Changed By God To Make A Difference For God

On Sunday, our Lord rides into Jerusalem with the people proclaiming him to be God's Man. On the following Friday, the crowds are howling for his execution. What's going on here? This is the challenge of Palm Sunday and Holy Week for us as well. Can we worship and follow a God and his Christ who constantly violate our expectations in how they should act to rescue us from the chaos and evil in God’s world, our lives, and ourselves? Will we let God’s word to us, spoken through an unfolding story, a story that reached its climax with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the subsequent events of Holy Week, be sufficient to relieve and sustain us in our weariness? Check out how Fr. Maney develops this and resolve to proclaim Jesus to be your Messiah and King. Lectionary texts for today are Isaiah 50.4-9a; Psalm 31.9-16; Philippians 2.5-11; Matthew 21.1-11. The passion narrative is Matthew 26.14-27.66.

Can these bones yet live? This is the question posed by God to the prophet Ezekiel in today's Old Testament reading. This question is explored in this sermon. Only through the resurrection of Jesus Christ will they live. Lectionary texts for today are Ezekiel 37.1-14; Psalm 130.1-7; Romans 8. 6-11; John 11.1-45.

Today is Laetare Sunday, meaning we are to rejoice. But rejoice in what? We look around and see that there is something fundamentally wrong with this world and our lives. We wonder where God is in it all and if God is ever going to do anything to right all the wrongs that we know to exist. So again, what is there about which to rejoice? The NT is quite clear in its answer. We are to rejoice in the power of God demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus to break the power of sin, evil, and death in our world and lives. Check out how Fr. Maney develops this idea and rejoice in the Good News of Jesus Christ that follows. Lectionary texts for today are 1 Samuel 16.1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5.8-14; John 9.1-41.

All of us hunger and thirst for that which truly satisfies. But all too often we seek to slake our thirst on things that never can satisfy our true needs. Whether it's gender identity, political identity, sports team identity, or something else, nothing in this world will ultimately satisfy us. We will always hunger and thirst for something more, something greater. If you are one of those folks who are thirsting for more, Fr. Sang invites you to meet Jesus, the only true thirst quencher. Lectionary texts for today are Exodus 17.1-7; Psalm 95.1-11; Romans 5.1-11; John 4.5-42.

Do you want to be a member of God's family first formed when God called Abraham and later expanded in and through Jesus to include the whole world? Membership into God's life-giving family is not automatic, even if it is open to the entire human race. It requires a response on our part, a response of trust. But what does that look like and why does God's reconstituted family in Jesus look and act so messy more often than not? Paul's answer, not to mention Jesus's, is the same. Despite the ambiguity and difficulty of living a faithful life to God, God's promise to bless and heal the world and his people will not fail. Check out what Fr. Maney has to say about it all and ask God for the grace to show you his love for you so that you too may claim your place in God's family if you haven't already. Lectionary texts for today are Genesis 12.1-4a; Psalm 121; Romans 4.1-5, 13-17; John 3.1-17.

What happened to the human race when we got kicked out of paradise? Did God kick us out to punish us or to set in motion the conditions needed to heal us? How you answer these questions are likely a product of our Fall. The Good News is that God loves us too much to leave us where we are. God wants us back in paradise! Check out what Fr. Bowser has to say about it all and be encouraged in your relationship with God. Lectionary texts for today are Genesis 2.15-17, 3.1-7; Psalm 32; Romans 5.12-19; Matthew 4.1-11.

So why all the fuss about sin on this Ash Wednesday and throughout the 40 days of Lent? Don't our sins amount to little more than us breaking the rules on occasion? What's the problem? Can't God wave his hand and forgive us our sins? Why this talk about the cross? Would that Sin be that simple! Alas it's not. Sin (not our individual sins, but the power of Sin) uses its power to enslave us and dehumanize us. It prevents us from fixing the problem even as it prevents us from living justly as God wants us to live. We are in need of a radical solution, of outside help! Hear what Fr. Maney has to say about it all and then resolve to consider the deadly seriousness of Sin. Lectionary texts for tonight are Joel 2.1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51.1-17; 2 Corinthians 5.20b-6.10; Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21.

Standing on the mountain with Jesus are Peter, James, and John. These three disciples didn't know the amazing thing they were about to witness. With Jesus, shining as bright as the sun as he is transfigured, appeared Moses and Elijah. A bright cloud appears and overshadows them, with a voice coming from it: "This is my son...listen to him." Terrified, the three disciples fall on their faces. But Jesus touches them, and tells them to rise, and do not fear. The glory of the Lord has appeared, and lives are changed forever. Lectionary texts for today are Exodus 24.12-18; Psalm 2; 2 Peter 1.16-21; Matthew 17.1-9.

It is easy to look at the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5 and think to ourselves in a panic, "oh, boy. I don't square up to this." But Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, is not giving to his people a burden to carry around like a heavy stone between the shoulders, but a gracious promise of an ultimate reality only possible through him. These things shall be for those who know Christ and his saving grace.

In the beginning, God… Let us be clear on that. In the beginning, God. God created the heavens and the earth. OK. So what? Why should we care about the creation narratives contained in Genesis 1-2? Why should we read them for all they're worth (and they are worth quite a lot!)? The short answer is that God created this world and all that exists because God loves creation, especially us, his image-bearing creatures. Creation matters to God. Humans matter to God. And God intends to restore his good creation gone bad, corrupted by human sin and the evil it unleashed. Check out how Fr. Maney develops this truth because it has massive and comprehensive implications for how we live our lives. And then resolve to embrace the entire biblical story of creation, fall, and redemption. Lectionary texts for today are Genesis 1.1-2.3; Psalm 136; Romans 8.18-25; Matthew 6.25-34.