Psalm 15 asks “who can dwell with God?”, that is, “who will be saved and be in God’s presence forever?”. The Psalm then lists various attributes about the righteous ones who will be saved. As Christians, we look to Jesus as the one who perfectly lived according to this. He in turn shares his righteousness … Read more
Second Sunday in Lent – B 2021 Mark 8: 27-38 Jesus is not the Christ that we sinners wanted, but he is the Christ we sinners needed. Here in the middle of Mark’s Gospel, we heard Jesus ask his disciples who everyone thought that he was. Some people thought he was Elijah, the prophet … Read more
The Confirmation students talked about corroborating evidence for Jesus and the Bible. This is evidence that helps confirm what the Bible says. One example, is the word, “politarchs” (city officials in some translations). Luke uses this word but it wasn’t found in any official Roman documents. Eventually, there was a first-century arch that was found … Read more
I read Power of the Praying Wife and Power of the Praying Husband by Stormie Omartian about five years ago. I remembered them being nice but not much else. I did appreciate there were 31 days of prayers in the books so when I found Power of the Praying Parent I decided to give it … Read more
It can be hard to see God’s grace in the Genesis 3. Sin and death are now at work in the world. God has given out punishments to Adam, Eve, and the Devil. In Genesis 3:15 we see the first mention of God’s plan of redemption. However, we later see a great act of mercy.Adam … Read more
Ash Wednesday starts our Lenten journey. Many churches offer the imposition of ashes this day. We are reminded that we are from dust and to dust we will return. This is a beautiful outward symbol of our repentance and ultimately our mortality.Yet, God does not desire only outward changes in our lives. God desires sincerity … Read more
This video has samples of the music from Evening Prayer, the worship order we’ll be following for our Lenten Midweek services.
Water, Wilderness, Kingdom Mark 1: 9-15 In Lent, we tend to focus on Jesus’ work and suffering during Holy Week. But our lessons this morning remind us to consider more broadly what it meant for Jesus to enter human flesh and walk through this world of ours. Jesus would walk a familiar path through the … Read more
Consider how God has blessed you, not just for your own sake, but for how he may bless others through your service. This is a part of fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things.
Perhaps the most unique and useful lesson the Psalms teach us is how to lament. Life does not always go well for us. Often it is quite the opposite. Jesus did not promise us great earthly blessings and treasures. Rather, he taught us that to follow him is to take up our own cross and … Read more