By: DCE Dan Hampton

“WAR! What is it good for, absolutely nothing!” These lyrics written by Edwin Starr in 1970 evoke an era that was in turmoil. America was involved in what many people thought was an unjust war in Vietnam. While this kind of war is hard to understand at the time, just wars do serve a purpose in this broken world. But we need to learn to fight the right way, with the best resources, because winning a war doesn’t happen by accident.

From February 15-17, 2019 twelve couples spent a weekend learning to fight. Often when we think about married couples fighting it is not a positive sentiment; but in this case we learned who we are really fighting against. It is not our spouse, children, friends, or other family members we are really fighting. It is the Devil! He is the one that wants to remain hidden, because when we realize that it is not our spouse we are fighting, then we can both turn and repel the Devil and all his evil works and ways.

God worked His Holy Spirit throughout this weekend. For many couples it was a great time to reconnect with one another. Our lives are so busy, just having an in-depth conversation can be very difficult at times. This get-away allowed each couple to slow down and be fully present with each other. The weekend also allowed couples the chance to get to know other people in the congregation and form new relationships over some games, delicious food, and relaxing in natural hot springs.

War is still a difficult subject. No matter what, we must recognize that we are at war with the Devil and all of his minions. Prayer is how we fight; we must learn to battle the Devil in prayer. “If God is for us, who can be against us,” Paul writes in Romans 8:31. Our God is bigger than we can possibly imagine, and he can perform many miracles and defeat the Devil in ways that we cannot even imagine. If you would like to learn more about this topic I encourage you to watch the movie “War Room” that was released in 2015. The church also has several Bible studies; and even if you didn’t attend the Marriage Retreat, you are welcome to use the materials on your own to begin to learn how to fight for your marriage in prayer.

Click here to see the Holy Cross War Room Marriage Study Guide.

By: Deb Schrank

God is amazing in the way He brings people together and grows His kingdom. Parenting classes have been offered the past few months with both church families and school families participating.

“The parenting class is an amazing chance for the school and church to partner in supporting families that might not typically attend church or Bible Study/fellowship opportunities.” – A Church Family

Relationships have formed through conversations about children’s behavior. Talking about prayer and turning to God have been a big part of the class.

“The class has definitely helped and given us insight of what we’re doing wrong as parents. Being a blended family, this has helped us see what our roles are.” – A School Family

Although the class ends middle of January, God’s work in the lives of our school families is just beginning. Because of the friendliness of the congregation at “Together” meals, our school families feel welcome at Holy Cross. One family asked if their child could join the church school choir. Hopefully they will start coming to worship on Sunday mornings because of their child’s involvement in the choir. Another family mentioned how sad they were to see the parenting class end next week because the quality of the Wednesday evening programming at Pioneer Club was phenomenal! I suggested she keep coming and plug into another Wednesday evening adult class.

I hope you can see a pattern here because the school and the congregation are working together to share the love of Jesus with the school families. Thank you for partnering with the school so the community sees Holy Cross Lutheran Church and School as a welcoming place!