Pearls From Peace

Guest preacher Rev. Dave Haberstock speaks on the slaughter of the innocent boys two years old and younger as Herod sought to kill the Christ-child, and what it means for us?

In the beginning was the Word.  That Word is Jesus, because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  That Word was also rejected by men, crucified, and died.  But the Word, Jesus, did that in order to bring us life.  Because the Word of Life IS life.  And that Word rose from the dead on the third day.  Faith, which comes through the hearing of the Word, given by the Holy Spirit, believes this. ...

When you think about gifts being given at Christmas, they may not always appear to be fair, based on the size or the number of the gifts.  But does that mean they are not equal, based on the amount of money that was spent on each individual regardless of size or numbers?  When we think about Jesus coming for us at Christmas, does He come in order to deal with us in a fair and equal way, or does he...

As we get closer to Christmas, we all have things going on in our lives.  What does God want us to do?  Be in worship.  Where does God want us to be?  In worship.  Why?  Because He's here, after all, He is Immanuel, God with us.  He's here in the means of grace, the Word, the Sacraments, to give us what we need.  And where He is, there salvation is.

As John is in prison, he sends his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He is the One who is to come or should they expect someone else.  Jesus responds with, "the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up." Now, because John sends this question along, we might think that John is experiencing doubt while in prison.  Is this true, is...

Two things that we are told to do.  Two things that we are not able to do because of sin.  We cannot repent of our sins and change our sinful ways on our own.  And we cannot believe in Jesus on our own.  So, whether this was John's message or Jesus' message, it is the same.  The call to repentance is the call for God to repent us, and the call to believe, is the call for the Holy Spirit to create...

Advent means coming.  And in the season of Advent we prepare ourselves to celebrate the coming of Jesus in His birth that first Christmas.  We also think about Jesus coming on the Last Day.  And for those who believe, who have been called to walk in the light of Christ, Advent brings hope, sure and certain hope in what Jesus has done, when He continues to do, and what He will do.  And we who belie...

When you think about paradise, what is your idea of paradise? As the thief on the cross asks Jesus to remember him when He goes into His kingdom, Jesus responds with, "today you will be with me in paradise." We could say that wherever Jesus is, that is where paradise can be found. And so, when we take a look around our worship service, we find Jesus in the Word, in the Absolution, in Baptism, in H...

We often hear that "the end is near!"  And it is true that the end is near, or at least the end is nearer today than it was yesterday.  And there are "signs" that we can see to know that the end is near, yet these signs have been present since Jesus told us what these signs would be.  What Jesus wants us to know as we get closer to the end, is that our redemption is drawing near.  That is, the fin...

The Sadducees ask Jesus a hypothetical question about a woman who had seven husbands who were also brothers and who all died.  The question was which one would be her husband in the resurrection.  The problem with this question is that the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection, which is why they're sad... you see... For those who believe in Jesus Christ who did die AND rise from the dead, t...

As we remember the saints who have gone before us in the faith, we know the picture of heaven is described as a place where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no more crying, no more mourning, and no more death.  Those saints in heaven proclaim, "salvation belongs to our God."  We too, by faith, are saints on earth, and while we still face pain, suffering, crying, mourning, and death, we ca...

On this Reformation Sunday, we take a look at the context of God's Word to find out some of the issues that led to the Reformation happening over 500 years ago.  Much of that has to do with context, and how one reads the Word of God.  As Martin Luther read through the book of Romans he found the truth of God's Word: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his g...

As we think about the use of our time, talents, and treasures during this October Stewardship month, we find ourselves hearing about the unrighteous judge and the persistent widow.  The unrighteous judge does not give justice to the widow because justice is what she deserved, rather because he did not want to be bothered by her anymore.  As we see that we are not always persistent with the use of...

As Jesus heals the ten lepers of their leprosy, only one returns, the Samaritan, to thank Jesus. That's not to say that the other nine lepers were not thankful for the healing, but they were going to show themselves to the priests like Jesus had told them to do. The Samaritan return to thank Jesus directly, because it was from Him that the healing came. We might think that there are certain things...

As we think about the end of our life, whenever that may come, we want to hear those words from Christ, "well done, good and faithful servant."  As we think about our lives, our struggles with sin and temptation, we may find that we are unworthy servants.  Worthy to be called good, and faithful, and... worthy of eternal life.  This is where Christ steps in and is good and faithful on our behalf, a...

The rich man, who is in torment (hell), sees Lazarus in paradise with Abraham.  The rich man wants Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers so that they do not join him there.  Abraham says, "If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead."  The Word of God is enough, and the Church is called to share the Word...

When we hear the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, it makes us think the emphasis is on the one after whom the parable is named.  Similar to the Parable of the Lost/Prodigal Son (which takes place right before this one).  Sometimes what we think a parable is about, isn't always what the parable is about, because a parable (an earthly story with a heavenly meaning), is sometimes more about how God...

The National Youth Gathering that took place from July 4-8 in Waterloo, ON where Peace sent youth and youth leaders to go and learn what it means to be UNBREAKABLE with the whole armour of God.  And in the life of the church, the first place where we see that we would see the armour of God being placed upon us, is in the waters of Baptism, where God calls us as His own dearly loved child, marks us...

As we continue to look at divisions between those who believe in God and those who do not, and the divisions between Christian churches, we find that when we bear the cross, as Jesus says in Luke, it means that we will end up in opposition to some of the people closest to us: parents, siblings, spouses, children, ourselves.  As we count the cost of standing firm on God's Word, it means we might lo...

Hebrews talks about leader who "are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account."  As we journey through this life as Christians, we see not only division between those who believe in God and those who do not, we also see divisions between Christian churches.  As we have previously looked at Baptism, we now look to the Lord's Supper to find out whether "is" means "is"...

Someone asks Jesus if only a few will be saved. Jesus responds with, "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." It is faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection that gets us to heaven, and only that. He IS the narrow door, as the path to heaven goes through Him. As we journey through this life as Christians, we see not only division...

The prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah, the Savior, would be called Prince of Peace. The angels sing of peace on earth the day Christ is born. Yet in the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us that He did not come to bring peace but division. Which is it? Peace or Division? Or can it both? Because the kind of peace that Jesus brings may not be what we think peace means, and it is in His coming as Savior...

If someone says, "don't be anxious, don't worry" does that make you more anxious and more worried? Jesus tell His disciples not to be anxious, not to be worried about things like food and clothing. And then He compares them to birds and flowers that neither sow, reap, toil, or spin, yet God still feeds the birds and clothes the flowers beautifully. How much more valuable are people than flowers an...

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool, who decides to tear down his barns in order to build bigger ones to store the abundance of his crops. However, Christ warns about storing up and focusing on earthly treasures for ourselves, that we may not ever get to enjoy. Paul in Colossians also calls us to put to death those earthly temptations, like greed, covetousness, and inst...

As the disciples see Jesus regularly going off to pray, one day after Jesus is finished, one of the disciples says, "Lord, teach us to pray." Jesus then gives the disciples what we know as the "Lord's Prayer." This has been our go-to structure of prayer for a very long time. The Lord's Prayer pretty much covers everything we could ever possibly need: forgiveness, daily bread; and when we pray for...