Jesus, thirsty and weary, asks for a drink. But he has water that quenches thirst forever!
The biblical teaching that we are made right with God by faith in the work of Jesus in our place is absolutely essential. But how do we actually exercise ourselves in that powerful spiritual gift of the Holy Spirit? Confessing our sins! Both daily, as in the Lord's Prayer, and to one another, often to a pastor, in order to receive the absolution.
Psalm 32 says "Happy is the man whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered." We would think that the truly "happy" person was the person who didn't need to be forgiven because he has it all together. We would be wrong. Confessing our sins to God is truly blessed and liberating, without which we will waste away.
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent: a season that prepares Christians to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Today we receive ashes upon our head, with words that are deep and heavy: You are dust, and to dust you shall return.
What happens to Jesus on the mountain, what does it mean, and why it means that most Protestants are wrong about the Lord's Supper.
Next in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares that His rag-tag band of followers are the world's salt and light! This would seem ridiculous to us if we didn't know that this powerless bunch of nobodies changed the world!
We begin our series on the Sermon on the Mount with Jesus' magnificent prelude: the Beatitudes. These are not "attitudes to be" in order to be blessed. Jesus gives pure grace, blessing those most unblessed in the world; tearing a hole in the fabric of reality in order to bring the Kingdom of heaven to those who hear.
Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany (January 26) on Jesus' proclamation and His call of the Apostles to discipleship.
John the Baptist not only preaches the perfect sermon about Jesus, but he shows his disciples where to find Him. That's what the Christian Church is to do: speak the deep truth of Christ, but also show the world precisely where to find Him.
The Day is the Feast of Jesus' Baptism. This story literally has all the story of God rolled tightly into a few words. It is absolutely astonishing what it shows us about God, and about us.
Now the new year, and the Christmas season is over, the question remains: who really is this child we sung about in the manger? Epiphany leads us with the Magi to begin to discover anew who this Christ really is.
Psalm 24 tells of the story about how the Ark of the Covenant entered Jerusalem for the first time. But why do we hear it on the 4th week of Advent right before Christmas? You'll be surprised to find out why.
There's really not much "Christmasy" about Advent, really. Well, there is the story of a tree getting cut down from Isaiah 11, but all we're given is the stump. Today we dive into an astonishing poem from the prophet Isaiah that, once unpacked, is really wonderful news.
Sermon for the first Sunday in Advent. We've heard the phrase "keep Christ in Christmas" often, but not many understand exactly how to do this in practice. This is why we have Advent. Those who give themselves to the rituals, habits, and practices of Advent, find that they are prepared to see Christ amidst all the holiday noise.
When the LORD spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, He revealed His true self to us all and set the stage for the great rescue of the world from the power of death and evil.
"By works of the Law no human being will be justified, since through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." -Romans 3:20
In Genesis 32, Jacob prays desperately for God's help. So, naturally, God takes on the form of a man and attacks Jacob?! If that weren't strange enough, God actually loses the fight. What is going on here?
1 Timothy 1:1-14, St. Paul writes about Timothy's faith, and all true Christian faith, as beginning before time in God's gracious plan and going down to us through preachers, grandmas and parents. You have a role for others, too!