In John Donne’s famous prose from 1624, the writer says that now famous line: “No man is an island.” Donne may have been familiar with the words which the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write here in Romans. In this passage, God’s Word reminds us that, as God's redeemed children, we are connected to one another in Christ. The apostle writes, “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.” This has a real impact on how we exercise our Christian freedom each day.

When you and I suffer injury and injustice it hurts. It’s frustrating when we’re powerless to anything do about it. Have you ever scratched you head and wondered why God doesn’t seem to see it and deal with it? You're not alone. Jacob's son, Joseph, may have had these same questions in Genesis.

Jesus explained to Peter that since there’s no limit to the mercy that God has given to you and me there should be no limit on the mercy we share with one another. But in order to show what that looks like, Jesus shared a startling parable with the disciples.

Peter asked our Savior, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" He may have felt that was quite extravagant. Instead of the usual three times, which some felt was the limit, Peter doubled it and threw in one more for good measure. However, what our Savior said next must have really left the disciple with his jaw wide open.

Have you ever smiled when passing a white wooden chapel on the prairies and thought it was quaint? Have you ever found yourself lowering your voice to a whisper and standing in awe inside a large cathedral? The one thing they have in common is that Jesus reminds us – whether the group of God’s people that’s gathered to worship in His name is large or small – He is there.

When dealing with a brother who is fallen into open sin, and refuses to listen to the call to repent from you, and from the family of faith, Jesus says, "treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” That may sound as if Jesus is saying to “treat him like gum stuck to the bottom of your shoes.” But that’s not what He’s saying at all. What He is saying may surprise you.

God’s love is so great, so untiring and so persistent that He relentlessly pursues His wandering sheep to rescue them from death. God calls you and me to take note of those in our midst who have wandered off, who have become lost, with a similar single-minded desire to see them reunited.

At first, our Savior’s words here in Matthew sound jarring and unwelcome. It sounds like He’s talking about radical surgery, one of those operations with a name than ends in “ectomy”. Our first instinct is to clasp our hands over our ears and not hear another word. But consider carefully what our Savior is telling us here in Matthew.

When Jesus settled the disciples' dispute, of who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, it's unlikely that the child He called to stand in their midst was wearing his Sunday best. And, if you notice, Jesus didn’t ask someone to first scrub down their child, spruce him up, and bring them to Him for this object lesson.

Jesus explained to the disciples that He would soon be going to the cross to accomplish our amazing rescue from sin and death. You would think that this would have consumed all their thoughts and every bit of their conversation. However, as Mark tells us, not only was their own greatness a topic for conversation, it was something that they even argued about it with each other. And yet, before we shake a finger at the disciples, look at how easy it for us to think of God’s kingdom in similar carnal terms.