Faith and Life Podcast

"Advent invites us not to push away all the realness of the world - but to lean into it - to participate with the waiting with the recognition that this present suffering is not all there is." - Tsh Oxenreider   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

While it can be extremely difficult to wait, especially when the stakes are high, there is spiritual value in learning to wait for the Lord (Psalm 27). In this Advent series, we will seek to deepen our understanding of the spiritual value of waiting for the Lord and explore practical ways that we can mature in our ability to wait.  Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke...

John Maxwell has said, "Everything rises and falls on leadership."  As we examine Paul's words in Ephesians, we discover how our lives rise under the leadership of Christ in our lives.  No one is diminished or dismissed.  All are cared for through his people. Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We are hit with so many requests for donations. As Saints of God, how do we discern where to be generous?   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

What is an ice cream scoop capable of doing?  It is capable of holding liquids, scooping cold ice cream, being used as a hammer, digging in the dirt.  Certainly, there are things that an ice cream scoop is not capable of.  But, it has many uses...and the best day in an ice cream scoop's life is when it is called into service on behalf of the Graeter's employee.  It becomes a means of grace in the...

When we are brought into the family of faith, we become eternal saints of God. The old, rebellious, and self-centered ways of living are put to death and God raises up a new self that is recreated to live for others and be generous. Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 — Like, comment & subscribe to stay updated with the latest content! — With St Luke Columbus Online you can join us every Sunday starting...

Martin Luther longed for a church that proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He wasn't just looking for the church to be better. Luther longed for a church where grace was shared and freedom proclaimed in Christ alone. What do you long for today? Is there an I confessed longing, as Bonhoeffer writes, for peace, stability, joy, happiness? Are you longing for renewal in your relationships? Maybe yo...

The unity and diversity of the early church shocked and intrigued the ancient world. Ours should as well. Lessons:   Galatians 3:26-29 — Like, comment & subscribe to stay updated with the latest content! — With St Luke Columbus Online you can join us every Sunday starting at 8:15 am. Join us at https://www.stlukecolumbus.com/traditional or enjoy our outdoor service at 10 am. — Looking for content...

Our political views are shaped by a number of variables: our backgrounds, education, and personal experiences to name a few. It's easy to feel like our view is the right one, but the person beside you is more precious to God than your political view.   As citizens of the Kingdom of God, we are governed first and foremost by the Law of Christ ("love one another as I have loved you", Christ), which...

Your favorite candidate will win or lose based on how our country votes this November. However, the church will win or lose based on our behavior between now and then. Next steps: Pray for oneness. Heavenly Father, make us one so we can influence many. Prayer of Jesus, what he wanted to be protected. Look for an opportunity to love unconditionally someone with whom you disagree politically. Lesson...

Many divide society into sacred and secular spaces.  Certainly, churches are considered sacred spaces where religious activities are conducted and secular spaces, like a park or government building, are considered secular, a place where attitudes and activities have no religious background to them.  And yet, much of the books of Acts takes place in public, secular spaces like marketplaces, calling...

Jesus showed that there are no limits to where God would go to reach us. The work of God through Jesus not only went to the ends of the earth but to the dead - the dead that were once to be avoided.  Jesus came to raise the dead, physically, and spiritually. Because of sin, all people are born spiritually dead. In our baptism and coming to faith, we are born again and raised to live a new life. As...

Following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, his followers met together in their homes. Following a vision from God, Peter was led to be in the home of a gentile unbeliever named Cornelius who was a Roman centurion. We see in these and other events reported in the New Testament that the earliest Christian churches met in people's homes and that the saving activity of the Holy Spirit happened...

The Church of Jesus Christ is to be more sent out everywhere rather than gathered in a church building. In the book of Acts almost all of the work of God through the apostles happens away from any church building. The earliest Christian churches left the building and during the pandemic most churches today have left the building. The disciples met the risen Jesus outside somewhere and were sent to...

"Lamentation, a prayer for help coming out of pain, is very common in the Bible. Over one third (50 or so) of the psalms are laments. Lament frequently occurs in the Book of Job: "Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?" (Job 3:11). The prophets likewise cry out to God, such as Jeremiah does: "Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable…?" (15:18) and Habakkuk: "…my l...

While a societal evil might not directly be our fault, we still have a responsibility to bring good. Because we have received much, we are called to live out this truth in the racial reckoning that we are experiencing in our society today. Jesus taught, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." Whethe...

Getting help is essential to making it through the land between. There are always challenges in the land between. The Israelites faced the hostile Amalekites in battle. As long as Moses held up in arms, the Israelites prevailed in the battle.  When Moses could no longer hold his arms up, those around him helped him and the battle was won. Our first move when we are in the land between is often to...

God sometimes gives signs when we thirst for reassurance, but our trust in God cannot rest on God proving his love and care for us. Trust is the most necessary quality for an eternal relationship. In an account Water-from-the-rock account found in Numbers 20:1-13, the necessity of trusting God is tragically illustrated when Moses goes beyond the direction of God and strikes the rock and is therefo...

Grumbling.  The Lord heard their grumbling, the text tells us, and instead of rebuking them for their grumbling against Moses and Aaron, He provides abundantly: quail and manna.   But on the seventh day, some looked for food but there was none.  Others saved some until morning, but it was spoiled by the maggots.  The people's lack of trust in God's abundance caused problems in the community.  The...

The Israelites were thirsty, really thirsty.  They had traveled three days and found no water, and then the water they found was bitter.  One can imagine the disappointment and possible frustration with Moses.  After all, they were out there because he had led them there.  Couldn't they find some water after all? Bitterness, psychologists tell us, is a smoldering resentment.  We are wronged, we fe...

This Sunday, we are continuing our sermon series, God's Grace in the Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions. In this series, we are seeking direction on how to navigate this season of our lives by taking a fresh look into the Exodus account, where God rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and guided them through the wilderness to the Promised Land.   Now I don't know about you, but...

God provides clarity when we are confused, but we will often have to change. The Hebrews had to leave their bondage in Egypt in a rush and probably were confused as to which route to take to the Promised Land. Their first move was to take the shortest route there along the Mediterranean Sea. They were confused. God brought clarity through providing the pillars of cloud and fire to lead the Hebrews...

If the things we are doing in our daily lives are not fueled by the time we are spending with God, we eventually forget that He's there and think we can make our own decisions; that we are god. We are fueled by spending time with God, not by the physical "busyness" of our lives.   Lessons:  Luke 10:38-42   Watch:  stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel

In this is scripture passage we see that Jesus is a masterful storyteller as he is able to tell a story that speaks to all of us.  No matter who we see ourselves as in this story Jesus reminds us all that you don't have to be fixed to be found.     Lessons: Luke 15:11-32   Watch:  stlukecolumbus.com/ondemand   Subscribe to our Youtube channel  

The yoke of Jesus is a structure that gives a restful lifestyle. Many people are feeling overwhelmed because of the changes brought on by the COVID 19 pandemic. Many were already feeling overwhelmed before the pandemic hit. Finding true rest does not mean becoming lazy. Rather, Jesus promises that following his way of living (his yoke) will bring a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. To...