Month: May 2022

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews 12:12-15.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Paul tells us that God wants us back in fellowship with Him and each other. We must make the effort ourselves, accepting the forgiveness God has for us, and working together to strengthen our faith. God will work with us, giving us the Holy Spirit as our guide.

There are two warnings for us here as well in verse 15: “Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” This teaching should resonate with us today, in how we think and speak to each other and about one another. God wants His love to live in us and be shared with all people.

We are called to care about all of God’s children, even when we disagree. He wants us to find ways to live in peace with each other and help everyone see His truth. It may not be easy, but that is not what Jesus promised us. He told us that “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23) and that is our holy calling.

Gracious God, help us to turn from the strife we inflict on each other and live in Your love with all Your children. Make us strong in faith that we may carry the Gospel everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is ‭‭John‬ ‭15:9-17‬.

I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.

More than anything, Jesus wanted us to love God and each other. In this passage He gives His disciples a final lesson on this, saying “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (v. 13). He was about to do this for all of God’s children.

Today as we remember those who gave their lives in defense of their friends and even people they didn’t know, we see Christ’s love at work. They knew the danger but were willing to say “Here I am Lord, send me”. Good people over the centuries have stood with faith and courage to protect others.

Jesus doesn’t condone violence as a way to achieve selfish goals but defending those who are oppressed is part of His love. His sacrifice for us was the ultimate gift, going to the cross in order to save us from sin and death. We are called to go in His name to stand against evil and bring others back to a full relationship with God.

We may not face earthly combat, but we are in the battle against Satan every day. Paul calls us to “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-11). Through His strength and love we can be part of the Lord’s army of the faithful, ready to serve Him always.

Gracious God, we are saddened by the violence that plagues our world. Help us to be peacemakers when we can, but to stand strong against the forces of evil we encounter, that all may be saved by Christ’s sacrifice for us. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews‬ ‭12:1-11‬.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Do you remember being disciplined as a child? I certainly do. While the memory of the event is still not happy, as an adult and a parent who has been on the other side, I have a different opinion of discipline now. As many of you probably know, giving discipline is no more pleasant than receiving it.

I don’t ever remember being disciplined unfairly. Oh, I sure thought so at the time, but if I’m honest with myself, I can see that every discipline I received was reasonably deserved. My responses usually went from “I didn’t do it!” to “I did it but there was a reason” to “Yeah, that was wrong”. I believe our response to sin and God’s loving discipline is much the same.

I’m sure that God takes no joy from the act of disciplining His wayward children, but it is necessary in order to point us away from sin and back onto the path He intends for us. God looks past our sin and the act of discipline to forgiving us and the reconnection with Him we experience afterwards.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times You must discipline us in order to save us from sin. Thank You for Your forgiveness and everlasting love, wanting us to be part of Your family and Your plan for all Your children. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews‬ ‭10:19-25.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Paul writes about the assurance of our salvation, reminding us that we have been washed clean by Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus knew exactly what His mission was when He came to be one of us. He also knew that part of God’s plan was that we were to be His representatives after He returned to heaven, continuing to share God’s love.

Now it is up to us. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we go into the world to tell the story of Jesus, to help others find their way to an eternal connection to God. We don’t need to worry about our qualifications or how well we communicate, the important part is that we honestly share our faith with everyone.

This means we are called to go “out there” – a scary place sometimes, but it is where we live now. God wants all His children to be in relationship with Him, and He has chosen us to bring the message. Let His strength make you strong and His love give you compassion for the work we must all accomplish.

Loving Lord, we are amazed that You forgive our sins and send us to carry the Good News to our brothers and sisters. May we be faithful workers for Your kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is John 17:9-20.

My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.

While nearly all of us know The Lord’s Prayer, this passage is titled The Prayer of Jesus in many translations. Here Jesus prays for all of His followers, that God would protect them as they go to share the Good News without His being physically present with them. This is the beginning of the Great Commission, in which we are called to go in His name and make disciples of all the world.

Read carefully the important last verse of this scripture: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message” (v. 20). “All who will ever believe” means everyone over the centuries who has heard the Gospel and all those yet to come until Christ returns for us. Jesus is praying for each one of us individually!

God has called us by name, Jesus came to save us and prays for us all. Now it is up to us to continue the ministry He left to us. We must be one in Him and go to share the love of God He has shown. May we take our mission seriously and show the world we are the body of Christ.

Heavenly Father, bless us to be the people You created us to be. Strengthen us in faith and let Your holy spirit guide us as we go to the world in love. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews 8:6-10.

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

God has reached out to us in many ways since the Creation. In Jesus we have received God’s greatest gift, the presence of His only son to better show us His love. Now, we are entrusted with His ministry, called to share the love of God with all His children.

From the beginning, God has intended us to be in close relationship with Him. Sadly, we broke off that connection when we fell into sin. When we choose our own ways over the love of God, it pushes us further away from Him.

However, God loved us so much He was not willing to leave us in our fallen state. Jesus came to show us that we were not forsaken and that our relationship with God and each other could be restored by our confession and repentance. Living into the New Covenant of Christ makes us right with God again and empowers us to be His messengers to everyone.

Gracious God, we are sorry for the times we have failed. Grant us Your forgiveness and by Your spirit we will carry the Good News to the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is ‭‭John‬ ‭15:18-22‬.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.”

Jesus speaks to us with a warning about the ways of the world. Paul tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). John writes “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). All of these statements are to make us see that once we give our lives to Jesus, the world will stand against us.

Doing what is right is not always easy. We have been called to serve our savior in a world that often resists saving and pushes back against God’s love. Jesus says “love them anyway”.

When the things of this world seem to be too much to deal with, we need to reach out to our Father in Heaven in prayer and our brothers and sisters in Christ in fellowship. Jesus taught us to work together, using the gifts God has given to work in the world. The fact that it will be hard doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility.

Gracious God, the presence of sin in the world saddens us and makes it difficult to share Your love. Strengthen us in faith that we may bring the Gospel to all. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews 3:1-6.

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house. But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

This passage calls us to “think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest”. It speaks of those who were faithful servants in God’s house, but reminds us that none compare to Jesus, who was part of creating all that is. We need to be aware of our responsibility, but also our debt to Christ for coming to save us.

We have been blessed to be God’s messengers as Jesus was, carrying on His ministry and sharing His love everywhere. Our work in the world can make a difference in the lives of others, bringing them to Him that all may be saved. It is a commitment we each must make for ourselves but we don’t undertake the work alone.

God calls us all as part of His plan but it is an individual choice. He wants us to return to Him in faith and love because we want to, not under threat. Look to Him today and choose to be a messenger of the Gospel.

Loving Lord, we know You love us and want us as part of all You are doing. Help us to be strong in our faith and go to make disciples everywhere. Amen. 

Our scripture this morning is Hebrews‬ ‭1:1-4‬.

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.”
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The opening of the Letter to the Hebrews teaches that Jesus came as the greatest prophet, not merely telling us what God says, but showing us. Jesus had been with God and part of God since the very beginning. His love and witness to us was part of God’s plan for our salvation.

Before He returned to be with God, Jesus called His followers to continue His ministry on earth, sharing God’s love with everyone. They didn’t have fast transportation or easy communication, but they were eager to spread God’s message and willing to face hardship and even death. The Word went out because those early evangelists were steadfast in their faith and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.

We have the same call and the same Holy Spirit present with us. God has blessed us to develop ways to travel and communicate worldwide in order to spread His Word in our world. May we be the disciples of today, ready to go where we are needed to share God’s love with everyone.

Gracious God, we are thankful to be asked to share our faith with others. Bless us to be a blessing to all the world. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Titus 3:3-8.

“Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But— When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.”

Paul writes to his friend Titus with a summary of salvation. He tells him God “saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit” (v.5). We must remember this in our own lives and repeat it when we share the Good News.

God offers His mercy to everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done. All who call on the name of the Lord can be saved. Psalm 136 opens with “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His mercy endures forever” and this song of praise should be on our lips always.

Paul reminds us that we were once sinners too, but Jesus has shown us the way to reconnect with God. Through Christ’s sacrifice for us we have been made right with God and called to be part of His redemptive plan. Let us go in faith to share this awesome gift.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we forget Your love for us and fail to love each other as You intend. Forgive us and send us to share the blessing of the Gospel with everyone. Amen.