Theme of the Day: Our God Invites Unworthy Sinners to Participate in His Blessings There are invitations we might be tempted to reject: an invitation to an event you are not interested in, an invitation to a party that takes place at the same time as something else you want to do. There are other […]

Theme of the Day: Our God Patiently Seeks Fruits of Faith Patience is a virtue. But can too much patience be a vice? If you are too patient, waiting to see if that pain in your stomach goes away with time, you might make a problem worse. If you are too patient with an incompetent […]

Theme of the Day: Our God Wants Real Repentance and True Obedience You have maybe heard the accusation or perhaps even made it yourself: “He’s so fake!” That charge claims someone’s friendliness or kindness is a sham. Such insincerity bothers us. We would generally rather someone be honest about how they feel about us than […]

Theme of the Day: Our God Is Incomprehensibly Gracious Today’s readings ask, “Is God fair?” The simple answer is “No. He’s not.” He doesn’t give us what we deserve, and that’s called mercy. In fact he gives us what we don’t deserve, and that’s called grace. It is not of ourselves; it is a gift […]

Theme of the Day: The Church that Forgives as God Forgives The starting point of forgiveness is the inconceivable mercy and forgiveness of God for the sinner. So, as a group of forgiven sinners, the church forgives as God forgives. Anytime we try to imitate God, we quickly realize our inadequacy. Yet today God tells […]

Theme of the Day: The Church Fulfills Its Role as Its Brother’s Keeper The privilege, responsibility, and importance of the task of being our brother’s keeper all rest in the words from today’s Gospel that follow Jesus’ divine directive. The keys of the kingdom have been placed into our hands. It is our privilege and […]

Theme of the Day: A Church that Takes Up Its Crosses Some churches teach that if one follows God, God responds by granting prosperity and peace. Today Jesus teaches that is nonsense. The Son of God tells us that if we are his disciple, if we are part of his Church, we will have to […]

Theme of the Day: A Church that Knows Jesus Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Make no mistake. That is the most important question in the world. And it is a question every human must answer. A complimentary answer can still be dead wrong. Some in Jesus’ day thought he was John […]

Theme of the Day: A Church for All People “All are welcome!” Is that true at our church? Historically, it rarely is true. In the gospels, the average Jewish person would have thought it odd, even offensive, if someone who wasn’t an Israelite walked into their place of worship. Taking it a step further, some […]

Theme of the Day: The Christian Answers Doubt with Faith Wherever faith clings to the promises of God, doubt is always lingering in the back of our mind, constantly asking the serpent’s garden question, “Did God really say?” How striking to think that one must have faith in God before it is even possible to […]