Spiritual Resources

Thought for the Day

Lectionary Humor

Proverbs 17:22 tells us “A cheerful heart is a good medicine,” so treat yourself to a little humor with this week’s strip from Agnus Day, the lectionary comic strip.

Agnus Day appears with the permission of www.agnusday.org.

Personal Prayer Resources

ELCA Prayer Center—The new ELCA website is collecting a number of prayer resources. Additional links will be added as they become available.

Jump-start Your Prayer Life

Daily Prayer—The services of Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer (Compline) are part of an ancient way to pray and mark the passage of time. Each of these services weaves psalms, Bible readings, and prayers that change from day to day and season to season into a regular pattern of worship.

As Joan Huyser-Honig writes in “Uncovering the Blessing of Fixed-Hour Prayer” (Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, 2006), “Common daily prayer provides a link between private prayer and corporate worship. Setting aside time each morning and evening to pray reminds us that all that we have, including our time, belongs to God.” Read the entire article.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship provides orders for daily prayer (beginning on p. 295), and a daily lectionary with readings organized in relationship to our three-year Sunday lectionary (beginning on p. 1121). Because of copyright restrictions, the services in the ELW are not available online. However, our Daily Prayer page, provides links to the full text of each day’s services of Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline according to the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer with the psalms and lessons from the daily lectionary in the ELW.

Submit a Prayer Request

Bible Resources

The Bible, the holy book of Christians, is very important to all Lutherans. Read what the ELCA website has to say about the Bible.

The ELCA has just launched a new initiative called Book of Faith to increase familiarity with the Bible across our denomination. Links to more Book of Faith resources will be added as they become available.

Bible Studies—Short video Bible studies by ELCA leaders.
Read the Bible in One Year—A plan for reading the Bible that can be started at any time.
Dwelling in the Word—Short videos of Lutherans talking about how the Bible has touched their lives
LHC’s Book of Faith Bible Study meets most Thursdays at 10:00 AM in the Boardroom. Index of topics for Book of Faith Bible Study

Another way to become familiar with the Bible is by reading it in the context of Daily Prayer. For example, the services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer on our Daily Prayer section have Bible readings form the Daily Lectionary in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. These readings have been organized in relationship to the three-year Sunday lectionary. Readings for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday prepare for Sunday’s lessons, and the readings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday reflect on them.

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Theological Resources

Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson answers the question “Why Lutheran?”

Theology is about what we believe about God. Here are links to some key ideas on the ELCA website:

Fritz Fritschel, former assisting pastor at LCH, challenges our beliefs in many ways. Here are links to several of his articles:

“Energy from oppressed moves toward justice” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jul. 4, 2009).
“Boundaries are key to healthy relationships” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jun. 13, 2009).
“Do not depend solely on words to find the truth” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Oct. 25, 2008).
“Human power negates idea of ‘almighty’” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jul. 19, 2008).
“All the world’s a stage and as players we fill many roles” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Apr. 12, 2008).
“Consumerism offers much food for thought” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Nov. 27, 2007).
“Community is a sharing of emotions and experience” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jun. 23, 2007).
“Great Insider plays a role in all life” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Apr. 29, 2006).
“Movement focuses on life dynamics” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Feb. 4, 2006).
“Not all descriptions of God are worthy of commitment” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Nov. 12, 2005).
“Luther proved obedient rebellion’s OK” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Oct. 30, 2004).
“Religious thought may misunderstand power” Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Feb. 22, 2003).
A brief introduction to Process Thought

LCH FAQs

I’m not a Lutheran. Can I receive communion at LCH?

As Lutheran Christians, we believe in the real presence of Christ in Communion. We welcome everyone—no matter where you are on your spiritual journey—to join us in receiving this wonderful gift at Holy Communion.
I know it says on your site that you openly welcome gay and lesbians into your church...and that’s awesome. But do you teach that homosexuality is wrong? Because it does say that in the Bible. They’re sinners and they obviously can’t become a Christian until they give their whole life to God...and that means obeying Him. Which includes turning from the sin of homosexuality. Just wondering.

We don’t teach that homosexuality in and of itself is wrong or a sin. Our sexuality—both homosexuality and heterosexuality—is a gift from God, and how we use it is a response to the overflowing grace of God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, what we lift up is the responsible, healthy, and faithful use of our sexuality in all of our relationships. This includes love, trust, and forgiveness, and treating others, who have been created in the image of God, as a gift—worthy of the respect and the dignity they deserve.
If you don’t find the answer to your question, please send your question to the Pastor

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