The bigger picture
As we continue in this season of Easter, we celebrate the victory that Christ has won for us over death and reflect on what that means for how we live our lives here on earth. The apostle Peter delivers a sermon which describes how the people denied Jesus and had him killed, yet somehow it was all according to God’s plan to bring life to the world.
The Gospel
Today is the day we set aside to celebrate the fullness of the Gospel—that Christ died, was buried, and was raised for the sins of the world. Today, we remember that we have received the Gospel, we stand in the Gospel, and we are being saved by the Gospel.
Stations of the Cross
We anticipate what is to come on Sunday, but we wait until then to celebrate with the church around the world. Until then, we sit in awe and thankfulness for what Christ was willing to endure for us and for all people.
Deliver us from evil
Throughout Lent, we have been reflecting on the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. We conclude those reflections tonight with the seventh and final petition, “Deliver us from evil.” What is evil, and how does God deliver us from it?
Faith in song
On Palm Sunday, it wasn’t the people’s genius to use the psalms that made their praise meaningful. It is the Holy Spirit that causes the word of Christ to dwell in each of us and inspires us to make melody to him.
From death to life
Jesus describes his coming suffering and death to his disciples in a very honest way and even admits that it scares him. Yet, his determination to bring glory to God’s name is far greater than his fear of what’s to come.
Why do you believe in Jesus?
Belief in Jesus is no longer a given. Why do we believe in Jesus? This is a foundational question that each of us should be able to answer. Our gospel reading provides some direction as we consider this simple, yet challenging question.
The Cross, the Crux, and the Call
As we continue on our Lenten journey of repentance, we are faced with quite a challenging word. As Jesus explains the path of suffering ahead for him and asks the disciples to follow him straight into the furnace, Peter’s response of confusion reveals something about the human heart.
Baptism, Wilderness, and Repentance
During these forty days of Lent, may you hear Jesus’ call to repent not as a threat, but with the promise of forgiveness that he will make possible for us on the cross.
Don’t worry
We give thanks to God for the food, goods, and material possessions he has blessed us with. As we acknowledge the gifts we have received, Jesus warns us about what happens when the gifts become more important to us than the giver.
Food, Faith & Freedom
Paul encourages the Corinthian Christians to use their knowledge of God and the Christian faith for the benefit of others and to build one another up in love. The specific example he speaks about is whether Christians should eat the food offered to idols, but the core issue underneath it all is how we are to live out the freedom we have in Christ.
Jonah and the Big Ask
God gave Jonah the impossible task of bringing an entire city to repentance. That was the outcome, but not because of Jonah’s great faith or convincing preaching. As we all share in the task of making disciples, we trust in God’s Word to do the work.
Simeon’s Song
As we dream up our New Year’s resolutions, Simeon’s words of praise and expressions of hope remind us of the eternal perspective that the Holy Spirit gives us, and what kind of difference that makes to our short time on earth.
A Christmas kind of grace
It’s easy for Christmas to become a little stale for us Christians. We know the story and we can sometimes struggle to engage with it spiritually through all the noise. However, Christmas offers us a special perspective on the grace of God that is worth being reminded of every year.
A moment in time
As we prepare for Christmas through this Advent season, we are being reminded that our true preparation is for Jesus’ second coming. In our New Testament reading, Peter has some things to say about time—how much we depend on it and how little God does.
Stay awake
Advent is the season of preparation—preparing to remember Christ’s first coming at Christmas. As we begin this season, though, we are reminded that our true preparation is for his second coming which we continue to wait for. Today, though, the focus is less on what we are waiting for, but how we should wait.