St. Peter Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois

God says, “I will cut with them a covenant of peace.” (Ezekiel 34:25) What does that mean? A covenant in the OT was not an impersonal contract, informal agreement, or word-of-mouth handshake; rather, covenants were cut and binded two sides via animal blood. With His persistently rebellious people, God promises a covenant of peace (shalom). Peace is not simply an absence of conflict; peace means wh...

After the fall of Jerusalem, God chastises the unfaithful religious leaders (i.e., shepherds) of His sheep. At the hands of their gross, spiritual negligence, His people have become prey, malnourished, scattered, lost, and injured. Therefore, God promises that He Himself will be their Shepherd. He will search for His sheep and rescue them. He will gather and feed them. He will bind up and strength...

God’s power works best in our weakness, but no one relishes feeling weak or powerless! By learning to rely entirely on God’s grace, however, we discover that He has been at work in us, even when we thought we were in charge of our lives.

The picture of eternity encompasses an uncountable throng from every nation, tribe, peoples, and tongues uniformly praising God and the Lamb for His wondrous salvation! Jesus foretells this very picture to a Roman centurion when He says, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Hear and celebrate what God is doing...

This section of Hebrews 11 continues the long list of OT believers who accomplished great feats through their faith in the LORD & His coming Messiah. The author draws our attention to the stories of “Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fir...

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Saul of Tarsus was one of the most widely known names around Palestine; however, on the way to Damascus to round up and persecute more Christian men and women, Jesus broke into Saul’s life with the purpose of carrying His name to the Gentiles (Acts 9). Two other times in Acts (22 & 26), Paul shares his Damascus Road story as a testimony to the true go...

Near the end of Jesus’ dialogue with a Samaritan woman at a well in midday, she leaves her water jar (perhaps because at this point she’s more concerned with living water than natural water), returns to her town, and invites people come see a prophet who is perhaps the Christ (v29). Many townsfolk believe in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony (v39), and they ask Jesus to lodge in their village...

As Jesus continues His ministry of teaching and healing, He travels way north to Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis. A man is brought to Him who is deaf and mute; they beg Jesus to lay His hand on him. Jesus takes the man aside privately, opens his ears, and releases his tongue. Although Jesus charges them to be silent, the healed man and witnesses go forth and continue to proclaim what Jesus had done...

On the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, a man with a legion of demons (a Roman legion had 6,000 soldiers) confronts Jesus. Jesus casts the demons into a herd of nearby pigs who then rush down the bank and drown. Understandably, the freed man longs to be with Jesus as a disciple, but Jesus commissions him to return home and declare how much God has done for him. The man does just that; he goes a...

Envious rulers under King Darius of Persia frame blameless Daniel for breaking a king’s decree which could not be revoked. In accordance with the decree, Darius reluctantly has Daniel cast and sealed in the den of lions, hoping that Daniel’s God would deliver him. Darius returns first thing in the morning and calls to Daniel if the living God has been able to deliver him. Daniel affirms that his G...

Psalm 66 is a thanksgiving song for God’s many works on behalf of His people as a whole, as well as an invitation from one individual within the faith community to come and hear what God has done for him personally! The unknown author cried out to God in prayer from an undisclosed distress, and God gave full attention to his prayer. As a result, this worshiper wants to give witness to God’s contin...