Pearls From Peace

Matthew the tax collector is called to come and follow Jesus, and then they gather at Matthew's house with other tax collectors, and sinners for a meal.  The Pharisees see this and question the disciples of Jesus why Jesus would eat with tax collectors and sinners?  Is Jesus doing this to show that He cares about them?  Is being with them condoning their behavior?  Or is there a greater reason why...

On this Trinity Sunday we think about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Three persons, one God.  In the beginning we see all three present, and that man is created in their image, the image of God. Much has happened since that time, and that begs the question: Are we created in the image of God?  And that might make us first ask this question: What is the image of God? As we see Jesus who is f...

As we celebrate the day of Pentecost, we know that many were baptized that day after they heard the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The death and resurrection of Jesus is what we are baptized into.  And in Baptism we receive forgiveness of sins, we are rescued from death and the devil and given eternal life.  Faith is also present in Baptism as given by the Holy Spirit.  As we also...

When Jesus prays the High Priestly prayer on the night He was betrayed, He prays "this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Sometimes the question can come up of whether or not Jesus is saying that He is not God because He separates Himself from God in this prayer.  And whether or not Jesus is God will depend on what that eternal life actual...

As Paul was in Athens he found many objects of worship, including an altar to an unknown God.  As we remind ourselves of Peter's words to always be prepared to make a defense of our faith, Paul takes the opportunity to tell the people of Athens about the true God that is unknown to them, that he will make known: the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  As we go about our daily lives, walking...

Jesus tells the disciples in the Gospel that He is going to prepare a place for them in His Father's house.  And He will come back and take them to be with Him.  The same applies to us.  Christ has prepared a place for us.  Peter tells us that we are a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out...

The Lord is my Shepherd.  These famous words of Psalm 23.  We are the sheep of the Shepherd.  The Gospel of John talks about hearing the voice of the stranger versus the voice of the Shepherd.  In the world we live in, there are many voices that try to lead us astray from the Shepherd, from the rest of the flock, into dangerous places.  Amidst all the other voices, amidst all the lies, how can we...

A revelation is a type of revealing.  On Easter Sunday, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus walks with some disciples who do not know that it's Him, and they invite Him to stay with them.  In the breaking of bread, their eyes are opened and Jesus is revealed to them as risen from the dead.  Has God revealed Himself to you recently?  As we think about how God has revealed Himself in the past, we look at h...

The resurrection is the greatest and most important miracle for us.  It means that we have forgiveness for our sins, and we who believe have eternal life.  It means that because Jesus lives and is risen from the dead, we and eternal life and will have our own resurrection.  As we see Thomas not believing Jesus is risen from the dead unless he sees and touches Him, do we also make requests from God...

We live in a world that makes promises full of emptiness.  That is, we make promises that we cannot or do not keep, and so they become empty promises.  God is the exact opposite.  He keeps His promises.  And as we explore the empty tomb of Easter, and see the empty cross where Jesus was crucified for us, and now risen from the dead, in means Jesus completed the work He was born to do.  In the cros...

Good Friday is just that.  Good.  Good for us.  Bad for Jesus, because He is the one who has to endure all the pain, the suffering, the punishment, the wrath of God, for us.  He takes death to bring us life.  He takes hell to give us heaven.

On Maundy Thursday we think about Jesus instituting the Lord's Supper, we think about Him praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, ultimately being arrested there.  Amidst all these events the disciples are there, but they are betraying Him, sleeping while He is praying, fleeing from Him, and denying Him.  If were in their shoes, do we think we would respond the same?

Imagine being part of the crowd that sees Jesus riding a colt into Jerusalem.  Are you shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"? And then fast forward to the end of the week.  Are you part of the crowd shouting "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!"?  Now, imagine being Jesus, and seeing those same people at different times who change their tune.  How do you feel?  Finally, think...

The Gospel reading is 45 verses long.  45 verses to see how Jesus handles the sickness and death of his friend Lazarus.  45 verses of how Jesus interacts with the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and for us to think about their previous interactions.  45 verses to learn just about who Jesus is in this moment of sorrow and death.  The He IS the resurrection and the life, and everyone who believ...

The Gospel reading is 41 verses long. 41 verses about a man born blind that Jesus heals, and many people do not believe that he was born blind, and so there are many questions asked of him and even his parents. When the blind man finally meets Jesus, He worships Him. We who are born spiritually blind because of sin, who have had Jesus die and rise for us. What is our response to Jesus?

There is a difference between wants and needs in our life.  The things we want are not always the things we need.  As Jesus makes His way through Samaria and talks to the woman at the well, there is something that He wants and there is something that she needs.  As we look at ourselves, Jesus came not because of our wants, but because of our needs.

Jesus says to Nicodemus, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."  As we hear Jesus' words, we ask the question, is Jesus talking about baptism here?  And if He is talking about baptism here, does this mean that baptism is necessary for salvation?  As Lutherans, we have a view of baptism as God's work and not ours, and we baptize ALL people, from infants to...

Rev. Jacob Quast, Director of Domestic Missions for Lutheran Church-Canada joins us to share God's Word from Genesis chapter 3 regarding deceptive words.

As Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, He appears with Moses and Elijah, the representative of the Law and the Prophets.  The Law and the Prophets that Jesus comes to fulfill.  As they are on the mountain Peter thinks it a good thing that they are there (he, James, and John) and wants to put up three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah.  While this is a good moment, they cannot stay there, becau...

When we think about callings in life, sometimes we might ask God for a sign, a direction, a word spoken to us to help us figure things out, what He wants for us.  God does speak to us, in His Word, and His Word tells us that there are those who will come along and give false words and false signs to lead us astray.  His Word does tell us what He wants, and His Word also tells us who we are.  In th...

As we further talk about callings in life, Jesus gives the Beatitudes.  Each of them start with the word "blessed."  As Jesus calls us to faith, calls us to follow Him, we are blessed whatever we go through in life, even if it means persecution.  What He has also promised us in our callings in life, whatever they may be, is that He is with us always, every step of the way.

As Jesus begins His public ministry, His message is one of repentance and belief.  He then calls disciples to follow Him.  Fishermen who were called to be fishers of men.  There are many different callings in life.  As we explore the call of the disciples, we can also look at how God calls us, because when people come up to Jesus and say, "I will follow you" most of the time it doesn't work out in...

John the Baptist calls Jesus "the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."  Two of John's disciples then begin to follow Jesus.  Jesus says to these disciples of John, "what are you seeking?" In other words, why are you here?  They ask where Jesus is staying, and He responds with, "come and you will see."  As we gather for worship, we might ask the question, "why are you here?"  To which,...

As we see Jesus baptized by John in the Jordan, sometimes we wonder why this was done. And is John's Baptism the same as Jesus' Baptism? And what does the Bible mean when it says "one baptism"? Jesus wasn't baptized because He needed forgiveness, so why did He do it? He said that He did it to fulfill all righteousness. What does that mean, and what does this mean for our own Baptism?

We don't hear much about Jesus' childhood, except that time as a twelve-year-old boy where He stays in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to His family, in His Father's house, listening to the teachers, asking them questions, and answering questions.  This happened at Passover.  If we fast forward many years to Jesus' ministry, we see Him again celebrating the Passover, with His disciples, right before HE bec...