Pearls From Peace

In Acts 1 the disciples need to replace Judas. They pray to God that He would show them who He had chosen to replace Judas. They cast lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. We had never heard of Matthias before and may have never heard of him had he not been chosen. Sometimes, God works through people who are lesser-known, who are nobody's, in order to accomplish His will.

Jesus said to His disciples, "In this world, you will have tribulation (trouble), but take heart I have overcome the world." What is tribulation or trouble? What did these words of Jesus mean for the disciples? What does it mean for us today?

Peter shares the Good News of Jesus with the Gentiles, and there were some who were none too pleased about this. Who are those who have been chosen and called by God to be His children and to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Jews? Gentiles? Me? You? ALL people?

There are many voices that we hear in our lifetime, and that speaks to us, many of which try to lead us away from God. Jesus tells us that "my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Jesus, the Good Shepherd, speaks to us His sheep through His Word and Sacraments, and He lays down His life for His sheep to bring them forgiveness and salvation.

After the resurrection, Jesus has a conversation with Peter that we see as Jesus restoring Peter as a disciple. On the road to Damascus, Jesus appears to Saul, and he becomes the apostle Paul. Jesus changes people. How has he changed you?

On Easter Sunday, there are many things that happen that we read about in the next number of weeks. Jesus on the road to Emmaus; Jesus appears to His disciples when Thomas isn't there. When we look at Thomas, who is doubting Thomas and believing Thomas in the same reading, we can ask ourselves: Are we at all like Thomas? And what does it mean for us in our world today?

On Easter Sunday, come and step inside the empty tomb and see that Jesus is not dead, He is alive! The silence of His death on Good Friday is met with Angels and Alleluias on Easter Sunday. What does it all mean for us? And why do we need Jesus, on Easter Sunday?

On Good Friday we follow Jesus to the cross where He lays down His life for the world. He was crucified with a sign that said "King of the Jews." This reminds us of the Wise Men who came to worship "the One who had been born king of the Jews" so many years before. Do the gifts of the Magi still mean anything? And why do we need Jesus, on Good Friday?

On Maundy Thursday Jesus washes His disciples' feet, celebrates His Supper with them, and prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. All the while, the betrayer is at work. Would you have betrayed Him? Like Judas did? Like Peter did? How about today in your own life? Why exactly do we need Jesus, on Maundy Thursday?

On Palm Sunday, Jesus journeys into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, and the city welcomes Him with shouts of "hosanna!" Can you imagine what it must have been like back then? And what does it mean for us today? Why do we need Jesus, on Palm Sunday?

We see Paul give a detailed description of himself in Philippians. Who are you? How would you describe yourself? Paul will tell us that ultimately knowing who we are, and how we describe ourselves, is not worth much. What matters is knowing Jesus Christ and what He's done for us. What matters is who He says we are.

We view this as the parable of the prodigal or lost sons, but it's possible to view this as a parable of the lost sons, as both the older and younger son are lost in their own way. But really, this parable is not about the sons, it's about the father and his actions for the sons, which is a reflection of God's actions for us, His people.

God won't give you more than you can handle. A phrase you may be common with may have said yourself or had someone say to you. What does it mean? Is it Biblical? And is it true? One thing that is true: God won't give you more than HE can handle.

A mother hen seeks to gather her chicks under her wings, to keep them close, to protect them, and keep them safe. Jesus seeks to gather His children under His wings, but many are not willing, and they walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Those who are gathered are the ones who have the Holy Spirit working in them, believe, and will receive eternal life.

When God gives what He promised and what we need, His children respond with an offering and rejoicing.

Why we give God our first and our best and not our leftovers.

Transfiguration can also mean Transformation. As we celebrate the Transfiguration of Christ, where his physical appearance is changed, transformed, transfigured, we will also take a look at our own lives and see where, when, and how Christ has transformed and changed us.

In a world full of peril, pain, and problems God can use the bad things that happen to us for the greater good. That is why we always pray ‘Thy Will be done.”

As we enter the 15th chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he is going to tell us what is most important for us. That, of course, being the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what it means for us. That is of first importance, IF in fact Christ has been raised from the dead.

We are seeing a lot of frustration in our society. People don’t know what to do, but they’ve got to do something, so they protest. Rebellion. Where is that coming from? And what is God doing about it?

As we explore the love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, we think about hearing these verses at a wedding as the bride and groom are joined together as one. Maybe they were even read at our own wedding. If we look at this chapter in the context of the relationship between the bride, the church, and the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, we will see what true love is about, what it really looks like, and what it...

God led His people out of Babylonian captivity. They responded with utter reverence and adoration for the reading and teaching of God’s Word. As we move out of the captivity of the coronavirus, how shall we respond?

As we see Jesus' first sign or miracle happen at the wedding at Cana, it all begins because His mother, Mary, comes to Him to let Him know there is no wine left. Mary's motivation for coming to Jesus, was from faith in Him as the one who could do something about the situation. What are your motivations for coming to worship? As we explore the answers, we'll see where our motivations line up compar...

Our loving Heavenly Father had the Baptism of our Lord recorded for our benefit. When we know who and who’s we are then we know how we should live and what we should do.

As we begin a new year, with new hopes, new beginnings, new opportunities, many people pick a "word of the year" that becomes a theme to guide them in daily living. As we look to God's Word, we can very clearly see a word that stands out to us every day of every year, because this word is timeless.