Beneath the Steeple with Pastor Hans Becklin

The miracle of Pentecost is centered on language. The Holy Spirit allows the apostles to speak in various languages-the Spirt helps them meet people where that are. Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided...

If Jesus isn't on the scene like he once was, we have to be. We have to be with all our stewardship tools at the ready, to be the hands, the voice, the feet, the fuel to make good Godly work happen in this world. Luke 24:44-53 [Jesus said to the eleven and those with them,] “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses,...

Each Sunday we have the opportunity to experience a truly holy moment: Giving each other the peace of Christ. Not just "Hello. How are you?" John 13:31-35 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. Little children, I am wit...

The work of the Holy Spirit bears witness to God's love and grace, demonstrating the risen Jesus in so many ways in the lives of God's people. Acts 11:1-18 Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircum...

When we sing together, when we play instruments together, when we join ancient words and celestial melodies together, we join in this chorus that is standing before the throne of God. Revelation 7:9-17 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in w...

We like the disciples, know that part of our Christian faith is attending to our own vocation-which is whatever God has put in front of us: Our work, our family and friends, our church, and our community both small and on a global scale. John 21:1-19 After [he appeared to his followers in Jerusalem,] Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he showed himself in this...

Brothers and sisters Jesus does give us peace, the fullness of peace in fact. A peace that doesn't just take root in our hearts, but that spreads from God to us. John 20:19-31 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he...

The same grace that was poured out for you and for me on the Cross, can run into all the corners of our weary world and save them, too. Luke 24:1-12 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about thi...

Jesus takes an ordinary meal and makes it into a constant outpouring of love, a memorial of His life, death, and resurrection. John 13:1-17, 31b-35 Now before the festival of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of...

As followers of Jesus, we have been brought into the fold of God's promise through baptism. Our lives-are to be lived in response to the grace and generosity that God show us. John 12:1-8 Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him....

What kind of Father do we have as baptized children of the Triune God? We have a Parent in Heaven who forgives us despite all we have done to disobey, despite our insolent behavior, and sinfulness, and brokenness. Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners a...

Repentance is one of the most essential biblical concepts, but we often overcomplicate it. Repentance means walking in the opposite direction after trodding one path for so very long, but who is going to lead us in the right direction? How can we turn around? Luke 13:1-9 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices....

We don't often see the feminine image of God as a mother hen because it is such a vulnerable image. Because in this world where might makes right, we are naturally drawn to a God who is strong and mighty-everything a hen is not. Luke 13:31-35 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me,...

As human beings, we are sinners, but there is one who can guide us out of this, who knows what it means to be human, who also perfectly understands the spiritual landscape we trod, Jesus Christ. Luke 4:1-13 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days,...

The Transfiguration experience shows us how we can transcend sadness, transcend pain, and transcend death. We listen to Jesus, we follow Jesus. Luke 9:28-36 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw...

We will be able to change the world with the redemptive power of love that reaches out even to our enemies and that blesses those who curse us - Martin Luther King Jr. Luke 6:27-38 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who tak...

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled." Luke 6:17-26 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who w...

As God's church, we aren't experts in everything, but we are experts in healing the world. In bringing mercy and relief to places of pain and absence. We are experts in healing the world because we follow Jesus, the Great Physician. Luke 5:1-11 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there a...

If you've been in worship during the month of January, you'll recognize the centerpiece of today's Gospel reading - the Nunc dimittis. Luke 2:22-40 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),...

In the season of Epiphany we hear the sacred stories showing us who God is and what God cares about. Today we hear Jesus' coming out story - as He begins his public ministry teaching in the synagogue in his hometown. Luke 4:14-21 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their sy...

This Jesus who is here with us can take all our flaws and our brokenness, all the parts of our life that are dried out and empty, and He give them new life. John 2:1-11 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”...

We are daughters and sons of God through our relationship with the Son of God. We are beloved of God because of Him who first loved us. Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming...

Our eyes have been opened-that Jesus, our Lord and our God, will show us His power when he pours out the Holy Spirit upon us. Luke 3:7-18 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able...

Malachi asks these famous rhetorical questions: But who can abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? The answer remains the same: No one can, and that's why God is coming here. Malachi 3:1-4 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he...

With God's grace-God's love, God's acceptance, God's power-we know that we can prevail. Luke 21:25-36 “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son...