Episodes

  • The Many Scents of Christmas

    The Many Scents of Christmas
    Dec 25 2024
    This year we are going to look at Bethlehem from a different vantage point and consider the many aromas of Christmas.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

    O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
    Dec 23 2024
    We don’t build bears, as in a “Build a Bear Workshop”—rather we build false gods, just like Israelites did while captive in Babylon. Isaiah describes the tools and the trade in Isaiah 44:13­–17, methods that we replicate to this day. That’s why Isaiah invites us to “Behold your God” (Isaiah 40:9). Our God – THE GOD – is not an inanimate object; rather, He is a loving and merciful Savior who was crucified for the sins of the world, who lives and reigns to all eternity!
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Hark the Glad Sound

    Hark the Glad Sound
    Dec 16 2024
    Isaiah anticipates that the people in Babylonian exile will miss his Gospel message in Isaiah 40:1–5. He signals his disappointment through the sudden shift from the divine glory, witnessed by all flesh (Isaiah 40:5), to the pathos of human transience in Isaiah 40:6–8a where “grass” is used to describe people four times. In our transient lives and world, the only sure source of joy and life is God’s Word which endures forever (Isaiah 40:8b).
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Prepare the Royal Highway

    Prepare the Royal Highway
    Dec 9 2024
    We often cry, “Let me out!” Many know addictive behavior such as high anxiety, unpredictable anger, or biting sarcasm. Others are chained to a grudge that won't leave until there’s revenge. Still others are fighting an inner battle with a skeleton in their closet that is rattling louder and louder. Repentance is the doorway to freedom from these besetting sins, with the result that we see a new God’s magnificent glory in Jesus Christ our Lord!
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

    Comfort, Comfort Ye My People
    Dec 2 2024
    The prophet writes to exiles in Isaiah 40:1, “Comfort, comfort My people.” Gone is the scornful “this people” of Isaiah 6:9; rather, the herald declares “My people!” These words explode with comfort, for they reflect God’s covenant promise at Sinai, “I will be your God, and you will be My people” (Exodus 6:7). Comfort comes in Isaiah 40:1 and pictorially in the words of Isaiah 40:11, “He will tend His flock like a Shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Great Blessing in Generous Living

    Great Blessing in Generous Living
    Nov 25 2024
    While Jesus is teaching His disciples in Luke 6, He gives them a one-word financial challenge (that proceeds from faith of course): GIVE (didomi). That’s it. Simply give. Live generously as possessors of His kingdom (v20). And when His children live generously with all that He has entrusted to them, Jesus promises great blessing in return. He says, “Give and it will be given to you.” How much? “Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” Why? “For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you [by God].” What would this next step with Jesus look like for you/your family? How about for St. Peter? Where have you already seen His Great Measure poured back into your lap?
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Money’s Lure

    Money’s Lure
    Nov 18 2024
    While money itself is not evil, the Lord warns us today of its powerful and consequential lure. People who desire to be rich, Paul says, fall (1) into temptation, (2) into a snare, and (3) into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Why? Because “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” In fact, Paul even adds that “through this craving [to be rich], some [believers themselves] have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” God’s warning is not simply that the “love of money” is harmful for us, but that this sin has led some to shipwreck their faith and sink into unbelieving ways.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Trust Me

    Trust Me
    Nov 11 2024
    In the midst of all the cares, pursuits, and anxieties that fill the hearts and lives of the unbelieving world around us, Jesus invites His followers to trust fully in the Father’s gracious provision for His dear children. Why? For (1) life is more than possessions; (2) material worry is not constructive in any way, shape, or form; and (3) the Heavenly Father - who continues to nurture even birds and flowers - loves and delights Himself to give us His own kingdom! If the Father delights to give us the kingdom, will He not also grant us our daily bread? For followers of Jesus, then, it is faith/trust – not financial worry – that characterizes us as we seek His kingdom daily above everyone and everything else. He will graciously provide the rest!
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    Less than 1 minute