Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Last week we heard Jesus pronounce blessing upon his disciples—upon us!—in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). Whether we feel it or not, we are blessed because Jesus calls us blessed. His Word creates the reality it speaks into being. Today […]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Today’s Gospel reading is the first in a series of four Sundays on which we listen to Jesus’ familiar words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Today Jesus speaks blessings upon his disciples in the passage […]
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:3, ESV).[1] Amen. In last week’s sermon, I preached about the importance of giving thanks for the people in our lives, even the ones who are difficult to love and get along with. In that same message, we surveyed […]
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:3, ESV).[1] Amen. Some people are never happy. They nitpick at everyone and can always find something to complain about. They never show appreciation or say, “Thank you.” If you ask them how they’re feeling, you always get a […]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. According to one preacher, “The Christian church has never been comfortable with the baptism of Jesus.”[1] After all, John the Baptist preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4, ESV).[2] Jesus was the […]