Posts by Pastor Mark Nelson (Page 4)

Dear Peace members and friends, What a joyful Easter Sunday we had two weeks ago! And here’s the thing: the hope of Easter continues to happen. As I write these words, I’m getting ready to celebrate the life of Tom Gilmore’s mother, Joan. I’ll be reminding those who are present that Joan made the lives of people better wherever she was, and sharing with them the hope we have in Christ—“death has been swallowed up in victory.” Yes, Easter continues!…

Dear Peace Members, What a wonderful Holy Week we had at Peace!Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday worship—the Scripture, the music, the gathered people of God—all proclaiming the Good News: “He is risen! He is risen, indeed!” Now the question is: what does it mean for how we live….now! Does the Risen Christ make a difference—not just about death after life but life before death? That’s why the church calendar gives us 50 days to take the Good News…

Dear Peace Members and Friends,  Holy Week is not a service. Rather, it is an experience. A collection of worship services to immerse yourself in the climax of the story of God’s determination to redeem God’s people and world. It begins tomorrow, Maundy Thursday, continues on Good Friday, and will come to a peak on Easter Sunday. Here is the worship schedule along with some details: With nightfall, Lent comes to an end and we gather with Christians around…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Here is the worship schedule along with some details: Thursday, April 6th, Maundy Thursday: 7:00pm Friday, April 7th, Good Friday: 7:00pm Sunday, April 9th Easter Sunday: 9:30am and 11:15am If you can’t join us in-person, all three services will be live streamed. If you wish to join us for the livestream at the time of worship, please go to our website, peacebloomington.org, and select the green “Watch Livestream” button on the welcome banner. Or, if…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Our last Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship is tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! In worship, we’ll praise and pray along with Holden Evening Prayer. We will also conclude our sermon series, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” One of my favorite writers, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, wrote in a letter after the kidnapping and death of her baby son, Charles Jr.: “I do…

Dear Peace members and friends, Easter is not far off now. And yet, between now and then is Palm/Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday—all connected and which, together, tell the story of our salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord. And this Sunday’s 5th Sunday in Lent worship (9:30am) is a preview of the next two weeks. The Gospel reading for the day (John 12:20-33) describes it. When some Greeks who come looking for Jesus at Passover, Jesus knew it…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship continues tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! One long time tradition of Lent is to focus on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ—the events, the people—and its meaning for our lives. And that’s what we are doing this year, in a sermon series entitled, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” Tomorrow night, we will look at what…

Dear Peace members and friends, First of all, remember the time change this Sunday–clocks are set forward! “Is it still Lent?” they asked, (emphasis on “still”), with a certain amount of weariness. “When is Easter, again?” Unspoken was the thought, “Enough of this Lent stuff—crosses and sin and its consequences—let’s get to the good stuff; the Good News of Jesus’s resurrection, Easter hymns, and lilies!” I understand. And so, for hundreds of years, has the church. On this coming 4th…

Dear Peace members and friends, A good March 1st to you all! These are lively days at Peace what with Lent, Holy Week at the end of the month, along with a lot of ministry and activities in between. We begin March with worship on Sunday (9:30am). On this 3rd Sunday of Lent we are given the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple. We’ve never seen Jesus this mad; chasing cattle and sheep out, overturning tables, dumping money on the…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship continues tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! One long time tradition of Lent is to focus on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ—the events, the people—and its meaning for our lives. And that’s what we are doing this year, in a sermon series entitled, “God in Pain: The Suffering of Jesus….and Our Own Suffering.” Tomorrow night we will hear about a…

February 23, 2024 Dear Peace members and friends, There are a lot of important things to share today, so I hope you read, or at least scan, today’s e-note all the way to the end! Whenever Lent comes around, I remember a story about Jeff, who loved his grandfather more than anyone in the world. One day, when Jeff was about two, he went with his grandfather for a ride in the car. This was long before seat-belts and seat-belt…

Dear Peace Members and Friends, Lenten Midweek worship and fellowship begins tomorrow night with worship at 6:30pm, preceded by dinner being served, beginning at 5:30pm! All of us know something about pain and suffering. Anyone who has suffered through even one night of deep hurt knows what it’s like to pray for relief. Sometimes the prayer is answered and sometimes it is not. Still, as Christians in those times, we trust that Jesus Christ is present in our suffering. On…