St Andrew's Messages

Truth is better than untruth. As we pursue truth in God's Word, we notice that not everything we find is immediately appealing to us, but the truth being unlikeable does not make it untrue. Let's shape our hearts to embrace God's truth because God is good.

"Don't judge me!" has become a societal mantra, but we must not believe that all judging is bad because of phrases like "use good judgment." As we resume our study of Matthew, you will notice Jesus himself said "stop judging." Today we explore what he meant and what good judgment is.

Someone so admires you, he or she is watching you, learning from you and wants to imitate you. Maybe it's a friend or a coworker, or, if you're a parent, for better or for worse, it's your child. In a way, that makes him or her your disciple. You're watching someone and want to imitate someone, too. That makes you a disciple. In a much bigger and different way, Jesus makes us his disciples. We're...

What do you worry about? At the risk of being simplistic, doesn't it seem that our worries are either about not getting what we want, getting what we want and then losing it, or getting what we don't want? Worry isn't always sinful, but some of it can be. Ancient Christians used the Latin, "deo volente" (God-willing) to temper their expectations and, thus, their worry about the future. That might...

If you could ask Jesus for anything at all, what would you ask him? His disciples once asked him, "Lord, teach us to pray." They must have noticed something about how he prayed and wanted to know more. So Jesus taught them what we call "The Lord's Prayer." St. Andrew is currently in a worship series on the Gospel of Matthew. Today we find ourselves in chapter 6 (page 45 in the study booklet) where...

A Grow in Grace presentation by Aaron Wakeman

Commitment is an interesting concept. Although it means thorough dedication, we often speak of different levels of commitment. For example, you might be less committed to your exercise plan than to watching your favorite team on TV. When we think of commitment, we should first think of God. His commitment is not dependent or half-hearted. Read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 on how our commitment comes from...

Normally, it's not such a compliment to be called a sheep. Sheep aren't fierce, dominant, or self-sufficient. Sheep need help, protection, and guidance. But now you know why Jesus calls us sheep! More than that, the shepherd is the one who helps, feeds, protects, and guides the sheep. But now you   know why Jesus calls himself our Good Shepherd! Welcome to the sheep pen where we gather under the b...

The five-year-old squirrels away buttons, bows, shells and rocks in a box under his bed. It's his treasure. What's your treasure? We all treasure something, even if we can no longer fit it into a box under the bed. One of the most famous things Jesus said was, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." We're glad you're with us today. May Jesus open our eyes to our real treasure.

Do you remember intertwining the fingers of your hands and saying, "Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors, and see all the people!" It's a neat little reminder that in the Bible, the church is never a building, but it's always people—people Jesus lived and died for and brought to trust and love him. But maybe it's a little misleading, too, because where are all the people? Sure, th...

What would you say has been a crucial time in your life? Was it a time when you made a decision about a career, a move, or marriage? Was it a time when someone else made a decision to reduce staff, offer you a job, or cause an accident? Those were crucial times. But think bigger. What would you say has been the most crucial hour in the history of the world? That distinction belongs to what took pl...

A Maundy Thursday devotion by Pastor Randy Hunter

We will be suspending our Matthew series until the end of May to accommodate Holy Week and our A Place of Peace series. So, this weekend it's . . . Matthew. Ha, but not where we were; we will skip ahead to chapter 21 where shouts of "save us now!" were heard on Palm Sunday. The question we need to ask is this: from what are we asking for salvation?

A Lenten devotion by Vicar Ronny Nguyen.

Turn the other cheek -- that's probably one of Jesus' most famous statements. No one criticizes Jesus' command to "turn the other cheek" or to "love your enemy" because to do so would be vile or disgusting. Everyone agrees such actions would be lofty and admirable; but to do it is just impossible. Who can do that? Who wants to do that? Only those radically changed by the love of God in Christ can...

A Lenten devotion by Minister for Nurture Mark Kjenstad

Have you ever been called a prude for the way you think about sex and marriage? Or maybe for not going along with the messages many movies and much music send about sex and marriage? The living Jesus has something to say to us about that. In the sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus offers us the most relevant, free, and attractive way to think about everything in life.

A Lenten devotion by Steve Pelischek

Everyone has standards. Some have double standards. Read Jesus' words in Matthew 5:17-26, and you'll know that the Son of God upholds standards and the penalties for not living up to them. He says something alarming in verse 20, but he also gives us a solution. Hint: it's not getting rid of all our standards.

A Lenten devotion by Pastor Clinton Kreuziger.

Everybody knows about salt and light, so they should make for easy spiritual comparisons, right? But when Jesus calls you the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), the difficulty does not lie in understanding, but in embracing and responding. May our Lord and Savior enable and empower us to make everything salty and bright.

A Lenten devotion by Pastor Jon Bilitz from Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel.

This week we come to Matthew 5:1-12, one of the most famous sections of the Bible, the Beatitudes. They sound so appropriate and so honorable. And they are. But when you read them, you must also be horribly unsettled. What do we do when we haven't lived them out? Find an answer in this the first and longest of Jesus' sermons we have on record. Read Jesus' introduction to his sermon on the mount, t...

A Lenten devotion by Pastor Randy Hunter.