Many are afraid of the dark. Darkness has this natural sense of uncertainty. That is why darkness is often used in movies as a way to communicate evil.
But often more fearful is that small amount of light that is cast from a nightlight or from a half moon that makes things eerie. The small amount of light begins to expose things and it creates shadows of the things that are real.
The light of God’s Word exposes the darkness that is in us, that is our sin. It exposes it for what it really is, that is worthy of eternal death.
Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you! The light that is Christ shines on you dispelling the darkness of your sin and bringing you into eternal life.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Proper 14
God’s Word says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Sounds easier to say, then do, doesn’t it? I can’t do that on my own. It sounds like the ideal world. And it is.
Did you notice how it is that you are able to do such things? “You were sealed for the day of redemption” with the Holy Spirit.
It is that beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism that seals you, forgiving you, to live this redeemed, forgiven and forgiving life. God’s work of Jesus, in and through you.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Sounds easier to say, then do, doesn’t it? I can’t do that on my own. It sounds like the ideal world. And it is.
Did you notice how it is that you are able to do such things? “You were sealed for the day of redemption” with the Holy Spirit.
It is that beautiful gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism that seals you, forgiving you, to live this redeemed, forgiven and forgiving life. God’s work of Jesus, in and through you.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Proper 13
It is a statement that is made to church leaders the country over: “I read my Bible, I pray, I believe in Jesus. That is enough for me.
Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 4 why the body of Christ, that is His church, is so deftly important for us.
“so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”
Christ’s body, His church builds us up with the gift of forgiveness, life and salvation in Jesus so that we may withstand the changes and chances and deceitfulness of this world.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 4 why the body of Christ, that is His church, is so deftly important for us.
“so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ”
Christ’s body, His church builds us up with the gift of forgiveness, life and salvation in Jesus so that we may withstand the changes and chances and deceitfulness of this world.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
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