LaGrave Live

LaGrave Live

LIVE Morning Worship Service 06-21-2026

Small Things with Great Love

About The Service:
June 21 is SERVE Sunday! Pastor Jonker will be leading us in worship, and his sermon will be based on Job 5:9.

Order of Worship:
https://lagrave.org/wp-content/uploads/2026-6-21-AM-Order-of-Worship.pdf

About the Church:
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/Giving/lagr107178
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.  

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Faith, Service, and the Hidden Strength of Love

A Service Shaped by Surprise and Surrender

The service opens with a welcome to LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church and a special greeting to the Serve Week participants from Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan. The worship leader introduces the theme "Surprised by God," inviting the congregation to consider whether God's unexpected leading brings joy, anxiety, or both. The opening reflection calls worshipers to confess the ways they rely on their own understanding instead of listening to the Spirit's guidance.

Confession, Grace, and the Spirit's Guidance

The congregation joins in a prayer of confession, acknowledging sin in thought, word, and deed and asking God to correct their lives. The assurance of pardon is drawn from Ephesians 2, emphasizing grace as God's gift and reminding the congregation that they are created in Christ Jesus for good works. The pastoral prayer continues this theme by asking God to consecrate the congregation's lives, hands, and wills for service.

Prayers for Service, Healing, and Trust

The prayer section lifts up the Serve team as young people and leaders prepare to serve the local community. It also remembers missionaries Daniel and Priscilla Cummings and prays for health-care work in Angola. Several members and loved ones are named in prayer for recovery, surgery, deep brain stimulation treatment, and strength for a premature baby named Oliver in the NICU, with the worship leader framing these concerns as acts of trust placed into God's hands.

Encouragement for Children and Serve Participants

Ms. Rachel leads the children's message by explaining encouragement as saying or doing something that helps someone feel supported, joyful, or happy. She connects encouragement to the Serve participants, who will be pulling weeds, building, cleaning, and serving food during the week. The children practice encouragement by waving and saying, "You can do it," and the congregation reminds the children that they are loved by Jesus.

Naaman, the Servant Girl, and Two Kinds of Power

The sermon centers on 2 Kings 5:1-6, focusing not on Naaman's public power but on the unnamed Israelite servant girl who points him toward the prophet in Samaria. The speaker describes Naaman as a man of military influence, wealth, and status, then contrasts him with a young captive girl who has endured trauma, displacement, and servitude. Despite her suffering, she holds onto faith and speaks with compassion toward the very household connected to her pain.

Small Acts of Love as the Strongest Gift

The sermon argues that the servant girl's faith and love reveal a deeper power than status, money, or military strength. Her words lead Naaman toward healing and a changed heart, showing that small acts done in love can carry the power of God's kingdom. The message closes by applying this lesson to the Serve participants and the broader congregation, urging everyone to serve with hope, love, and the strength of the risen Lord.