St. Paul Lutheran Church

St. Paul Lutheran Church

In the first 30 years of the church described in the book of Acts we see that the generosity of the early church despite its poverty was incredible and was used to bless many. The persecution the church faced also began to grow but even that could not stop the work of the Holy Spirt!

On this Mother's Day weekend when many of us are still staying home for the good of others we hear from a story in the book of Acts about Philip. Philip was called by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the message of hope in Jesus to a man from Ethiopia. By the power of the Spirit the man is converted and baptised and while it was just one person the impact of his conversion impacted an entire nation.

Prayer. we do it all the time. especially now. but sometimes we need to shake up our prayer life to wake up to who it is we are praying to and what it is we are really asking for as well as what we are really wanting out of our prayer life.

St. Paul Lutheran Church

There is a lot to be afraid about in the world around us. Yet Jesus invites us to fear less by reminding us of our worth and value in comparison to the birds we see all around us every day. We are known by God and assured by him that He is still in control. We are loved. We are chosen. We have hope because we are following the One who has overcome the world.

Covid-19 has taken over the collective thoughts of the world. In the midst of the fear and uncertainty that is over taking over our lives Jesus has words of hope, comfort and encouragement with the assurance that He is with us even now and the confidence that He has already overcome the world.

When Jesus is tempted by Satan to turn stones into bread in the midst of his 40 days of fasting, the temptation is real for His hunger is real. Yet Jesus knew more was at stake in the moment than his ability to turn stones into bread but rather His trust in the plans of the Father. He withstood this temptation so that when we given into temptation His death and resurrection could make us whole while at the same time by His power we can stand in the midst of temptation.

When Jesus is tempted in the wilderness He is able to withstand the temptation by trusting in the promises and word of God the Father. We don't always realize what's at stake every time we are tempted but if we can pause and take a step back and know that we aren't facing it alone we can begin to face temptation in a better way. Even when we fail and give into temptation we are reminded that Jesus didn't just resist temptation to show us how to do it, but to do it in our place so that we might receive forgiveness for those times we do fail.