Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Yesterday’s gospel lesson reminded us of the extravagant and sometimes “offensive graciousness” of God. He gives forgiveness and grace to all who believe, whether that is life-long Christians or those who have recently accepted His gift of mercy. May His seemingly “unfair grace” be humbly received in our hearts…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Jesus continues to teach His followers to have the mind of God, not on themselves. This past Sunday Jesus “reorientated” the disciples thinking about forgiveness. What an amazing and gracious God we have! We have accumulated an insurmountable debt of sin, yet He graciously forgives us and urges the…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, As Jesus tells His disciples He’s going to suffer, die, and rise again (for the second time), He also redefines “GREATNESS.”  Greatness is not what the world defines but greatness in God’s kingdom means having the faith of a child. A child trusts and depends on their parents and…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Matthew’s recording of Jesus ministry makes a special note as Jesus begins to prepare for the time when He will not physically be on earth. Jesus tells His disciples that He is going to go to Jerusalem where He will suffer, die, and rise three days later. Peter and…

Dear Sisters & Brothers in Christ, Jesus asks His disciples two questions; “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And more importantly, “Who do YOU  say that I am?” Being a follower of Jesus involves listening to Him and following Him, but it also involves listening to what the world says about Him.…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Other non-Jews received healings, and these miracle-events illustratively preached the Gospel each time. Certainly, Jesus will jump on this opportunity to heal a Canaanite woman’s daughter, right? Wrong…at least for the moment.  Jesus will use this occasion to enlighten and correct His disciples of their wrongful Kingdom perspectives to…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Our gospel lesson focused on the miracle of Jesus walking on the water… this event comes right after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. Both miracles reveal Jesus’ true identity as the Son of God. Jesus come alongside the boat and the disciples are startled to see…

Dear Sisters and Brothers In Christ, In our First Lesson, Isaiah 55:1-5, the prophet reaffirms God’s compassion and provision for His chosen people. In Psalm 136 we hear a song of thanksgiving and praise to God for His acts of creation and redemption, both in history and in the lives of His people… “His steadfast…

Dear Sisters and Brothers In Christ, Our sermon text this week (Romans 8:28-39) poses some life-changing questions for us to consider; rather than ask “Why me Lord?” Paul urges us to walk by faith and see how God works through all things for good. Each event in our life is like one ingredient in a…

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Many people say they do not believe in God because of all the evil in the world.   Their perplexity is echoed by the workers in the parable who ask the owner where the weeds came from and whether they should pull them out.   Jesus is more concerned about preserving…