Divine Savior Church-Santa Rita Ranch Sermons

Ever been so scared your face went pale? Daniel was. But, God showed His dominion will never end. He has won the victory over the enemy. We experience that in part now. But God promises we will experience it fully one day. No matter how out of control life seems, God is in control! He can even control the very things that rise in opposition to Him. Christians can rest assured, that while nations r...

There are certain situations only God can get us out of. Like being rescued from a den of hungry lions. Daniel served his king, but would not worship Him. That got him in trouble. He faced certain death because of it. While we might not face death, we do have professional, relational, cultural, and political issues that challenge our faith. How do we deal with them? We trust our God who delivers f...

The king in our lesson today thought he had it made. He thought he could hold God in his hand, belittle God, and determine what God would do. But the writing on the wall said otherwise. The lesson we learn is: if we think we can hold God in our little hands, we venture into territory we don’t belong. We will be weighed and found wanting before God. Like the king, we don’t always heed this warning....

God wants all people to be saved. Which means He is going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. Sometimes that’s very easy. But sometimes that happens through a personal crisis. When we are robbed of comfort, health, wealth, and pride, God and His plans for us often seem a lot clearer. Because of this, we can be thankful for the challenges, difficulties, and hardships that come our way! The...

The world is filled with things that scream: Put me ahead of your God. But NOTHING can take the place of our God! So, that other thing will have to go. Daniel had to make that choice. So will we. What are we willing to sacrifice to serve Him above all? It might be a pretty difficult choice. But remember, the God we serve is able to help us in every situation. And he doesn’t ask us to make those ch...

Wisdom doesn’t mean we have all the answers. Having wisdom means we know where to go to find the answers. This section of Daniel proves that. If we rely on ourselves for wisdom, we are going to see how ignorant we are. Because true wisdom comes from God. What Jesus does for us is draw us away from trusting in ourselves to trusting in Him. His Word always offers us the wisdom we truly need rather t...

Have you ever wondered why you are where you are? And wherever THAT is, does it sometimes seem that God is far away? Daniel and his friends could have felt like that. They were far away from their home. Exiles in a foreign country. But God always puts His people where He wants them. He is accomplishing His purpose through us. Daniel knew that. He had the courage and the joy to be who God wanted Hi...

Life throws so much at us that it is easy to feel defeated and without hope. That's how some women were feeling on Easter morning as they made their way to the tomb. Everything changed, though, when they arrived at the tomb and it was empty. No longer are we defeated, but victorious!  Support the show

The power of the devil's lures is so great. Left to ourselves, the devil would hook every one of us and drag us into hell. Thankfully, Jesus to unhook us from the lures of Satan. But he doesn't just unhook us. He completely destoys the work of the devil. Though the devil still tries to lure us in, we have the power to resist. But this power doesn't reside in us. Rather it comes from...

What would YOU do to tempt you? What is so fascinating you would turn your back on everything you know to be right and swim towards it? Sadly, the devil knows that answer even better than you do. He sees your blind spots and has thousands of years of tempting people just like you. Learn lessons from God's people in the past to see the lures the devil uses and how to look to Jesus for the way...

One of Satan's most loved lure is the lure of fear. He loves to cause chaos and make us fear for our life. The reality, though, is that we have a mighty fortress that surrounds us and protects us. We have a refuge that keeps us safe and secure no matter what is going on.  Support the show

One of the biggest reasons we get hooked by Satan's lures is because we underestimate the power of sin. Instead of moving as far away as we can, we think we can "handle it". We hang dangerously close to the lure. Only when the hook digs in do we find out the temptation is more deadly than we could ever imagine. Learn how dangerous self-reliance is and who we can lean on instead of o...

One of the biggest reasons we get hooked by Satan's lures is because we undestimate the power of sin. Instead of swimming away, we let the lure hang around us. But Satan's lures are powerful and once he hooks us, it is more deadly than we could ever imagine. Genesis 4:1-12 Support the show

The devil is pure evil. He hates you. When he offers "more" he only does so to rob you of joy, strip your blessings, and destroy your soul. Like the first temptation, every temptation is a deception that looks good and promises us "more". Unfortunately, they are all lies. Learn how the deception of getting "more" only leads to hurt, guilt, and death.- Genesis 3:1-24 S...

The amount of her offering was tiny, but her self-sacrifice was total. She gave until she had nothing left—and at that very moment she still had absolutely everything. She had her Lord. She had God’s promises and God’s gift of faith to trust them. The big point today? She gave even beyond her ability, because she trusted her Lord’s ability to care for her. What if we truly believed that God will t...

God wants to open our minds to consider the magnitude of his blessings. Each of us has been blessed in different ways and at various levels. What should our thoughtful, prayerful response be to these blessings? The only key that will ever turn over the engine and take us down the road of devoting ourselves to serving him with those gifts is how much Jesus loves us. In this all-encompassing arena o...

We’ll take care of ourselves right now, so that we’ll be in a better position to take care of God’s house later. That’s what seems to make sense. Giving to God first doesn’t make a bit of sense. But what if it isn’t our giving that makes no sense, but rather it’s God’s giving that makes no sense? The prophet Haggai will help us see that the real issue for us is not one of our resources, but of the...

Ever since the fall into sin, death has become an inevitable reality. We have all experienced funerals and know the sadness of losing a friend, family member, coworker, etc. At such times, tears are common and expected for us just as just as they were for the grieving widow of Nain. Yet Jesus reveals himself as the one who can say "Don't Cry" to the grieving. Why? Because he holds p...

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The idea of going to church regularly can be common for some and seem strange to others. What's the point or gathering together and reading from old texts? What a display of power that Jesus demonstrated as gathered at the synagogue in Capernaum that Sunday! As he amazed listeners with his word and displayed authority in his actions, Jesus is revealed. We are blessed to see that same power an...

Weddings can be wonderful celebrations...and also sources of stress! What couple wouldn't want everything to go perfectly?! But...problems happen. At a wedding and reception, all eyes are normally on the bride and groom and yet in Cana, we gladly look to Christ as he "revealed his glory" in an unusual, but comforting way. Jesus reveals himself as a Savior who shows care for his peop...

Trusting Jesus is easy when things are going well in our lives. However, it is a lot more challenging when hardships come. How do we remove doubts in these circumstances? Jesus teaches us that today in Matthew 11:2-6. Support the show

Christmas is over and now staring us in the face are our troubles and problems. But the joy of Christmas doesn't end when the decorations are put away. The joy of Christmas continues as we realize God is present with us. Luke 2:25-35 Support the show

We look at our lives and the world and it is easy to wonder if God really loves the world. But at Christmas we see that he absolutely loves the world including you! John 3:16-18 Support the show

With all the benefits that this Child brings, we might think that everyone would welcome him. And at Christmas it might appear that everyone does welcome Jesus. But the reality is that even for us as believers, there is something about Jesus that makes us uncomfortable. Isaiah warns in advance that the Child born on Christmas is the God whom no one wants.  Support the show