Divine Savior Church-Santa Rita Ranch Sermons

A message for Reformation Day: Jesus repeatedly told his followers that living as his disciples would bring hardship. Living life according to God’s Law is going to make one appear odd in the eyes of the world, perhaps even evil. Sharing a message of mankind’s sin and God’s gracious salvation can cause offense. So why not just stay silent if that makes life easier? Why not keep our faith private?...

One of the easiest ways to make our problems worse is to dwell on ourselves and make everything center around ourselves – make our life all about ourselves. It might seem counter-intuitive, but the way life works better is when we make life about God… because life is about God. With some of the most powerful words in Scripture, God reminds Job that the universe doesn’t revolve around Job. It revol...

Is it OK to question God? Why have you received nothing you wanted from Him? Why has He let such awful things happen to you or those you love? Or to anyone in the world? Isn’t there a limit to what He will let you endure? Do you feel guilty if you are questioning God or something God is doing? Does questioning God mean you lost your faith in Him? Is there a difference between having questions for...

Do you feel like you are in complete control of everything? Or does your life sometimes feel out of control? And if we aren’t in control, who is? When we come to the realization that we aren’t in control, it becomes very important how we answer the question of who or what our God really is. Is our God in control? Is He able to control our lives? Do we worship Him only to get good things from Him a...

Has it ever seemed God isn’t listening or answering your prayers? Things aren’t going your way, and you’re reaching out, but you’re starting to wonder if God is there? Where is God in your pain? Well… look at the cross. That is where God dealt with the real source of our pain. Jesus isn’t on that cross anymore. He rose and He lives. And because He lives, we will live too! That was Job’s strength,...

When things aren’t going your way, does your family help you? Or make it harder for you? Are you and your spouse a team who can be strong when the other is weak and regularly encourage each other? Or do you sometimes panic or lash out and make it even more difficult for the other? Different people react to the same difficult circumstances in different ways. Job and his wife had very different reac...

No matter who you are, young, old, rich, poor, sick, healthy, you face pressure in life. Parenting pressure, school pressure, work pressure, loneliness and grief pressure. We are often “surviving” one day at a time and don’t know what we will do if things get “worse.” Since we live in a broken world, we can expect things to go “wrong” in our lives and force us off the path we have charted for ours...

Guest preacher Pastor Rob Sirilla shares a message on the Good Samaritan. Support the show

Integrating faith into daily life is essential for becoming a contributing member of the body of Christ, supporting one another like family. Jesus asks, “Do you trust me with your life?” As our master and Disciple-Maker, He guides us to grow in Christian maturity, living less for self and more for Him and others. Jesus is the ultimate disciple-maker, using us to make disciples. We strive to be mor...

Starting the journey with the foundational teachings of Jesus’ truth is crucial. Jesus asks, “Do you listen to me?” highlighting the importance of His saving work as described in His Word. We thrive on joy rather than guilt by taking Jesus’ truth seriously. Being rooted in Christ and taking God's word seriously is essential for spiritual growth. Deepening one’s relationship with God leads to...

In this week's sermon, we discover the initial encounter of John’s disciples with Jesus, where they are invited to "come and see" (John 1:39). This invitation is not just to observe but to discover who Jesus is. As Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” we understand that He is the answer to life’s biggest questions. At Divine Savior Church, we emphasize the importance of discovering Je...

"God will never give you more than you can handle." If that is true, God must really believe in your abilities to handle a difficult situation! But what happens when you fail to handle it? Is God disappointed in you? It seems like a comforting Bible passage, right? Actually, it is not found in the Bible, and it is not comforting at all! It does try to mimic I Corinthians 10:13, but that...

Elijah heard the voice of God in the form of a whisper. Many people today claim that God speaks to them in whispers when they pray, through dreams, intuitions, feelings and circumstances. Wouldn't it be great to know that God loves us so personally that has a unique way of communicating with each one of us. He actually does, and it is a way that takes away all doubt and always gives comfort a...

"I wish I could figure out what God's plan is for my life." Many Christians have mouthed these anguished words. They read Jeremiah 29:11 and conclude that God has a detailed, tailored plan for their life that they just need to discover. This presumes that Jeremiah 29:11 is directed at us specifically, as well as the idea that we have no choices in life, kind of like chess pieces on...

Seminary student and guest preacher Zach Neuman shares a message of peace based on Mark 4:35-41. Support the show

Guest Pastor Rob Sirilla shares a message of hope based on Mark 1:21-28. Support the show

"Don't judge me!" is not just a common saying, it is a philosophy of life for those controlled by the sinful nature. "Let me do whatever makes me feel good as long as it doesn't hurt other people, and don't criticize me for it." Even unbelievers pull out Matthew 7:1 to show Christians how lacking their Bible knowlege is and say, "See, Jesus tells you not to...

Philippians 4:13 might easily be called the Christian version of, "Just do it." There's nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it...and trust in Jesus. Jesus will make it possible to achieve what you thought was impossible: beat cancer, found a Fortune 500 corporation, or win an Olympic medal. With Jesus at your side, there are no limits. But life is not one victory after...

Dying seems so normal because it happens to everyone and so it is tempting to think that it is just a part of the life that God designed for us...but it isn't. Death is not our friend, nor is it something we should just "get used to" simply because it seems inevitable. Death is the consequence of sin and our enemy...an enemy that has been defeated by Christ, who took away the sin of...

"God is love" is one of the most beautiful and comforting truths of the Bible, but it is also one of the most abused. Some understand God's love as if it were like human love, mostly based in feelings that change according to the behavior of those around us. Others feel a God of love is like a strict parent who is tough on you in order to push you toward great accomplishments. Still...

It just sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? Those who trust in Jesus alone are completely forgiven and reconciled with God. This is what you have been taught, but this is such an important issue so it totally makes sense that there must be at least something that you have to do. Then you look in the Bible and it seems to agree with you because James says, "You see that a person is co...

As sheep, we are prone to wander. We need a Shepherd over us and we need to shepherd one another. Let’s follow our shepherds, pray for them, and encourage them. We are all serving The Shepherd who gave his life for us. So we humble ourselves, but God will exalt us! There is no safer place in the universe than in God’s hands – so let’s cast all our cares on Him. We need his protection – the enemy i...

It’s not easy being a Christian today. It never has been. Jesus said that would be the case. We need a deeper joy, a deeper hope to live for to make it through. Easter gives us that living hope. But don’t be surprised by the suffering. Jesus experienced it too. Rejoice in it! It’s proof you belong to Him! Don’t be ashamed – be honored! We have nothing to fear about the future – but everything to l...

Jesus knows what it is like to be ridiculed, abandoned, and humiliated. He suffered for us and by doing that, gave us a reason to live for Him, even when that is hard or means suffering for us. The first enemy we have to fight is our own sinful self. It craves things that God knows aren’t good for us. Let God change our hearts and minds – which will begin to change our behavior. The best way to do...

It’s not easy to suffer. We want to fight back and get revenge. But as Jesus followers, we live a new way. We don’t repay evil with evil, but evil with good. We are called to actively bless people! Even hard-to-bless people! If we are afraid of people, we will keep our mouths shut and not share the life-giving hope we have to share. Let’s remember the living hope of Easter. That will open our mout...