Faith in Daily Life

Text: Matthew 5:1-20 Now more than ever, the world is in need of seeing our human condition through the lens of faith.  Jesus taught us, through the beatitudes, not only how deeply blessed we are but what God is continuing to bring about in this world as we walk with him day by day.  In Jesus’ incredible sermon on the mount, the world is turned not upside-down but “right side-up” as we l...

Text: Matthew 6:19 -34 Jesus knows our needs, our fears, and our worries.  But more importantly, he points us to the gift of faith as the antidote to all of our anxieties.  Jesus, who knows our hearts, points us to God’s faithfulness to each of us and backs up his promises with his eternal presence and care. New to St. Andrew? Click here: https://standrewlu.org/about/visitors/ Visit our...

Text: Matthew 7: 1-14, 24-29 When we learn that we are all beggars at the mercy seat of God, we learn that the good news is, in fact, great news. Each of us is in great need of God's forgiveness and grace. But are we willing to pass that grace on to others after we ourselves have received it? New to St. Andrew? Click here: https://standrewlu.org/about/visitors/ Visit our website: https://standrewl...

Text: Matthew 13:24 -35 Jesus sees what we cannot always see: the great potential within all of us as we grow together in God’s garden.  It is not up to us to determine which of us are wheat and which are weeds.  God does not give up on any of us!  Nurtured in the right conditions, like the mustard seed, God brings about growth and life and vitality in and through us (and sometimes...

Text: 1 John 4:7-12 “God’s love was revealed to us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9).  If we want to know what love is and what it looks like, we begin by looking at and learning from the source of all earthly love that has come to us directly from God: the person of Jesus Christ. New to St. Andrew? Click here: https://standrewlu...

Text: Matthew 28:16-20 The church doesn’t need to search for its purpose when Jesus cast the vision for us so clearly and so completely in the Great Commission.  As we are faithful in our work to make disciples, we remember that it is God’s grace through the Holy Spirit who is really at work in the hearts of all whom we serve and love in the name of Jesus. New to St. Andrew? Click here: https...

Text: John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 Fifty days after Easter, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Crossing all boundaries that would separate us, the Spirit brings the wideness of God’s mercy to places we least expect it—to a crowd of strangers of different lands and tongues, to dry bones, to our weak hearts. Jesus promises his disciples that they will be accompanied by the Holy...

Text: John 17:6-19 The gospel for Easter’s seventh Sunday is always taken from the long prayer Jesus prays for his followers in John’s gospel on the night before his death, and always includes Jesus’ desire that his followers will be one as he and the Father are one. This oneness is not mere doctrinal agreement or institutional unity, but mutual abiding, interpenetrating life, mutual love, and joy...

Text: John 15:9-17 This Sunday’s image of the life the risen Christ shares with us is the image of friendship. We are called to serve others as Jesus came to serve; but for John’s gospel, the image of servanthood is too hierarchical, too distant, to capture the essence of life with Christ. Friendship captures the love, the joy, the deep mutuality of the relationship into which Christ invites us. T...

Text: John 15:1-8 This Sunday’s image of how the risen Christ shares his life with us is the image of the vine. Christ the vine and we the branches are alive in each other, in the mystery of mutual abiding described in the gospel and the first letter of John. Baptism makes us a part of Christ’s living and life-giving self and makes us alive with Christ’s life. As the vine brings food to the branch...

Text: Psalm 23, John 10:11-18 - The image of the good shepherd shows us how the risen Christ brings us to life. It is the relation ship between the shepherd and the sheep, one of mutual knowledge and love, that gives the shepherd authority. The shepherd's willingness to lay down his life for the sheep shows his love. John Illustrates what it means to lay down our lives for one another by the examp...

Text: Luke 24:13-32  Jesus walks by the disciples on the road, but they don't recognize him. Might we do the same? It isn't until Jesus shows who he is, sitting around a table over a meal. Join us as we celebrate Jesus revealing himself to each of us in communion and especially for the first communion students receiving this gift for the first time. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/...

The Easter season is a week of weeks, seven Sundays when we play in the mystery of Christ’s presence, mostly through the glorious Gospel of John. Today we gather with the disciples on the first Easter, and Jesus breathes the Spirit on us. With Thomas we ask for a sign, and Jesus offers us his wounded self in the broken bread. From frightened individuals we are transformed into a community of open...

Celebrate Christ’s resurrection with us as we gather to worship through uplifting music and inspired preaching from Pastor Lillejord. We gather to remember and celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper: “do this in remembrance of me.”  We gather around the Table of The Lord’s Supper as our children receive their First Communion. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com...

We gather to remember and celebrate Jesus’ Last Supper: “do this in remembrance of me.”  We gather around the Table of The Lord’s Supper as our children receive their First Communion. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standrewlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/standrewlu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/StAndrewLu To automate your giving on a cont...

Holy Week’s incredible story begins on Palm Sunday when Jesus entered the Holy City “for us and for our salvation.”  Music by Tim Graf, Larry Bach, Matthew Ian Fleming, Josh Eidem, Jodi Edstrom, and Corwin Holk. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis or to make a one-time donation: http://bit.ly/SAL_Giving Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sta...

Text: 1 Peter 3:15-16 The old song says it best: “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  When we give the reason for the hope that we have, we do this with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15) as the Spirit of God works through us to nurture faith in the hearts of all who are touched by God’s love and care through us. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your g...

A sure-fire way to feel energized in faith is to love a child of God.  Jesus gives us a compelling picture of what this looks like as we serve “the least of these” brothers and sisters of his.  We love and serve because Christ first loved and served us. Text: Matthew 25:34-40 Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis or to make a one-time don...

Text: Colossians 4:2-6 As we continue to examine carefully how to share (and how not to share!) our faith, we hear this advice from the Apostle Paul: “be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis or to make a one-time donation: http://bit.ly/SAL_Giving Facebook: https://www....

Text: Acts 8:26 ​-38 We talk so easily with others on all manner of subjects but to talk about our faith often remains a challenge. How is God equipping and empowering us by his Spirit to have real discussions with real people about matters of faith? Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis or to make a one-time donation: http://bit.ly/SAL_Giving Face...

Text: Acts 16:25-34 When love and care for others lead the way, you never know how those around us may be compelled toward the faith.   Just ask the jailer who was guarding Paul and Silas in prison!  God’s Spirit works through the care we offer for our neighbors. Website: https://standrewlu.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/standrewlu Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stand...

One of the most beautiful prayers for spiritual renewal in the Bible comes from Psalm 51: “create in me a clean heart…restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.”  We will examine the practice of prayer- what it is and what it is not- in the life of the Christian. Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis o...

Text: 2 Timothy 2:23 ​-26  Effect evangelism never happens by trying to “argue” a case for faith but, rather, we are called by God to “gently instruct.”  God’s Word is a not given as a weapon or as a justification for judgement but rather it is the good news that has been given for all people whom we are called to love and serve. Website: https://standrewlu.org/ Facebook: https://www.fac...

Text: Colossians 3:16 ​-17 Paul’s advice to the Colossians was solid for the renewal of faith: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”  But in order for this to happen in our lives, we need to take some time to read God’s word and let it take root in our hearts and minds! Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your giving on a continued basis or to make a one-time donati...

Text: 2 Timothy 4:1-5  We know that God calls us to share our faith but we often struggle with what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.  Paul’s advice to Timothy is advice for all of God’s people in every time and place: “preach the Word, be prepared in season and out of season…”  And I ask God to help and guide me! Visit our website: https://standrewlu.org/ To automate your...