LaGrave Live, April 19, 2026

LaGrave Live LIVE Evening Worship Service - Tips for the Tightrope About The Service: Pastor Jonker will lead us in worship and we will welcome missionaries Dan and Priscila Cummings, who will give an update on their medical ministry in Kalukembe, Angola. 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/ 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 This evening service at La Grave Avenue Christian Reformed Church centers on the metaphor of life as a challenging journey or "tightrope." Through scripture from Philippians 4 and insights from a long-term study on happiness, the service explores how prayer and joy provide a divine "fortress" of peace amidst life's inevitable crosswinds. The Journey and Global Mission The service opens with a call to worship from Psalm 125, emphasizing that those who trust in the Lord are as unshakable as Mount Zion. This theme of a "journey" or "ascent" is woven throughout the liturgy, mirroring the Psalms of Ascent used by Israelites traveling to Jerusalem. A significant portion of the service is dedicated to a mission update from Daniel Cummings, a medical missionary serving at the Kalu Kembe hospital in Angola. He describes the stark reality of serving in a region where subsistence farmers earn roughly $15 a month and spiritual needs are as pressing as physical ones, yet emphasizes that the same "living Savior" worshipped in Michigan is at work in Angola. The Illusion of Advantage: The Harvard Happiness Study The sermon introduces the "Harvard Happiness Study," a longitudinal project spanning nearly 90 years that tracked 268 undergraduates to determine what makes humans flourish. Surprisingly, the study revealed that even highly advantaged individuals—Harvard graduates—frequently struggled with depression, addiction, and mental illness, with one-third of the cohort facing mental health issues by age 50. This data serves as a backdrop to the biblical reality that life is a "tightrope walk with a strong crosswind," where worldly success and "righteousness Olympics" fail to provide true stability. The Fortress of Prayer and Transcendent Peace Focusing on Philippians 4, the sermon redefines prayer not as a tool to change circumstances, but as a means to enter a "safe room" of peace. Paul’s promise is not necessarily the removal of obstacles, but that the "peace of God" will guard the heart like a soldier protecting a fortress. This internal sanctuary allows believers to remain steady even when "storms" of disease, loss, or worry rage outside the perimeter. The sermon notes that while prayer may not solve every problem, it connects the believer to a peace that "transcends all understanding." Joy as a Rooted Reality The final movement of the service distinguishes between "happiness" and "joy." While happiness is an "above-ground phenomenon" dependent on favorable weather and circumstances, joy is rooted in the unconditional love of God. Using the illustration of a grandchild’s unconditional embrace of a grandparent, the sermon explains that joy does not depend on skill or status; it is a "wild, wonderful overflow" of grace. Believers are encouraged to live under this "waterfall" of love, which holds them steady on the tightrope of life. The service concludes with a reminder that while the "tightrope" of life is difficult for everyone—regardless of their advantages—believers are not left to walk it alone. By inhabiting the "safe room" of prayer and rooting themselves in the unconditional joy of Christ, they can find a peace that remains unshaken by the world's crosswinds.