LaGrave Live, June 21, 2026

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LaGrave Live LIVE Evening Worship Service - Amos and Amaziah About The Service: Pastor Jonker will preach on Amos 7. Order of Worship: https://lagrave.org/wp-content/upload... About Us: We are a traditional CRC church in the middle of Downtown Grand Rapids, MI, worshipping at 8:40am, 11:00am, and 6:00pm. (10:00am and 6:00pm during the summer months) We'd love to hear from you: Connection: https://www.lagrave.org/contact Let us pray for you: Prayer: https://www.lagrave.org/prayerrequest/ Giving: https://www.elexiogiving.com/App/Givi... The June special offering is for Pine Rest Patient Assistance Fund: Part of Pine Rest Foundation Fund offering financial assistance for individuals, families and children who need care. Listen on the go: Amazon Music: https://bit.ly/LGPodAmazonMusic Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3tuOdwQ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/LGPodGoogle Soundcloud: / lagravecrc Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3yXDFaT Follow us! Facebook: / lagravecrc Instagram: / lagravecrc Website: https://www.lagrave.org #LaGrave #LaGraveCRC Amos, Amaziah, and the Holy Affliction of God’s Justice Evening Worship at LaGrave Church This live evening worship service from LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church is led by Reverend Peter Jonker and centers on the encounter between the prophet Amos, the priest Amaziah, and King Jeroboam II. The service opens with Scripture, worship, and a reflection on Psalm 146, emphasizing that believers should not put ultimate trust in princes or human rulers, but in the Lord who upholds the oppressed, feeds the hungry, frees prisoners, watches over foreigners, and sustains the fatherless and widow. Reverend Jonker frames the evening as a meditation on how church and state interact in Scripture, especially when God’s justice confronts political and religious power. Prayer for the World’s Large and Small Histories The pastoral prayer names God as King of kings, Lord of lords, and ruler over both the “big history” of nations and the smaller histories of ordinary lives. Reverend Jonker prays for places marked by war, suffering, and violence, including Sudan, Ukraine, Iran, Gaza, Lebanon, and Israel. He also prays against the bitterness that violence plants across generations and asks God to make His people peacemakers. The prayer then turns close to home, lifting up LaGrave’s neighbors, people struggling with addiction, trauma, and mental illness, and members of the congregation facing illness, surgery, recovery, hospice, and personal burdens. Amos 7 - A Prophet Confronts Power The central Scripture reading is Amos 7:10–17, where Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, reports Amos to King Jeroboam and accuses him of raising a conspiracy in Israel. Amaziah tells Amos to leave, return to Judah, and stop prophesying at Bethel because it is “the king’s sanctuary” and “the temple of the kingdom.” Amos responds that he was not a professional prophet or the son of a prophet, but a shepherd and dresser of sycamore fig trees whom the Lord called to prophesy to Israel. Reverend Jonker notes that Amos is a difficult figure, blunt and unsettling, more committed to God’s righteousness and justice than to popularity or social comfort. Prosperity, Injustice, and the Unwanted Word Reverend Jonker explains that Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, a time of outward prosperity, national stability, and economic success for Israel. By conventional standards, Jeroboam looked like a successful ruler: the borders expanded, enemies were defeated, the economy was strong, and the nation appeared secure. But the biblical assessment was different: Jeroboam did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Into that prosperous world, Amos spoke against injustice, warning that the wealthy lounged in comfort while trampling the poor and ignoring the needy. Jonker stresses that Amos’s words were not pleasant, but they were necessary because God’s measure of a nation is not merely prosperity, but justice and righteousness. The Holy Affliction of the Prophet A key phrase in the sermon is “holy affliction.” Reverend Jonker says Amos was not simply an angry man; he was someone unsettled by the Spirit of God. Even Amos himself seems disturbed by the severity of the visions and prophecies he receives, pleading for mercy because Israel is small. Yet he cannot go back to ordinary life because God has given him eyes to see injustice and a heart that cannot ignore it. Jonker describes this kind of prophetic restlessness as a gift of the Holy Spirit, though not always a comfortable one. It is the burden that prevents God’s people from becoming merely a social club or a “going to heaven club.” Francis, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Prophetic Stream Reverend Jonker connects Amos to later figures in Christian history who carried a similar holy affliction. He names St. Francis of Assisi, whose compassion for the poor disrupted the expectations of his wealthy family; Dorothy Day, whose Christian faith led her away from literary celebrity into advocacy for the poor and the Catholic Worker Movement; and Martin Luther King Jr., who refused to remain silent in the face of racial injustice and echoed Amos’s cry that justice should roll down like waters. These examples show how the Spirit continues to raise up people who disturb complacency, confront injustice, and remind the church that God is transforming creation, not merely saving isolated souls. A Prayer for Holy Agitation The sermon closes by turning the message back toward the congregation. Reverend Jonker prays that LaGrave will always have a few “ornery prophets” and a few people like Amos, but also that every believer will receive at least a little of that holy affliction. He asks that the suffering of neighbors, the plight of the poor, and the injustices of the world would continue to pierce the church’s heart rather than become background noise. He connects this prophetic agitation to Jesus, who came to preach good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, and release for the oppressed. The service ends with prayer that God would unsettle whatever needs unsettling, uproot what needs uprooting, and send the congregation out under the Lord’s blessing and peace.

LaGrave Live, June 14, 2026

LaGrave Live LIVE Evening Worship Service - Questions and Answers 6-14-26 About The Service: LaGrave member, Rev. Laurie TenHave-Chapman, will preach from Acts 8:26-40, a passage that reminds us that there are many who are looking for Jesus as the answer to their deepest questions. We will also celebrate the Lord's Supper together. Order of Worship: https://lagrave.org/wp-content/upload... About Us: We are a traditional CRC church in the middle of Downtown Grand Rapids, MI, worshipping at 8:40am, 11:00am, and 6:00pm. (10:00am and 6:00pm during the summer months) We'd love to hear from you: Connection: https://www.lagrave.org/contact Let us pray for you: Prayer: https://www.lagrave.org/prayerrequest/ Giving: https://www.elexiogiving.com/App/Givi... The June special offering is for Pine Rest Patient Assistance Fund: Part of Pine Rest Foundation Fund offering financial assistance for individuals, families and children who need care. Listen on the go: Amazon Music: https://bit.ly/LGPodAmazonMusic Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3tuOdwQ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/LGPodGoogle Soundcloud: / lagravecrc Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3yXDFaT Follow us! Facebook: / lagravecrc Instagram: / lagravecrc Website: https://www.lagrave.org #LaGrave #LaGraveCRC Who Will Teach Me About Jesus? Questions, Witness, and the Spirit’s Unexpected Appointments A Service Framed by Mission and Worship This live evening worship service at LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church opens with worship language drawn from Psalm 96, calling the congregation to sing to the Lord, declare His glory among the nations, and worship in the splendor of His holiness. The service includes a welcome to those gathered in the sanctuary and online, and a warm introduction of Reverend Lori TeneHape Chapman, a LaGrave member, as the evening preacher. Because this is a worship-service transcript, the music portions appear heavily distorted by transcription and should be treated only as musical segments rather than reliable lyrical text. A Confession of Faith and a Prayer for Missionaries Before the sermon, the congregation reads from the contemporary testimony “Our World Belongs to God,” focusing on the church’s mission to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, care for the sick, and free the prisoner. The pastoral prayer then expands that mission focus globally. The congregation prays for missionaries and ministries in North America, Haiti, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Africa, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, India, Peru, and other regions. The prayer asks God to bless those serving students, children, families, churches, special-needs communities, and unreached or difficult mission fields. Philip, the Ethiopian, and the Question That Opens the Door The Scripture reading comes from Acts 8:26–40, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The passage tells how an angel directs Philip to the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he encounters an Ethiopian official reading from Isaiah. When Philip asks whether the man understands what he is reading, the Ethiopian responds, “How can I, unless someone explains it to me?” Philip then begins with that passage and tells him the good news about Jesus. When they come to water, the Ethiopian asks what prevents him from being baptized, and Philip baptizes him. Searching for Truth in a Confusing Culture Reverend Chapman begins the sermon with a memory of seeing a billboard for a cannabis company using religious language: “church,” “cannabis,” and “baptism by fire.” She reflects on how jarring those words felt together and uses the example to raise a larger question about how Christians engage a pleasure-seeking culture filled with confusing messages. She connects this to Pilate’s question to Jesus, “What is truth?” and reminds listeners that Jesus is the one who called Himself the way, the truth, and the life. Ordinary Time and the Growth of the Church The sermon then places the congregation in the church season of Ordinary Time, represented by the color green and associated with growth. Reverend Chapman explains that after Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and the giving of the Holy Spirit, the disciples spread out like seeds, preaching, teaching, and planting churches. The story of Philip and the Ethiopian becomes a picture of that Spirit-led growth: not only through large crowds, but through one unexpected person in one unexpected moment. The Ethiopian as an Unlikely but Prepared Seeker Reverend Chapman describes the Ethiopian official as educated, wealthy, powerful, and spiritually curious. He had traveled a great distance to Jerusalem to worship, had access to Scripture, and was reading aloud from Isaiah. Yet he did not understand the passage about the suffering servant. Philip, freshly coming from fruitful ministry in Samaria, is sent not to another crowd but to one individual. The sermon emphasizes that Philip obeys, runs alongside the chariot, listens, and becomes available to explain Jesus. The Interruptions Are the Ministry A central theme of the sermon is that ministry often comes through interruptions. Philip does not treat the Ethiopian’s race, nationality, rank, or difference as a barrier. Instead, he recognizes that the Spirit has called him to be present. Reverend Chapman suggests that, just as Jesus often showed, the interruptions are the ministry. Philip’s readiness allows the Ethiopian to hear the gospel, understand Isaiah in light of Jesus, and receive baptism with joy. Jesus, Questions, and the Art of Opening Hearts Reverend Chapman reflects on the many questions Jesus asked during His ministry. She notes that Jesus often answered questions with questions, not to be evasive, but to open people to deeper understanding. Good questions, she says, can challenge, comfort, confront, and reveal love. The sermon quotes T.S. Eliot’s line about being prepared for the stranger who knows how to ask questions, connecting it to the Christian calling to ask questions that help people examine their lives, their assumptions, and their need for Christ. “Who Will Teach Me About Jesus?” The sermon then shifts into a personal story from Reverend Chapman’s chaplaincy work in a locked unit. After a man angrily left a spiritual-growth group, she followed him to apologize. Instead, he apologized and then asked, “Who will teach me about Jesus?” She learned that he had struggled with mental illness, addiction, the loss of his marriage and custody of his children, and a painful upbringing in which he was often blamed. Yet he also described moments when he believed God had rescued him and said he had sensed a prompting to “learn about Jesus.” Being Ready When the Spirit Has Already Been Working Reverend Chapman compares that man to the Ethiopian seeker. In both cases, the Holy Spirit was already at work before the teacher arrived. Her role, like Philip’s, was to listen, understand the person’s story, and explain Jesus in a way that could be received. She reminds the congregation that not everyone will say out loud, “Who will teach me about Jesus?” but many people are searching silently. Christians must be ready to listen well, ask honest questions, and speak clearly about the hope within them. Communion, Benediction, and the Assurance That Jesus Is Enough The service continues with prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, remembering Christ’s body given and blood shed. The transcript’s music sections after communion are again heavily garbled, but the service clearly includes responsive words from Psalm 103 and Revelation 5, praising the Lord who forgives, heals, redeems, and crowns His people with love and compassion. The final blessing sends the congregation out with confidence in the God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. The central message of the service is that Jesus is the answer to the deepest questions, and the Spirit continues to place believers alongside those who are ready to hear.

15 jun 20261 h 16 min

LaGrave Live, June 7, 2026

LaGrave Live LIVE Evening Worship Service - Follow Me About The Service: Rev. Manion will preach from Matthew 9. Order of Worship: https://lagrave.org/wp-content/upload... About Us: We are a traditional CRC church in the middle of Downtown Grand Rapids, MI, worshipping at 8:40am, 11:00am, and 6:00pm. (10:00am and 6:00pm during the summer months) We'd love to hear from you: Connection: https://www.lagrave.org/contact Let us pray for you: Prayer: https://www.lagrave.org/prayerrequest/ Giving: https://www.elexiogiving.com/App/Givi... The June special offering is for Pine Rest Patient Assistance Fund: Part of Pine Rest Foundation Fund offering financial assistance for individuals, families and children who need care. Listen on the go: Amazon Music: https://bit.ly/LGPodAmazonMusic Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3tuOdwQ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/LGPodGoogle Soundcloud: / lagravecrc Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3yXDFaT Follow us! Facebook: / lagravecrc Instagram: / lagravecrc Website: https://www.lagrave.org #LaGrave #LaGraveCRC Follow Me: Reverend Kristy Manion on Mercy, Discipleship, and Jesus’ Call to Matthew LaGrave Live Opens with Worship This LaGrave Live worship service, titled “Follow Me,” begins with music, a call to worship, and a greeting of grace and peace. The congregation is invited to worship God as light, salvation, and the stronghold of life. The service frames worship as a time to seek God’s ways, gather in community, and listen for the Lord’s guidance. Reverend Kristy Manion welcomes those gathered in person and those joining by livestream, noting the gift of worshiping together in the warmth of the evening. Deuteronomy 30 and the Choice of Life The first Scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy 30:11–20, where Moses speaks to Israel before they enter the promised land. The passage presents God’s command as near, not unreachable, and sets before the people life and prosperity, death and destruction, blessings and curses. The reading emphasizes that a good life is found in loving the Lord, listening to His voice, holding fast to Him, and walking in obedience. This theme prepares the congregation for the sermon’s later question: what does it mean to follow Jesus into a life shaped by mercy? Confession and Prayer for the Church and World The congregation then joins in a confession that salvation comes by God’s grace through Christ, while good works flow from gratitude, renewal, assurance of faith, and witness to neighbors. Reverend Manion leads a pastoral prayer thanking God for creation, community, and worship, while also confessing fear, impatience, self-centeredness, and the tendency to focus on what is wrong. The prayer includes intercession for people suffering from war, displacement, illness, grief, hospice care, surgery recovery, new babies, baptisms, church leaders, and the upcoming Christian Reformed Church Synod. Matthew’s Call and Jesus’ Table Fellowship The sermon Scripture comes from Matthew 9:9–13, with additional verses from Matthew 9:35–10:4. Jesus sees Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth and says, “Follow me.” Matthew gets up and follows Him. Jesus then eats at Matthew’s house with tax collectors and sinners, which leads the Pharisees to question why He would share a table with such people. Jesus answers that the sick, not the healthy, need a doctor, and quotes the words, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Why Matthew’s Profession Matters Reverend Manion highlights that Matthew stands out among the disciples because he is identified by his day job: Matthew the tax collector. She explains that tax collectors were despised because they often made money by overcharging others and were associated with corruption, dishonesty, and exploitation. Matthew may have had money, but his profession also meant loneliness, social rejection, and moral suspicion. Naming him as a tax collector shows the kind of person Jesus deliberately called and welcomed. The Pharisees’ Concern and the Tension of Jesus’ Ministry The sermon carefully explores the Pharisees’ question. Their concern was not random; Scripture warns against walking with the wicked or sitting with sinners, and parents often give similar advice to children about choosing good companions. Reverend Manion acknowledges that this tension is real. The question becomes how faithful people discern when Jesus is calling them toward “Matthew’s house,” into complicated spaces where wisdom, mercy, and holiness must all be held together. Piety, Doctrine, and Transformation Reverend Manion introduces three Reformed emphases for engaging the world: the pietist, doctrinalist, and transformationalist accents. The pietist emphasis focuses on the heart’s devotion to God through prayer, worship, reflection, and service. The doctrinalist emphasis focuses on right understanding, Scripture, and truth. The transformationalist emphasis focuses on participating in Christ’s redeeming work in creation and culture. She explains that healthy Christian faith needs all three: heart, head, and hands working together as believers follow Jesus into the world. Mercy, Not Sacrifice At the center of the sermon is Jesus’ response: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Reverend Manion explains that Jesus sees Matthew not only as a sinner or social outcast, but as someone who could become different under the mercy of Christ. Jesus does not catch Matthew’s corruption; rather, Jesus becomes the cure. The sermon emphasizes that both Matthew and the Pharisees need mercy, though they may differ in how aware they are of that need. Jesus’ goodness spreads to sinners, and His call creates a new story for Matthew’s life. Darryl Davis and the Practice of Costly Mercy To illustrate this kind of mercy, Reverend Manion tells the story of jazz pianist Darryl Davis, an African American Christian musician who spent decades speaking with members of the Ku Klux Klan. His approach was kind, respectful, persistent, and often dangerous. He asked how people could hate him without knowing him and built relationships that eventually led many Klan members to give him their robes. Reverend Manion uses Davis’s story as an example of costly, person-to-person engagement that some might call foolish, but others might recognize as grace. Following Jesus with Wisdom and Courage The sermon closes by calling the congregation to follow Jesus into the places and relationships God brings before them, with curiosity, respect, kindness, wisdom, and mercy. Reverend Manion reminds listeners that Jesus called Matthew just as surely as He called the more respectable disciples, and that if Jesus could use Matthew, He can use ordinary believers too. The service ends with prayer, blessing, and the reminder to go into the week under the Lord’s peace, ready to encounter the people God places in their path.

8 jun 20261 h 4 min

LaGrave Live, June 21, 2026

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