Divine Savior Church-Sienna

Building Unity with Love We want the church to grow so that we can make a difference in the world around us. But churches not only need to grow in number. We need to grow in holiness. We need to grow in unity. That will show the world what our three-in-one God is like. God’s grace, the hope He gives us in Jesus, generates this growth. There is one body, one church. Our Christian community should r...

Grasping the Scale of God’s Love When you get married, and that person you love moves in, two wonderful things happen: they start changing everything to reflect their character, and they fill the place with their love for you. That’s what happened when I got married. My ratty dorm furniture got replaced and the décor got cleaned and greatly improved! All these new things were wonderful because I f...

Most of us enjoy the suspense of a mystery thriller. Books and movies keep us on the edge of our seats, as do documentaries about unsolved mysteries. Other mysteries are more personal – like figuring out how to fill out your tax form or what to get your mom for Mother’s Day. The only thing more compelling than a mystery is when the mystery finally gets solved. Today’s text reveals a mystery that h...

There is a depressingly relentless cycle of political strife and military conflict between peoples, nations, and religious cultures in our world. There is constant suspicion and segregation in our cities and communities between black and white, rich and poor, right-wing and left-wing. The list goes on. There is even tension between colleagues at work and cruelty and hurt in our homes. Is it possib...

Why do Christians get so excited by “grace?” Why do we sing about “Amazing Grace”? We name our churches after it. We name our children after it. What is all the fuss about? God’s “grace” is his undeserved love for us. But why is it so amazing? This text reveals why God’s grace is the most amazing gift we could ever have. We have a problem – we are spiritually dead. We can’t do a thing to make thin...

We probably have a lot of relationships that are shallow or even artificial. It is important for us to get to know people better. It is more important to get to know our spouse better. But even more important… is getting to know God better. That is the prayer today. That we might know God better. The more we learn about God and what He has done for us, the more we know the hope God gives us in Jes...

I love seeing people wearing the T-shirts that say “Blessed.” Do you feel “blessed” even when nothing is going right? In this glorious passage that begins the letter to the Ephesians, Paul launches an avalanche of praise for God. In the original language, it is one long breathless sentence. He begins by summarizing what he is so excited about: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chr...

They had one job. The Roman guard was to make sure Jesus stayed dead and buried in the tomb. After all, what a scandal it would be if Jesus’ disciples were to come and steal the body! But as it turned out the real scandal is this—imagining you could actually cover up what God wanted to reveal to the world – an empty tomb. Jesus lives…and he proved it! “The stone the builders rejected, has become t...

When God’s Son died the massive curtain in the Temple was torn in two. It was God’s way of showing us that what he had promised had come true. Sinners like you and I have complete access to the holy God. We can approach God’s throne of grace without fear. This is shocking and unexpected to say the least. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

Who washes whose feet?! Who serves whom?! Jesus willingly served his messed up, confused disciples on Thursday and then served them a heaping plate of grace on Friday. And today he does the same for us. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

Jesus rides into Jerusalem to accolades and cries of joy. But he also rides into Jerusalem as the promised Son of David sent as the sacrificial Lamb of God. To many in the crowd, nothing was more scandalous than this. It’s the same for so many in the crowds of this world today.  Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

The grace that we see poured out for us by Jesus on the cross is the grace that can rescue the most lost of souls. It is the grace that we can use as a light for this dark world. Instead of cursing the darkness, we can light a lamp to shine into that darkness - and even overcome it.  Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

The lies at his trial: He opposes payment of taxes! He’s like all those other riot-starting Messiah/Kings! The hypocrisy of the Sanhedrin to accuse Jesus of starting a riot and then starting one themselves. Pilate and Herod become friends. All of these opposing political forces working together in the end. This doesn’t smell right. Yet there is an alliance that forms inside of our heart against Ch...

Jesus taught that sin loves darkness. It’s no surprise, then, that his betrayal and arrest would take place in the cover of night. But Jesus forces the darkness of sin into the light. His words, “you betray the Son of Man with a kiss” reveal the scandalous truth that Jesus was betrayed by someone in whom he has put his trust, someone he loved. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook...

There are many times when it’s just best for us not to know the future. Yet, Jesus was fully aware of how God intended to redeem this world from its rebellion and sin. God’s plan is so scandalous (that the Father was willing to sacrifice his Son) that Jesus asks for another way. There is no other way and Jesus is resolute in his determination to move forward.  Support the show ~ Changing lives wit...

Ever since the Enemy first rebelled, his greatest goal has been the destruction of everything and anything good that God has made. As a liar and deceiver, he has succeeded in leading us astray time and again. But now Satan has set his sights on the ultimate prize—the Son of God, the promised Savior of the world. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

Not only has God been generous with us by giving us stuff. He has also given us time and talents. He has given us these spiritual “gifts” in order to use them to make a difference in the lives of others. Why? To reflect his light and love in the world around us. We offer our bodies and lives as “living sacrifices” to thank God for his grace and mercy to us! All of our gifts work together for the c...

Like a parent giving their children money so they can experience buying someone a present, God gives us gifts so we can experience generosity by experiencing being generous. We not only experience generosity from God as recipients. We experience generosity as God allows us to be in on the giving. We become channels through which God pours resources to meet the needs of others. When we give generou...

There are two things we can focus on: what we have, or what we don’t have. It is going to be a lot more helpful to focus on what we have. That opens our eyes to see the amazing generosity God has shown us! He has been generous to us in his creation, in his providence, in saving us, and in having mercy on us. God is generous with us even when you don’t think He is. Let’s stop focusing on what we do...

This series has focused on you – how you can become a new you in this new year. You don’t live your life in a vacuum though. You have relationships with others – many others. You are interconnected with other people – your spouse, your children, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbor. All those relationships will be affected by what you do and what you don’t do. So, what will the new you do?...

To change your life for more than one month and for more than one year will require some serious power. The dedication necessary must come from a capable source. In your Baptism, which connects you to Jesus’ own, the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit has been at work to give you a rebirth and to renew you daily. This empowers you to be the new you that God has declared you to be through his mira...

How can you live a new life that becomes identified as good and joyful by those around you? When you know that a burden of guilt and shame can no longer hang on your shoulders. When you aren't living to measure up to a perfect standard, but you live in the joyful understanding that that standard has been met for you by Jesus Christ. Then you are free - free to be a light shining that same gra...

When you look ahead to a new year and the new you that you will be, do you hope external things will change? Do you hope that this year will be the one that is different? Do you find yourself saying, “This year will be better than last, and it has got to be better than the one before that. Easier, more fun, more relaxed, more enjoyable.”? What if the change that is needed isn’t external, but inter...

Everyone’s talking about them and pointing them out: the latest and the greatest products, programs, and apps promise to transform your life in the new year, if you will just commit to them. The message of Jesus isn’t something new. It’s been spoken and reviewed for thousands of years, yet Jesus has the power to make you new. He does so as the lamb of God that John had to point out – the lamb of G...

Christmas Eve 2022 message from Divine Savior Church.  Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna