Stay Connected to God's Word Everywhere, All the Time!

God's Word is our spiritual food. It connects us to Jesus and strengthens us to live for him. God both invites and commands us to be devoted to his Word. There are many other ways to get your spiritual meal. Read/listen to the Bible as a family after dinner or whenever you can. Sit down with your Bible just after waking or just before bed, or play on a sermon on your smartphone while you're driving. Here are some resources to help you do that. Please don't hesitate to call Pastor West for advice or help planning family devotions.

If traveling: Use this online map to find a Lutheran church in our fellowship near you.

 Recommended Online Sources to Watch, Listen, Read, or Join

Video:

• A list of all WELS congregations that live-stream their services​
• Faith in Sharpsburg, GA (a well-known preacher in WELS)
• Our Redeemer in Madison, WI (where I used to attend) posts video and audio sermons
• Redeemer in Yakima posts video sermons.
• Southridge Church is our WELS church in Richland, WA. The pastor there is also our circuit pastor.
• Watch this entire service live (Victory of the Lamb) live Sundays at 7am or 8:30am. 
• Or watch Victory of the Lamb archives
• Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Daily Chapel with music and preaching
• Martin Luther College twice daily chapel services, music and preaching
• Amazing Grace, Portland, puts out audio, video, and detailed sermon notes. He has a lot of interesting sermon series and tends to preach for a LONG time. I couldn't find a way to podcast, but you can download sermons. 
• Beautiful Savior in Hillsboro live streams their worship services. This includes Wednesday Lenten and Advent services. 
• Peace Lutheran in Vancouver is recommended by the Hallauers
• Peace Lutheran Church, Ostego, MI has online services and sermons.

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Audio:

• The Christ for Disciplers podcast is targeted at helping parents raise their kids
• St. Marcus Milwaukee posts sermons as a podcast.
• Christ, Eagle River, WI (a friend of mine)
• Peace Lutheran Church, Ostego, MI (a friend of mine) posts audio and also text (see below)
• Beautiful Savior, Everett WA has a sermon podcast. He's very down-to-earth. Click here to subscribe.
• Cross of Christ, Boise has several talented preachers including Brad Snyder, who was here many years ago as vicar. Click here to subscribe

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Text:

• Reading the People's Bible series still might be the best way to read daily devotions. 
• Grace in Yakima posts written devotions based on that week's lectionary reading.

• ​Daily devotions
• Occasional Women's devotions
• Weekly devotions for teenagers 
• Weekly Military Devotions
• Early Childhood Educator's Devotions​

Websites with lots of content. 

• Time of Grace provides 30 minute sermons, plus written and video devotions of various lengths. Many of our members read their daily email devotions. 
• 1517.org produces several good podcasts. My favorites are 40 minutes in the Old Testament and 30 Minutes in the New Testament. This is a non-profit group of confessional Lutherans. Most of them are LCMS, but some are WELS or from other groups. 
• The Bible Project has some excellent videos and podcasts about Biblical books. Some of their other publications are of uneven quality.
• The Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary essay file has all sorts of essays, of varying length and quality, on all religious topics. They should all be theologically sound. It's a good place to go when there's some theological issue you want to investigate. 
• The Bible App--YouVersion is a great app, and TOTALLY FREE. It has all sorts of Bible translations. You can read or listen to audio. You can find a Bible reading plan or make up your own. If you're new, I recommend listening to the New Living Translation or reading the Christian Standard Bible. But the NIV and ESV are also good choices. 
• THE BIBLE APP FOR KIDS is also great. Highly recommended for your kids.
• The WELS website provides a wide variety of content and information.

Online Christian communities:​

• Pastor Mews at Beautiful Savior teaches multiple Zoom Bible studies each week and invites anyone to join. Former members of our who moved away have enjoyed his studies. 
• Illume Church in Seattle has a complete online option. While you can simply use the online content, there is also an option for joining a virtual community.

If you want to follow our weekly readings...

You can see the day's Bible readings, hymn of the day, and prayer of the day at this website. You can also call, text, or email me and I will work with you to provide a personalized recommendation for your family devotions. I would actually be thrilled if you did that. 

A Simple Pattern of Worship for Personal or Family Use

1. Begin in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
2. Take a moment for personal, silent confession of sins, and have the head of household assure everyone that we are forgiven in Jesus' name. If there has been fighting or arguing, this is a good time to reconcile. 
3. If you are comfortable singing together, sing a hymn you all know, or listen to a hymn on YouTube. Or if music is awkward for you, it's okay to skip this part. 
4. Listen to a sermon above or read a section of the Bible. I recommend a sermon if you are not already following a regular Bible reading plan. On the other hand, vacation is a great time to start reading the Bible together as a family. When else will you have so much free time together?  [update: the same applies to coronavirus furloughs]
5. If you're with your family, have the head of household as some basic questions such as, "Well, what did you take away from that?". Dads, don't leave it up to mom. Take the lead. 
6. Pray. You can pray for your immediate needs, your family, our society, and our church. Check the most recent prayer list in our weekly church email for ideas. If with your family, have everyone contribute ideas of what to pray for. You can either take turns praying, or just have the head of household pray. 
7. End by praying for God's blessing on your week. You can go an hour, but 30 minutes is fine too.