Pastor Cana’s sermon text, John 21:1-13, in which the resurrected Jesus greets His fishing disciples as they begin to return empty-handed and tells them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat. After an abundant catch, Jesus invites them to breakfast. Christ our Host offers us what we need and beyond.

Pastor Cana’s sermon text, Luke 14:15-24, in which Jesus tells a parable of a host whose invited guests make excuses, so he calls on the poor, disabled, and strangers to fill his banquet. Christ offers us a welcome to an extraordinary feast beyond our ability to earn.

For the third Fruit of the Spirit, Pastor Cana reads into Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11, and Ezekiel 13:10, 16 and focuses on false peace, those who proclaim it, and how to seek the peace of the Spirit. God desires true peace, not lies about peace when there is none and we are to share those values.

Pastor Cana takes to 2 Timothy 2:22-25, in which Paul tells Timothy about the challenges but necessity of dealing with corrupt teachers. We consider how we handle disagreement, what God wants for us, and how communities can help lead us in a better way.

This Easter Sunday, Pastor Cana brings us to Mark 16:1-8, where, following Jesus’ burial, the two Mary’s are greeted by a holy messenger who tells them to inform the disciples than He has risen and will meet them in Galilee. In resurrection, Christ goes ahead of us into all our unknowns and from that, we may gain peace.

For Palm Sunday, Pastor Cana turns to Psalm 118:21-28, which is a part of the proclamation shouted by the Jews of Jerusalem as Christ entered the city. The larger truth to learn is that by the arrival of Christ into our lives, we are blessed by God. It is our calling to be people of blessing in God’s name to other people.

Concluding the Lent series on baptism, Pastor Cana takes us to Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 15:3-10 to help us understand God’s response to our repentance and baptism. Our Lord responds with joy each time we correct course, heed the Spirit, acknowledge our sin and repent. We are encouraged to repent together and share the joy of God.

The next Fruit of the Spirit for Pastor Cana’s series of the year is the Fruit of joy, illustrated in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-8, where Paul tells the church of Thessalonica that they received the Word with joy from the Holy Spirit. We are encouraged to share the joy we received as an example of God to others.

Betty Rupp turns to Matthew 11:28-30 and Psalm 19:7-11 to show us what we can do when our lives leave us tired and frazzled. We are encouraged to turn to God, to learn from Him by reading, meditating, and studying the Word to gain wisdom and strength to deal with stress and anxiety.

For Lent, Pastor Cana takes us to Galatians 3:27-28 and Acts 2:37-39, which teaches us that in Christ, all who believe are baptized into one baptism. We have peace to know that our baptism circumstances nonetheless guarantee us baptism into Christ.