Join us this lent as we spend 40 Days At KOK. This is an online group set up to help us gather daily to reflect during lent. Please join us on Facebook by clicking here.
For those without Facebook highlights will be posted below.
Kelsay Parker and I once again prayed though our directory and all the names you have shared with us over the weeks. This is the prayer we used throughout. Know that you were all lifted up by name to our amazing God of hope and love. Sleep well sisters and brothers!
-Pastor Dave
Easter is not Canceled! “See” you all tomorrow on the live stream!!
Happy Holy+Spirit Week. Today’s activity is to fast from media from 12pm-3pm. These are the hours Jesus hung on the cross. If you’re able to participate in the fast, you can change your profile picture to the one below and post to your timeline.
-Pastor Kelsay
Happy Holy + Spirit Week!
Watching the steam rise from a slice of fresh bread. Pretty sure the whole loaf will be gone before supper. Thank you God, for providing food for my family today. May we, in turn, be generous to those in need.
-Pastor Kelsay
Today we wore purple to remind us that Jesus is our King! Enjoy this song, Jesus our king is inviting us to help his kingdom to come on earth- this very day.
-Pastor Kelsay
Writing down our gratitude today is a way to keep our minds focused on the large picture of God’s unfailing love and grace. It doesn’t minimize the trauma that we face or somehow cover up the fact that we are struggling. Some days are hard...some are impossible.
What our gratitude tells us, is that God is indeed good. That God is faithful. That we have been given many gifts- people, resources, assistance, compassion. Our gratitude can bring us together, soften our hearts toward one another; it can help us breathe and be reminded that we are beloved.
May your rest tonight be covered by a blanket of gratitude so that you may rise tomorrow with praise on your lips and joy in your heart.
-Pastor Kelsay
This verse from Romans says it all. We are many... many people from various backgrounds with diverse histories. We are many...spread across the city, state, country, and the world. We are many...separated now by distancing and quarantine, out of care for our neighbors. But we are one. One in Christ and given as a gift to each other. I've loved seeing the pictures come in today. Your faces are a thing of beauty. May you know that you are beloved and beautiful to behold.
-Pastor Kelsay
Pastor Kelsay and I will be praying for all of our family of faith by name again tonight. If you have any names (in addition to our church directory and the ones you asked us to add last week), please respond to this with their names and we will add them. Love to you all!
-Pastor Dave
I've been listening to this song on repeat. It's based loosely on Isaac Watts' interpretation of Psalm 126. May it bring you into a place of peace and calm today.
-Pastor Kelsay
WHEN God revealed His gracious name,
And changed my lost estate,
I seemed transported in a dream,
The grace appeared so great!
2 When those around me saw the change
Pervading all my ways,
They owned a work of power strange,
And mused upon Thy grace.
3 The Lord can clear the darkest skies,
And give us day for night,
Cause tears of sacred sorrow rise
To rivers of delight.
4 Though Gospel seed lies long in dust,
Our prayerful hopes remain;
That living Word can ne’er be lost,
Nor ever preached in vain.
5 Let all who sow in longing, wait,
Till Thy sure blessings come;
For soon shall we, with sheaves so great,
Return rejoicing home.
Isaac Watts, 1674-1748‡
Many of our Old Testament books were written during a time of Exile. The Israelites were no strangers to difficult times. Even in their times of peace and prosperity they were acutely aware of the fragility of security. They knew what it meant to wander in the wilderness with nothing but their prayers and the provisions of God. They knew what it meant to live in Exile, conquered and removed from their homeland. They knew what it meant to live as slaves, crushed by the greed of those who had conquered them. And yet.
They knew what it meant to love the Lord their God and to love their neighbors despite the circumstances of life. They knew how to raise their voices to proclaim God’s goodness in the midst of crisis and despair. They are our spiritual ancestors- May their anthem rise in your soul today as we proclaim that God is our refuge and our strength.
Peace be with you all. 💚🙏
-Pastor Kelsay
My heart is with all who grieve tonight. There are many who grieve the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, the loss of financial security, the loss of a school year, the loss of health, so many losses we are sharing together. My prayers are with you. O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted, grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is infectious and widening, grant peace and reassurance. Where impossibilities close every door and window, grant imagination and resistance. Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing and illumination. Where spirits are daunted and weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened dreams. All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
AMEN.
-Pastor Kelsay
I have been working with Kelsay to create a guided meditation to share. This one uses Matthew 8:23-27 ... Where Jesus calms a storm. I hope that this time with Jesus brings you peace.
- Penny Barrett Jongeward
Wednesday Night Bible Study
Please join me in a breath prayer today. I find these are really resonating with me in these anxious times.
INHALE:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
EXHALE:
And lean not on your own understanding.
Peace be with you!
-Pastor Kelsay
As we reflect on understanding and love...and as we navigate these uncharted waters...may we remember that nothing can separate us from the love of God.
-Pastor Kelsay
Mark Sylvester introduced me to this song a few years ago. It's one of my absolute favorites...and in light of our conversations about Lazarus and the power of Christ to raise us up from every death we experience...let's make this our anthem today. 💚🙏
-Pastor Kelsay
As tensions rise, it's easy to turn to bitterness and anger. I want you to know that all of these feelings are okay and they're allowed. Remember how Jesus makes room for Mary and Martha to give voice to their lament as they grieve. But also hear this: Jesus calls us to come out of those places as surely as he called Lazarus out of his grave... to find refuge in the love and grace in the community of believers. May we all attempt to seek understanding and love in spite of any anger or bitterness or blame that seeks to destroy our trust in God.
-Pastor Kelsay
A powerful song to start you day.
“Don’t let your eyes get used to darkness...the light is coming soon. “
“Don’t let your heart get used to sadness...put your hope in what is true.”
“The Father carries his children...”
-Pastor Kelsay
Wednesday Bible Study
Dear friends- here is the theme for the week. When this page started we were on a very different journey than we are now. We will continue to highlight the theme assigned for each week, but as life happens and our new reality of quarantine and infection and sickness continues the Spirit will lead us as it wills to places of comfort and strength. Love you all!! Wednesday night Bible study coming soon!
-Pastor Kelsay
