This Sunday we welcome guest preacher, Pastor Mark Gibbs.
Pastor Mark Gibbs was born and raised in Muncie, Indiana, and attended Purdue University, where he met and married his wife, Julia. Pastor Mark worked as a Mechanical Engineer for 10 year before attending seminary and being ordained into the Lutheran ministry. He served three churches during his pastoral career, one each in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. His last call was at St. Michael Lutheran Church, Ottawa Lake, MI, where he served for 21 years. Pastor Mark retired from active ordained ministry in November, 2023, and with his wife, moved to Norton Shores so they could spoil their first granddaughter! Pastor Mark and Julie have been attending Lakeshore Lutheran Fellowship for the past 6 months. They have two children, Maureen and Jacob. Maureen is a practicing physician at Shoreline Pediatrics in Muskegon, married to John DeWitt, and gave birth to an amazing baby girl named Madeline last summer. Jacob is married to Marisa and works as a Medical Physicist at the University of Toledo Dana Cancer Center.
Sermon write-up...
In this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, we hear Jesus offering up one, last prayer for his disciples before his death on the cross. He knows their future will be marked by suffering and anxiety, and so He prays that His Father would empower them to stand firm in their faith. We who follow in their footsteps also suffer because of our faith. We, too, are afflicted with uncertainty, fear and anxiety about the future. Fortunately for us, Jesus makes clear that His prayer was not just for those original disciples. It was also prayed for us.
Join us on this 7th and last Sunday of the Easter season for our message, “A Prayer For You” based on John 17:9-23. The other Scripture readings for the day are from Psalm 62:5-8 and I John 5:9-13.
