Go into the places God has given you. Go to the people He places in front of you. Listen deeply. Pay attention. Look for the points of contact. And when the moment comes, speak. Speak of Jesus. Speak of the One in whom we live and move and have our being. Speak of the resurrection. Because Christ is risen, we engage the world differently.
As you go into another week filled with noise, with responsibilities, with distractions, with voices competing for your attention, remember this: You are not left to figure life out on your own. You have a Shepherd. He knows your name. He speaks to you. And His voice is the one that brings your life back into tune.
When life begins to sound out of tune again… and it will… you return to the note that God has already sounded over you. When guilt weighs on your conscience, you return to Christ. Come here again to hear that your sins are forgiven! When fear and uncertainty fill your mind, you return to Christ and hear His promise that He is with you always. When life becomes busy and faith drifts into the background, you return again to the place where the note of the resurrection is sounded clearly: in God’s Word, among His people, around His table.
The same Lord who fed His people day by day is feeding you. The same Lord who did not abandon them will not abandon you. The same Lord who led them forward is leading you still.
And the journey is going somewhere.
Here is the question Jesus asks you today, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26). Not just when things are going well, but when he feels late, not just when prayers are answered, but when they are not, not just in life, but in death.
Your Baptism is your exodus. Not a symbol, not a memory, but a present reality. You are free. Yes, the journey continues. Israel still had wilderness ahead of them, and you will still face struggles, temptations, and fears. But the outcome is no longer in doubt. Because the God who makes a way where there is no way has already acted for you in Christ.
When the world disappoints us, when people fail us, when life feels confusing and painful, Jesus comes to us. He comes through His Word, through His promises, through His body and blood. Again and again He opens our eyes to see the truth: that we are forgiven, that we belong to Him, and that even in the darkness the Light of the world is still shining.
Think about your own life. The people around you already know you are not perfect. They know your past. They have seen your flaws. What if you said to them: “I have a God who knows all of that… and still He died for me anyway. Come and see.” That is living water overflowing.
Your fasting will be imperfect. You will quit early, forget, snack, and fail; and none of that removes you from Christ. Your righteousness is not measured by what you give up, but by what He gave; His body and His blood for you to forgive your sin. (PAUSE) When you live like heaven is already yours it changes something as simple as how you view food. HEAVEN IS ALREADY YOURS!
Ordination is not about the greatness of a man, but about the faithfulness of Christ. This faithfulness to present a pastor for ordination, to graciously give a congregation an pastor, and to preserve His one Church.
Look again at the 63,000 connections in Scripture. This is no ordinary book. This is no ordinary story. All of this points to the story of God’s faithfulness. It is the story of God’s victory. It is the story of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen for you. So today, let us proclaim the truth with joy: Alleluia! Christ is risen!
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul reminds us that love is like the unseen thread in the quilt of our lives. We might have impressive talents, big accomplishments, or flashy gifts, but without love, it all falls apart. Love is what holds it all together.
In the church, we are like the pieces of a quilt—different people, different backgrounds, different gifts. What binds us together isn’t how good we look or how much we know. It’s the love that God gives us through Jesus. That love is patient and kind, it doesn’t give up, and it holds fast even when things are hard.
(During the sermon at minute 17:17 the power went out at church and the sound system popped very loudly, that is the reason for the odd reactions.)
The reason communion is offered in a corporate setting is because God’s great desire for you is that you have a reunion with him, but that you’d have this reunion with Him in community.
“In him (all y’all) also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:22. Come, enjoy, and revel in the most beautiful reunion… us with Him and us with one another.
In the inevitable, uncontrollable storms of life, Jesus speaks and gibe you sudden peace. Peace be to you in Jesus’ name.
Today is Trinity Sunday, but note that this is first Sunday after Pentecost! We just celebrated the sending of the church to fulfill the mission of God and so this fits well. That the last things we engage in at the end of worship is a mini-Pentecost sending! To take the mission of the Church, because it doesn’t depend on your abilities either! This is your call story.
See how God has worked in your life and answer the question that God asks of you. “Whom shall I send on this mighty merciful mission, and who will go for us?” And we say, “thanks be to God for all of this… send me.”
St. Ignatius said, “pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on you.” This is what the disciples have done. They have done their work to the best of their ability and now they are trusting God to do the rest.
Life can be challenging. Relationship can hurt.
Read the scriptures,
Trust in God‘s ways,
Confess your sinful human will,
Turn to the Lord who is still risen and ruling.
Coming together in worship, God makes us a big-hearted church that extends His hand of love to everyone. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly.
God wants us to say with the most famous of all doubters made into believers "Come and see for yourself, God loves you."
One day, if we persevere in this “catholic faith” – the veil of our sin will be completely removed from our eyes and we too will “see Him as He is” – no longer incomprehensible – every Creed made obsolete – we will know God fully even as He fully knows us.
The really amazing thing about Pentecost was not the show. It was the gift of the Holy Spirit: the Comforter in each of us that believes. He was given then, and remains with us right up to the present moment, that God's people may be filled to overflow with faith and hope and love.
