Blog: Forest Lake Talks

From Presbyterian Outlook Devotion Luke 11:1-4 1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.  3 Give us each day our daily bread.  4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” Jesus responds to the disciples’ request and teaches them to pray. Jesus gives them this simple, expansive, beautiful prayer we call the Lord’s Prayer. Consider…

This beautiful hymn was written by Isaac Watts, the “Father of English Hymnody,” for communion.  Of the hundreds of hymns Watts composed, this is one of his most beloved texts. When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.  To survey something is more than to simply look at it.  When we survey something we appraise it – we measure its value.  How can we possibly put a value on the cross?  Philippians 3:7-8 says, “But whatever was to my profit I…

March 20, 2019 Dear Friends, Do you, as members of the church of Jesus Christ, promise to guide and nurture these children by word and deed, with love and prayer?  Will you encourage them to know and follow Christ and to be faithful members of his church?  These questions are asked during the service of Baptism.  Everyone is included in the promises made, and here at Forest Lake, we also ask the other children to make a promise to help the newly baptized child know and follow Christ.  This is a whole church experience.  The Confession of 1967 states it…

From Presbyterian Outlook Devotion Luke 6:12-16 12 Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God.  13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15 and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, 16 and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Jesus prays before calling the twelve disciples. He shows us that spending time with God…

From Presbyterian Outlook Devotions Luke 5:15-16 15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. More than ever, word spread about Jesus. As Jesus’ notoriety and the crowds following him grows, he withdraws to deserted places to pray. These two verses offer great wisdom to Jesus’ contemporary followers. The more demanding, chaotic and full Jesus’ life became, the more Jesus understood the need to set aside places and times to communicate and be with God. Deserted places seem nonexistent in our culture. Even when…

From Presbyterian Outlook Devotions Luke 14:25-33 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees…

From  Presbyterian Outlook Devotions Luke 13:18-21 18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 20 And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus proclaims the kingdom of God and proceeds to help his hearers understand how to recognize…

From Presbyterian Outlook Lenten Devotions LUKE 8:1-8 –  1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. 4 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his…

Scottish hymn writer Elizabeth Clephane (1830 –1869) lost both her parents when she was very young.  She was in frail health most of her life.  In spite of her illnesses, Elizabeth joined her sister in caring for the poor and sick in their community.  Both women gave away most of their earthly belongings.  Miss Clephane composed this much-beloved Lenten hymn shortly before she died, but unfortunately didn’t live long enough to hear it put to music. Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand, the shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land; A home within…

Dear Friends, To Reconcile: (1a)             To restore to friendship or to harmony (1b)        Settle or resolve (2)                 to make consistent or congruous (3)                 To cause to submit to or to accept something (4a) To check (a financial account) against another for accuracy (4b) To account for (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) One of the values on which our congregation has focused this year – following the lead of our Officers’ Retreat – is reconciliation.  Reconciliation is a hard value to live, and it seems very hard to figure out how to achieve this high Christian standard.  And yet, the Apostle Paul…

February 20, 2019 Dear Friends,  There are so many things happening, that I almost don’t know where to begin.  Life seems to offer us so many wonderful opportunities to work for the purposes of Christ and Christ’s Church.  Let me highlight a few. 1.  If you are, as I am, aghast at what is emerging as the state of public housing in our city, then I want you to know two things.  First, our congregation (thank you Pam Bowman and some of our youth and adults for delivering our gifts) gave a donation of both supplies (cleaning and otherwise) to the…

February 6, 2019 Dear Friends, Sometimes the most important signs of growth and deepening faith are the easiest to miss.  Like a good gardener, we need to be adept at looking at all that is happening around us and being able to tell a good plant from a weed and to know what good plants need to grow and thrive.  At church this means that we all need to be on watch for signs of growth that need to be encouraged, and for “weeds” that need to be checked.  And, sometimes those signs of growth happen in small groups or…

Dear Friends, The Church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be like a light, set on a lamp stand, so that all in the house have light and are encouraged by what they see in us.  (Matthew 5:14)  When we live according to the Kingdom of God, we will be like yeast; only a little bit will cause the whole loaf to rise.  (Matthew 13:33) The Forest Lake Presbyterian Church Endowment Fund was established to encourage and to allow Forest Lake Presbyterian Church to affect the community and the world in positive ways; to be like light and leaven to…

Dear Friends, It has been a remarkable privilege to be a part of the Forest Lake Presbyterian church family for the last year. Forest Lake is a warm and caring community of faith that demonstrates a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ while also welcoming people from many different backgrounds and theological perspectives. You demonstrate your faith through significant community outreach but also support one another in the most practical ways possible. It has been my joy to join you in your shared ministry and I have learned much from you about what it means to be the church.…

Worship at FLPC is enriched during Advent and Christmas by Worship Banners that were designed and created by Margaret McKinnon Harris and given to FLPC to the glory of God in 2016. Each week another pair of banners will be hung in the sanctuary that invite us into the ancient story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and into the current call to be transformed into a disciple of Jesus Christ.  We hope these banners will enhance your worship on Sundays and will invite you into the journey of discipleship every day of the week.  Artist’s Notes: It’s a…