St. John's Lutheran Church Red Bud

Jesus brings a sword, kills our sinful selfs and gives us a new life and new way to live. This creates division with those who do not live that life.

When fear arises, we turn to God. When fathers want to protect their households, it is done best by bringing them daily to Jesus - their eternal refuge.

King Nebuchadnezzar has a troubling dream. Only Daniel can interpret it because God gave him the vision and the meaning. What we learn is that God controls even the pagan nations and knows the future. Realizing this, we can rest in His care no matter if the kingdoms are shaken or who is "in charge" because behind it all is God in full control for our good.

God, in His compassion, reconciles us to Himself. This compassion also moves us to extend God's peace to those around us - that's our mission.

The prophet Daniel was taken away as a youth, but remained steadfast in the faith, trusting in the God of Israel to fulfill His promises. We find ourselves in similar situations, surrounded by a pagan culture that would seek to change our identity. May we remain steadfast in our faith, remembering our identity as children of God and resting in His promises to us in our baptism.

Do our good works produce faith? No! God desires steadfast love, mercy, covenant faithfulness. This all flows from His gift of faith, creating a new heart in us.

Our Lord ascended to the right hand of the Father.

He chose us, catechized us, fed us, sent us

Prepared to make a defense

We dive into Psalm 23 as we celebrate Jesus as our Good Shepherd. What comfort we find in the details as King David reveals our Good Shepherd to us.

Have you found yourself staying in Spite house? Christ welcomes us to move out and move in to Grace house.