Divine Savior Church-Sienna

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

We need a king. God’s people needed a king. They tried finding leadership, guidance, and protection in human judges and kings. But it didn’t work. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes. They needed a king. Those imperfect kings pointed ahead to the King we truly needed. King David, in particular, as a shepherd-king, was a picture of the king Jesus was coming to be. All of the Bible points...

As we get to the end of Old Testament history, we see how God never abandoned his people. They turned their backs on Him, but He continued to be gracious and merciful. They were unfaithful but He was always faithful. He kept all of his promises. And that is just what they needed to lead them to trust his BIG promise – sending Jesus into this world. During the Advent season, we need this same confi...

From the beginning, we have so often chosen to make our own standards of what is good and right. Our own codes of morality. No matter how well we might think that works, it won’t help us if it doesn’t line up with God’s standard of morality. We have fallen so far short and gotten so off track from that standard. Which created all kinds of damage in our lives and collateral damage in the lives of t...

We’ve heard stories about people discovering very valuable treasures that were right under their noses for a long time. They just didn’t realize it until they made an unexpected discovery. Can that be true about the relationship we have with the most valuable treasure we have on earth? Has it been sitting under our noses without us realizing it? I am talking about the Bible. The Word of God with w...

How often do you feel alone in life? More often than you should. God said from the beginning it’s not good for us to be alone. He gave us each other to be a community of people on earth. And He also promised us his presence. Throughout the Bible, we see the many ways God reminds us of his presence. Especially the visible way He reminded us of his presence with the Temple. But that temple pointed t...

Pastor Matt Vogt is our guest preacher this weekend. He shares the encouragement we can take from the example of a young girl in Israel's history who allowed others to see the grace of God, just as we can help others to see Jesus.  Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

Imagine having to pay back your debt to society… having to make up for everything you have ever done wrong. That would be frustrating and exhausting. The book of Leviticus shows us just how exhausting it would be, and how many sacrifices it would take. But Leviticus wasn’t put in the Bible to exhaust you or discourage you from continuing your Bible reading plan… it was put there to powerfully show...

Maybe you have neighbors who celebrate Passover and you wonder what that is all about. It is a central idea in the Bible and a huge part of the worship rhythm of God’s people. The original feast helped God’s people remember how He delivered them from slavery and oppression. Year after year, they observed this to remember that. But at the same time, they were learning about a much greater future de...

We live in a world where people believe that you have your truth, and they have their truth. Their thing is their thing, your thing is your thing. Jesus is for some, but not for everyone. Early on in God’s redemptive story, He showed clearly that Jesus would be a blessing for everyone! Jesus was the blessing promised to Abraham! No matter where you grew up, what your nationality is, what religion(...

A lot of people, including Christians, don’t seem to know the Old Testament very well. We might know a few of the Sunday School stories. But beyond that, we quit on Bible reading plans because we get bored by the time we get to Leviticus. It might be because we aren’t seeing Jesus in it. And He is there. Right from the beginning, the epic battle begins. And we need Someone to come and rescue us an...

The school year may still feel somewhat fresh and new, but did you know? The end is near! No, not necessarily the end of this school year. The Very End. What does this mean? Jesus made it clear that there will be a harvest of souls at the end of time when he comes back. None of us knows exactly when that day will be. That’s why our mission of changing lives with the good news of Jesus is ongoing,...

If there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who turns to the Lord (and there is!), then we want to celebrate too! We want to rejoice in the great work that God is doing here and across all our Divine Savior campuses as we change lives with Jesus through the gospel. So let the party begin! Why? Because God’s love is global! The Bible shows us how the gospel creates a new humanity focused on Jes...

Jesus didn’t give us a great suggestion. He gave us a great commission. “Make disciples.” Literally, it’s a command. In other words, Jesus is saying, “Don’t just have good intentions, but also get this action done.” That begs the question, “How?” The good news is Jesus didn’t make this impossible. He actually made it doable! And not just for religious professionals like pastors and teachers, but f...

Telling others about Jesus is more about trusting God’s powerful word than trusting in our own knowledge or ability to share it. Once we get over ourselves we all can become people who love to “plant gospel seeds” even though we all have different gifts, abilities, relationships, and opportunities. The power isn’t in us, but we all have an important part to play so that the Holy Spirit can do his...

Tell others about Jesus? Try and get them to change their mind? Convince them to believe? To many, that sounds intimidating, perhaps even impossible. It is certainly easier to assume that it might be best to just remain quiet. Lack of knowledge, insecurities, inexperience, doubts, fears…there are plenty of reasons to think, “I Could Never.” But what about all of us together? What about when Jesus...

Our society seems obsessed with the idea of creating a world where no one is offended by what others say. Safe spaces are created so that people can be free of bias, criticism, conflict or ideas that they don't personally like. Yet Christians always seem to be fair game for criticism. No one seems to care about offending us! Does anyone care if I am offended as a Christian? How should I react...

The world we live in is changing at a blinding pace. Truth has become as flexible as a rubber band. What is acceptable today will not be acceptable tomorrow. Those who used to be admired are now vilified and hated. What used to be considered good is now considered despicable. Bad behavior is rewarded and applauded. It's enough to make us all live in a constant state of confusion, not knowing...

We feel shame when we fail to live up to our own expectations or those of others. We may bring shame on ourselves or on others by our actions. We may feel shame because of the actions of someone close to us. Sadly, because of social media, our mistakes can easily end up in the feeds of many people, which only adds to our personal and public shame as they share and retweet. The Twelve experienced a...

Feeling stressed? You're not alone. Anxiety is something everyone deals with to some degree. In fact anxiety is at an all-time high. In this chaotic, uncertain world, there are lots of reasons why. The good news is lots of people in the Bible struggled with anxiety too. Yet, operating from a full-time place of anxiety isn't great for you. Anxiety doesn't accomplish anything fruitful...

"Just do it." "The power is within you." "You have the power to rise above whatever is trying to keep you down." "Go out there and crush it you animal!" Cliches like these are often what you'll find online or in the self-help section of Barnes and Noble. But what happens when you have that gnawing feeling anyway, that feeling that growls, "I'm...

Do you ever get frustrated when you do the right thing and in the end it doesn’t change a thing? Reality Check: Do you ever get angry with God? Have you ever felt that it’s just not fair that you do everything by the Book and still struggle, while people who completely disregard the Word and will of God prosper? Check out this young man who did everything right and still couldn’t save his nation. ...

When the true LORD, the God of mercy and grace, is removed from the picture, there’s a spiritual vacuum that forms. And it’s amazing—no, it’s frightening—to see what people will fill this vacuum with. Reality Check: What is the Baal worship of today? The “sacrificing of our sons in the fire”? Have we somehow reconstructed the true religion into a religion of our own devising? Support the show ~ Ch...

Let go and let God. It should be simple enough. God is in charge. He’ll work everything out for good. Just give all your problems to him. Reality Check: Doesn’t happen, does it? We worry…and question. This week God’s Word shows us what can happen if we just lay our problems before the Lord. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram @dscsienna

Medical professionals talk about warning signs. Heeding them could save our lives. So why wouldn’t we? Reality Check: And yet, it happens all the time. What’s worse is that we often fail to heed the spiritual warnings God shares with us in his Word. May God’s Spirit give us humble hearts—hearts that heed his loving rebukes. Support the show ~ Changing lives with Jesus! Facebook | YouTube Instagram...