The Lord of Life Lutheran Church Sermon Podcast

What comes from your heart matters. Jesus tells the crowd to listen, that being defiled is a matter of what comes out of us, from our heart. Embracing the correct intent, then, is critical. Our intent comes from knowing that God is the source of life and that we live in response to what God has first done for us.

 

 

 

 

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How far are you willing to go to follow Jesus? When Jesus asks the Twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” he asks the same question of us. It is difficult to live out our faith sometimes, but we are strengthened by worship and the sacraments, and through our efforts to nurture the gift of faith.

 

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We are consumed by food in our culture. In this twist on that notion, Jesus tells us that we are to be consumed by the bread and wine, by who Jesus is, and as a result, our lives are changed forever. What does it mean to live out Jesus’ sacrifice for us? Today’s message shares that idea.

 

 

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Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” and goes on to tell about the One who sent him, the founder of the feast, the agent of hospitality at the table around which we celebrate and receive God’s act of amazing grace.

With God there are no “in groups” and “out groups” and the Apostle Paul shows God’s love to all by sharing the gospel, even with outsiders. Our sin causes division among us, though. How can God work through us to change that? Listen to this week’s message and find out.

 

 

 

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Amos tells of his encounter with God, his passionate prayers against the destruction of Israel, and God relents. God offers a metaphor, a plumb line to hold up against the crooked ways of Israel and dispatches Amos to prophesy to the people of Israel.

A plumb line is a device, a tool, used to measure the trueness of things. In this message, Pastor Paul talks about an example of a plumb line that changed generations and the plumb line against which we measure ourselves today.

 

 

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Jesus reaches his hometown, Nazareth, but doesn’t find the warm welcome of a hometown hero. Instead, the people there show doubt and disrespect. What did they have to lose? Honor. What do we have to lose by giving others the honor they deserve? Listen to this message to learn about honor vs. shame cultures and what that has to do with our world today.

 

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What does it mean when we don’t get the cure we are looking for? What does it mean when healing actually looks like wholeness being made whole in a different way? The stories of Jairus’ daughter and the un-named woman lead to healing with cures, but we need to remember that Jesus is with us even when our healing doesn’t include a cure.

 

 

 

 

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In the reading for this week, Jesus rests comfortably and asleep in the back of the boat while the disciples panic over a rising storm. When they cry out for Jesus to help, Jesus is with them. The same is true for us! Jesus is with us through the storms of our lives, count on it, and Jesus says to us, “Peace, be still…”

 

 

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Little things matter. A series of stories of small things and how God is at work through it all. God works through the little things to do a really, really big thing!

 

 

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