18) where John shared that Jesus was the light of the world who shone through the darkness—and the darkness could not overcome the light.
As followers of Jesus we represent the light. When we live out our faith we are shining through the darkness that happens in the world.
Who is a person you know who so beautifully demonstrates the light that Jesus talked about in these verses? Please share.

Daily Devotions July 28 - August 2, 2025

Monday, July 28
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,
    vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What do people gain from all the toil
    at which they toil under the sun?
A generation goes, and a generation comes,
    but the earth remains forever.
The sun rises, and the sun goes down
    and hurries to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
    and goes around to the north;
round and round goes the wind,
    and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
    but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
    there they continue to flow.
All things are wearisome,
    more than one can express;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing
    or the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
    and what has been done is what will be done;
    there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
    “See, this is new”?
It has already been
    in the ages before us.
The people of long ago are not remembered,
    nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
    by those who come after them.
This week we have the opportunity to read through significant passages from the book of Ecclesiastes. This past Sunday Pastor Paul preached on Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, a favorite Scripture of many.
The word, “Ecclesiastes” comes from the Hebrew word transliterated as Qohelet or teacher. The words of Ecclesiastes come from a person, most likely a man who was sharing the meaning of life as he saw it. Most people do not think that a son of David, specifically Solomon, wrote Ecclesiastes.
The words from verse 2 are challenging. Everything is vanity says the teacher.
We can take this idea in many ways that are not helpful to us. Does this mean that life has no meaning? That the purpose each of us might identify is meaningless?
In many places in the Bible we find verses or stories that express meaning and people who have found meaning. You might have a sense of great meaning in your life or what you are doing.
Where do you find meaning in your life? What brings you satisfaction? Please share.

Tuesday, July 29
Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he gives the work of gathering and heaping, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
“There is nothing better for mortals than to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in their toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God’ for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment. (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
Amidst the vanity of life the writer of Ecclesiastes encouraged people to find enjoyment in what they do. People are not encouraged to seek our suffering or suffering for suffering sake. Instead seek joy.
For many people who grew up in the Midwest, finding joy is not something that was encouraged. Kids were taught to work hard and be responsible. Joy might have seemed too emotional.
But it is possible to be a hard working person and to be a person of joy. Often this joy depends on the quality of our own relationship with God. Do we find joy in relating to God? Or do we find ourselves going through the motions of faith—thinking that faith is something we “should” do, but not finding great satisfaction in it.
Would you describe yourself as a person of Joy? If not, what prevents you from seeking joy? How was joy expressed in your household when were growing up? Please share.

Wednesday, July 30
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to break down and a time to build up;
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek and a time to lose;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. These words from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes are probably the most well-known verses from this book.
Often we hear them at funerals.
The writer of Ecclesiastes paired experiences that were opposites. He didn’t explain what a person needed to do to have these experiences or avoid these experiences. The point is that all of them eventually happen.
The point is not to be discouraged when one of these seasons happen to us as they are all inevitable.
What is important to each of us is to recognize what season of life we are in. How would you describe your own season right now? Please share.

Thursday, July 31
Ecclesiastes 4:9-13
Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other, but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help. Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who will no longer take advice.
The book of Ecclesiastes is known as a book of wisdom. The teacher is sharing certain ideas that can help people. They reflect wisdom.
“Two are better than one” wrote Qohelet. Another way to say this is that two combined are better than the sum of each individual part. We can refer this teaching to marriage, though Qohelet didn’t mention marriage.
Qohelet went on to share a short statement about the wisdom of a youth. A wise youth is better than an old but foolish king who will not take advice.
How beautiful it is to find a senior saint who is willing to receive suggestions or even advice from others. That person’s pride does not block his or her willingness to be open to the suggestions of others.
What are your thoughts about these verses? Please share.

Friday, August 1
Ecclesiastes 9:5-12
The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no more reward, and even the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished; never again will they have any share in all that happens under the sun. Go, eat your bread with enjoyment and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has long ago approved what you do. Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful, but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate one’s time. Like fish taken in a cruel net or like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them.
In these verses Qohelet again comes back to pleasure and even joy. Even though people know that they will die, finding joy and merriment is important.
Qohelet believed that bad things will happen to everyone. There are seasons of life—as we read about on Wednesday—that happen to every human. Because these bad things happen it is so important to find and seek joy amidst what we have.
Finding joy is not vanity. It will last for us. Each of us can probably remember specific times in our own life when we experienced great joy. These are moments that endure our memories. They are not vanity. Instead they point us to something outside of ourselves.
When have you experienced this kind of joy? Please share.

Saturday, August 2
Ecclesiastes 12:9-13
Besides being wise, the Teacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs. The Teacher sought to find pleasing words, and he wrote words of truth plainly.The sayings of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings that are given by one shepherd.Of anything beyond these, my child, beware. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for that is the whole duty of everyone.
The book of Ecclesiastes ends with these encouraging words from the writer. Some think that these words were added much later to the book, meaning that Qohelet did not write them
He shared in part of verse 13, “Fear [or respect or have great devotion] God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.” Ecclesiastes 12:12
This searching or seeking of God can involve joy. It is not a journey that brings us pain or separation. It might not last for long and could be thought of as vanity. But this is the meaning of life for Qohelet. We find meaning when we find God.
You might remember a time in your own life when you had a deeply moving and meaningful experience with God. The experience might have put us on a track that you are still experiencing today. This experience helped you have great fear or devotion for God.
If you’ve had this type of experience, 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.