Sunday Homily: Recent Episodes
Saint Mary: Fort Walton Beach, FL
Can scripture speak to you now, in this time in your life and circumstances? Yes! Discover how to more fully integrate God’s word into your life with this Sunday homily series. We are clear about what we want you to know, what we want you to do (a challenge for the week), and why it matters. Join us weekly and share with your friends.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Who Moved My Church?!!! Loss, Cross, Change, & Eucharist
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July 2, 2023
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time:
Help! Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
June 18, 2023
"I" Witness: Wk 4: Who Are You Listening
Fourth Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday
April 30, 2023
Second Sunday of Easter: "I" Witness: Wk 2: Help My Unbelief
April 16, 2023
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Happy Easter!
God bless you for being such a witness to Jesus rising from the dead. You are an I Witness! Not an E-Y-E witness because we were not there but an I Witness, because you are giving witness to Jesus rising from the dead by what you tell others and by the way you live your life, if you live like a true believer. Yes if you live like a true believer, teach and tell others about Christ, you are an I Witness.
But for many of us there is also a certain type of doubt. The doubt that casts its shadow over Easter is the doubt that you and I can really walk in newness of life, that we can become a new creation, that we can be changed and filled with the Holy Spirit. We might feel that the stone in our life is too massive, too big. That Jesus rose to new life is easy to believe. We doubt that we can rise to new life in him. What is the solution for such doubt. We have some suggestions.
You can defeat temptation. Sometimes we are tempted to doubt our faith. Keeping Jesus at the center of your life will overcome that doubt. The community falls apart when Christ is not the center. Christ needs to be the center of our lives, homes and community. The sacraments of Confession and Eucharist will help you keep Christ at the center of your life.
Pray the prayer, “Come Holy Spirit” help us to stay undefeated by keeping Christ at the center of our lives, thoughts and actions. Help us to be aware of your Holy Presence in the sacraments of Confession and Eucharist.
5th Sunday of Lent
March 26, 2023
Jesus wants to heal you. Why? Because God is love --Jesus is the Son of God and Love heals.The temptation is to refuse to see, to want to remain blind. Sometimes we think it’s easier to remain in the dark than for us to heal and/or change. When we see things as they really are, sometimes we will need to change, especially if we want our situation to change, or if we need healing of some type. Sometimes in order for us to heal we have to be able to forgive. Sometimes we just need help. We need Jesus' help.
Sunday 3rd Week of Lent:
Undefeated: Winning Over Temptation
Wk 3: Change of Heart
March 12, 2023
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Undefeated: Winning Over Temptation
Wk 2: Know Who You Are Not
2nd Sunday of Lent
March 5, 2023
Undefeated: Winning Over Temptation Wk 1: Come Holy Spirit
First Sunday of Lent
February 26, 2023
What do we want you to know?We dwell in God’s perfect light every time we keep the word of Christ. This is what we mean by dwelling in the light.
What do we want you to do?Get together with your family, friends, coworkers, and talk about what it means to dwell in the light. Be mindful of dwelling in the light–consciously aware of it and live it.
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time: February 5, 2023
Following the beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples that people who receive these blessings are loved and cherished by God. He said, “You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” The light we reflect is not our own but is of God. In this episode we discuss the best ways to be that light.
You can change you life for the better, and draw closer to God, by living Holy Moments. This is the introduction to our four week message series Holy Moments.
I Hate to wait; how about you? Think about the times in your life you waited for something: for a job offer, a child to be born, someone close to you to return to the faith, etc. What did you do while you waited? Or if it is something you are currently waiting for, what are you doing while you wait? Name a time you grew or learned something about yourself while waiting. Last week we said that you need to determine what you want God to help you with to make this a more meaningful Christmas. How do you want God’s help to transform you into the person you want to be?
Waiting well involves doing what you need to do now. Letting the catcher catch you. Christian waiting is not passive –it is active. It engages life right here, right now. God, let me do right now what I ought to do. Waiting is not passive. Waiting is living, doing the next right thing.
Advent: Waiting Well Week 2: What Are you Waiting For?
2nd Sunday of Advent
December 4, 2022
Advent: Waiting Well Week 1: Confident Desperation
First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 20, 2022
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Prioritizing and putting God first in your life is not easy with all the temptations in the world to put other things or people first. Putting God first is a complete way of life, including our finances. Sharing the gift of your finances so that we have the funds as a church to share the gift of our faith, can seem hard because it probably requires you to step outside of your comfort zone, but you can do hard things. If Jesus did not think we could do these things, he would not challenge us to do so. Thank you for your generosity.
Sunday 31st Week in Ordinary Time:
You Can Do Hard Things Week 3: Engage
October 30, 2022
Do you want to be involved in a holy exchange of gifts with God? He gives you the best he has to give, the gift of his sons Jesus, and asks us for one thing. . . the best you have to give. That is a holy exchange of gifts. Learn here how we actually do this during every Mass. Making a commitment with your financial gift can be hard. But, you can do hard things. The sharing of your financial gifts to the church is between you and God. It’s a beautiful act of faith that will help you grow your faith life exponentially as you walk with the Lord in this beautiful way.
Sunday 29th Week in Ordinary Time: You Can Do Hard Things Week 1: Prayer
October 16, 2022
God wants you to have a good life. Remember though, when you ask God to heal you or another, a return to physical health may follow if it will be beneficial to your salvation or the sick person’s salvation. To be honest, the message of healing and salvation is not primarily found in the external act of having physical ailments cured, but rather in the communion with the one who is salvation himself, Jesus Christ.
27th Week in Ordinary Time:
To Be Honest Wk 3: You Were Made For Greatness
October 2, 2022
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Sunday 26th Week in Ordinary Time: To Be Honest Wk 2: You Only Live Once
September 25, 2022
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Sunday 25th Week in Ordinary Time
To Be Honest Wk 1: You Can’t Have Two Masters
September 18, 2022
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Kickoff Week 3: There Is No "I" in Team
September 4, 2022
20th Sunday Ordinary Time: War & Peace - Sinner & Saint
August 14, 2022
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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Rooted in Jesus Christ and Sharing that Gift
August 7, 2022
18th Sunday In Ordinary Time
The only gifts we get to keep forever are the gifts we give away.
July 31, 2022
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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Prayer or Service?
July 17, 2022 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Turn to the Lord in Your Need, and You Will Live
July 10, 2022
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Don't Look Back. You are not going that way! Sometimes we want to give up. Jesus encourages us to stay steady. If we can do that our lives will be more meaningful, deeper, and more fulfilling.
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 19, 2022 - Happy Father's Day
Be Not Afraid Week 4: You Are Not Alone
Pentecost
June 5, 2022
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May 8, 2022
Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd) (Mother's Day)
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Third Sunday of Easter
May 1, 2022
Things Jesus Didn’t Say Week 3
Stay in Your Comfort Zone
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Things Jesus Didn’t Say Week 2
You Get What You Deserve (Divine Mercy Sunday)
April 24, 2022
Second Sunday of Easter
Sunday of Divine Mercy
Sometimes so many bad things seem to happen in the world, and in our lives, that we question how a loving God can let such things happen. We’re talking here about our message series that will be coming up in a few weeks called seriously God?. We want to talk about how we can perhaps makes sense out of life when life simply doesn’t make sense. Join us for our discussion. Get to know the heart of God just a little bit better here today.
Better Together
“It is not good for man to be alone” (1st Reading)
Jesus is one who leads us to salvation. ( 2nd reading)
Divorce and Let the Children Come to Me (Gospel)
Domestic Church
This Gospel is hard to listen to. It can be uncomfortable. Divorce is hard and hurtful. The Greatest of all time, Jesus, wants to extend His healing love and mercy to all those who hurt.
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
3 October 2021
For whoever is not against us is for us.
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
26 September 2021
This is the fourth and final week of our message series we call Does this Shock you?
The first week of our series Jesus asked us point blank whether or not we are shocked by his revelation that Holy Communion is his Body and Blood and we are to consume it if we are to have eternal life with him. Holy Communion is communion with him. That’s what makes it holy.
Then two weeks ago we discussed how loving Jesus creates this interior disposition within us to want to serve and that there are all sorts of opportunities to serve right here at Saint Mary. There are all sorts of opportunities for you to be a true minister to others. As a member of our parish you are called to minister to others. That is a big part of what you should be doing. Does that shock you?
Last week we talked about listening to God in prayer. Some people are shocked that God speaks to them in prayer. God does speak to you. That’s part of prayer.
Welcome to the first week of our message series we call Does this Shock you.
Sometimes the things Jesus says can be very challenging to the point that we have some sort of startled response mentally or even physically. We are shocked. In that scripture passage we just heard, Jesus asks his disciples, and us, point blank, does what I am saying shock you? Does this shock you?!! Some people are so shocked they chose to no longer follow Jesus.
Between our first reading and the gospel we hear of two groups of people faced with the choice to follow the world or follow the Lord, and both groups offer us incredible examples to follow.
In the first reading, Joshua challenges the people to choose between the idols that so many were worshiping and the one true God, insisting they could not serve both. And the people wholeheartedly assured him, “we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Like the Israelites following Joshua into the promised land, we too are God’s chosen people walking toward the true promised land. Through baptism all of you were made members of God’s new chosen people. Through your baptism God has promised you eternal possession of the true promised land — heaven — provided we keep our part of the covenant, that is if we remain faithful to his laws during our days on earth.
At our confirmation we renewed this covenant and promised to be loyal to Christ, even if loyalty to Jesus brings us suffering and difficulty. We live in a world today that is ungodly and un-christian. This makes it all the harder for God’s loyal people, you, to live your religious life to the full. In today’s crazy world, can you, as Joshua did, answer by saying: As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, for HE is our God.
Jesus presents a similar challenge to his disciples. He has concluded his Bread of Life Discourse, announcing to the people that he is the Son of God, the Living Bread come down from heaven, insisting that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood in order to have life in him. And, understandably so, many found his claims impossible to accept. Many walked away. How could this man be who he claimed to be — the Son of God — when clearly they could see he was only human, a mere man?
How could he insist that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood? Yet, Jesus insisted. He did not back down. Living the life of a Christian disciple required a leap of faith, it required living by faith, so he let those, who chose to walk away, walk away. Then he posed a question to the twelve men he hand selected to follow him. He asked them “Do you also want to leave?''
They had the choice. Jesus wanted them to choose him, to live for him, to bear witness to him and the truth of the gospel, but it was their choice. The same applies to us today. We are called to be true Christian disciples, to live lives of love and service to the Lord, bearing witness to who he is, the Son of God, and the truth he proclaims.
Yet, this calling is a difficult one. Living it out requires great faith and commitment to put Jesus before all else, even when it’s not the popular thing to do, even when others around us choose differently. We must make the choice. Sometimes it seems like we must choose every day because we encounter temptations to live outside our Lord's way of life every day.
Can we wholeheartedly exclaim as Joshua did, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”?!! Do we recognize, like Peter did in the gospel, that Jesus is the one with the words of eternal life, that Jesus promises so much more than the world does? If so, there is yet another challenge that today’s readings present to us. Do we live out that choice, day in and day out, putting Christ before all else, even in the face of adversity and ridicule?
God offers us the gift of faith. Jesus, his Son, offers us THE GIFT OF LIFE. He is the Bread of Life who gives us his body to eat in Holy Communion. Many of his followers were so shocked that he equated himself
We need certain feast days in the church to remind us and make clear the sacredness and the high destiny of every single human person. We celebrate such a feast day today. But sometimes life beats us up and we forget we are sacred in God’s eyes and have a high destiny. Here’s a story about that.
In this gospel selection from John chapter 6 Jesus ask us very pointedly, do you believe?! What specifically is he asking us to believe and how does this profoundly affect our lives? Jesus Christ is the son of the living God, and he wants a very specific belief from us. That’s the message here today.
What does Jesus truly mean when he calls himself the Bread of Life? How does him being the Bread of Life change our lives? In this episode we talk about Jesus, the Living Bread come down from heaven, who is our source and summit and how Jesus is our source and summit.
In the sixth chapter of the gospel of John we hear this incredible story of Jesus multiplying five barley loaves and two fish and feeding well over 5000 people! With this miracle Jesus is setting the stage for what we believe concerning the Eucharist, his body and blood. The Eucharist makes the church! Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life!
Why is it that the worst of motives are frequently ascribed to those who disagree with us? How can we change that? How can we be the kind of people who bring people together rather than having them fighting and at odds with one another? There is a solution.
God, and his son our Lord Jesus Christ, knows it can be difficult to share the message of our faith even though it is fantastic, good news. He also tells us how to go about sharing our faith, and what to do when we or our message are rejected.
Why was Jesus not able to perform any mighty deed in his hometown of Nazareth? And what does that have to do with us and with true freedom? There is much about us that is right and good in life. And we know there are part of ourselves that need some work. This reflection on Freedom, the Law, and Jesus Christ, the Son of God, may be helpful to you.
If we feel some resistance to asking Jesus for help, what is holding us back? Is it our pride? Do we think we can do it on our own? Is it our fear? Will God ask something of me that I’m not ready to do? Are we worried about what other people will think? Or, do you believe that Jesus doesn’t care enough about you to work a miracle in your life? Sadly, many times we would rather suffer alone and in silence than reach out to the God who can save us. Are you suffering? Maybe start with this simple prayer: Lord set me free. He loves you and wants to help you.
Jesus is different from any other religious leader who ever walked the earth. No one else has ever claimed to be God. Confucius and the Buddha claimed to offer wisdom and enlightenment, but they never claimed to be the ultimate source of that wisdom and enlightenment. Mohammad claimed to have a revelation from God. But he never claimed to be God himself. In contrast, Jesus offers something more than wisdom, enlightenment, and revelation. he claims to be God. Not only does he claim to be God but he shows himself to be God by performing mighty deeds that only God can perform. IN your heart of hearts, who do you truly believe Jesus is? Ponder that question today.
God loves you more than you know and wants to help paint the Masterpiece that is you. God is with you and helping you to paint the story of your life. You are his masterpiece. If we'd been conscious in those first moments of our life as a couple of microscopic cells, a microscopic human being, you may be sure we wouldn't have believed that someday we'd become the complex creatures that we are today. We couldn't have imagined it, and yet here we are, marvelously made, beings capable of love and friendship, of running and laughing, makers of music and poetry, builders of great buildings and tiny gardens, and oh so much more. All from a few cells smaller than a fly speck. A miracle? Yes, but not a completed one. Let God help you paint the portrait of your life. You are his Masterpiece and he loves you.
Corpus Christi Sunday (The Body & Blood of Christ)
Jesus gives us a meal to connect us with one another as the body of Christ. There is something deeper than a physical connection when we eat together with others. In this message we will explore the power of a meal to bond us together with our neighbors.
One of the core truths of our faith is that God is not alone but a community of three persons who love one another. This is not just an ethereal truth but one that impacts us. Because God is a community we have been made for community. In every area of our lives, we are meant to connect with people and love each other as each member of the Trinity loves each other. Often, we don’t do this because we think we don’t have time or because we are too busy caring for ourselves. The reality is that we cannot ever meet our needs on our own. Our needs are only met by giving and then receiving from others – from a life of interdependence.
The Art of Neighboring, Pentecost Sunday
At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to bring unity among people who were separated by different languages and cultures. Where there was confusion and discord, the Holy Spirit brings clarity and unity. In week one’s message we will introduce the topic of our series, Next Door: The Art of Neighboring. We start by asking the Holy Spirit to give each of us clarity and show us how God wants to use us to bring about unity in our neighborhood.
Jesus wants his apostles to stay and wait for the Holy Spirit who will empower them to go on a mission to help build his kingdom. The word kingdom was confusing to them and it can be confusing to us. We think of a kingdom, and we think of kings and queens, a physical territory,
potentially with walls and boundaries and stuff. But that’s not what Jesus meant when he used the word “kingdom,” It is not a physical kingdom but a spiritual kingdom.
Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus shows us love by laying down his life for us. Love lives for us when we sacrifice for others and lay down our lives for them. Be-loved so that you can be love.
John writes, “Children let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. Put love in action.” Love lives in our lives when we put it in action and serve other people. When we serve, our hearts are reassured of God’s love for us and because our hearts are reassured of God’s love for us, we have confidence in God and receive from him whatever we ask.
God loves us enough to accept who we are, where we are, as we are, but He loves us too much to leave us there. He wants more. God loves us so much that He wants to fashion us into the image of His son.
Jesus appears to the apostles on the night of his resurrection and offers peace to the men who had betrayed him and left him in his time of need. He explains that he came to forgive us of our sins. As God has loved us and reconciled us to him, we are to forgive and reconcile with others. For love to live in our hearts we will forgive and look to reconcile with others. Love seeks to make real peace through forgiveness and reconciliation.
Love obeys because it trusts. We obey God because he loved us first and we trust him. We obey his commandments not to do him a favor but because we trust his way is best. For love to live and grow in our hearts we must continually trust and obey God and put our faith in him.
Jesus was love in action. Whenever we meet Jesus in the gospel, we see love in action. He went about doing good and healing people, but the world could not handle 100 percent pure love and killed him. However, the grave could not keep him and love conquered death. In this message we will look at how the resurrection of Jesus shows that love lives on and that it cannot be destroyed. Jesus lives in us and because he lives in us we can love as he did.
In the reading from Jeremiah, God promises to give people a new heart. This is ultimately what we want. We are asking for God to give us a new heart that is not easily offended. We need to drive out the offense that is in our hearts so that we live with God’s grace and love.
Offense usually brings a sense of entitlement. Grace though destroys all sense of entitlement. Grace is a pure gift that we do not own. In this message we will look at the importance of responding to injury with grace as God did. When God had a right to be very offended by all the ways we had wronged him and injured him, he didn’t live in that offense. Instead he responded by sending his Son to us, to reconcile us with him. His Son humbled himself to become human.
Jesus offended people all the time and knew it. He even said, “Blessed is he who takes no offense.” In the Gospel, Jesus cleanses the Temple and overturns the tables. He does this knowing that he is challenging the stewards of the Temple and that it will offend them. If we live a life of purpose and direction and work to accomplish others, we will offend other people.
Offenses are inevitable. Offenses are a trap. But, we have a choice about how we handle offenses. This one truth we are looking at today can give you a more proper perspective on offenses so that you see them in the right context. This truth could change your life.
The Gospel tells us that Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days. Afterwards he said, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news.”
How is guilt a gift? We don’t like the idea of guilt. How can guilt be a gift? We’re not talking about some sort of lifelong regret here. You see right sense of guilt can actually help us have a happier, more joy filled life. Here’s a three minute podcast on how that works. It’s only 3 minutes.
Moments matter. Because life comes down to a series of moments. And in each of them, God is at work. While you can’t plan for teachable moments, you can prepare for them by knowing what is most important, by staying focused on the main thing. And that best happens in a daily quiet time, a daily prayer time.
In the Gospel, Jesus heals on the Sabbath as a sign to show that his new teaching has authority and power. It stands as a direct contrast to the religious rules and ideas of the Pharisees who misunderstand the law. This event shows that Jesus has come to give fresh insight into God’s law and for the purpose of faith and religion. God has come to set people free from oppression.
God sends Jonah to the Nineveh to challenge the people to repent or the nation will be destroyed. This is a stretch for both Jonah and the Ninevites. For Jonah he is challenged to go to a people who are the enemies of Israel. The Ninevites are confronted with their own failings. In this message we will look at how God puts us in situations beyond our comfort zone. Our job is to embrace them rather than run from it as Jonah did.
We often understand defining moments in retrospect. An event happens in our lives and we don’t understand its importance until much later. In our readings today, this happens to both John and Samuel. At a certain point they were called into God’s much larger story through a defining moment. Their relationship with God becomes personal. Like Samuel and John, God invites us into a larger story.
Before Jesus enters into his public ministry, his heavenly Father orchestrates a defining moment so that he will know the love and delight of his heavenly Father. Jesus is in a crowd of people who are baptized, but once he is baptized, he hears the words, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” In this message we will look at how God works to bring this insight into our lives. As parents and leaders, we can also reproduce this same moment for others.
In this week we will introduce the concept of the series of defining moments and how God uses them to draw us to him. The Magi had been looking at the stars their whole lives, when suddenly they had seen something they had not seen before. A rising star in the sky brought them to Jesus. God often breaks the pattern of our lives (breaks the script) so that we will come to know him.
Holy families don’t have to be perfect, but by caring for one another with heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with and forgiving one another, through prayer, sacrificial love and putting God first in all that we do, our families can become Holy families, and by our example, change the world for Christ.
Perhaps the most famous line in all of Scripture Sums it up best: For God so loved the world he GAVE his only beloved Son.
God loves, so God gives. We believe; we receive. It’s as simple as saying it in your heart and allowing it to begin to be reflected in your life. It’s as simple as the story of the shepherds. You remember how that story ends?
Luke introduces his readers to a young girl named Mary. She was probably no more than 14 to 15 years old. She is engaged to marry a man named Joseph. The Archangel Gabriel invited Mary to participate in the Nativity of our Lord. Jesus invites us to participate in Christmas by inviting others into the joy of the season.
Jesus came into the world to bring joy, and he invites his followers to do the same. Joy is crucial not just to Christmas but to the whole of the Christian life. If you cultivate joy in your heart, if you set your mind on it, it can heal any hurt, overcome any obstacle, provide remedy for any pain. Joy is the simplest and most complete form of gratitude.
The prophet of Isaiah speaks a message of comfort to a people who are living in exile. He says that God will care for them and show his love. Like God, we are to bring comfort to those in need.
The prophet Isaiah cries out for God’s presence. He asks God to come down and put things right in Israel. This is what God did at Christmas. He came and was present. In this message we will look at the importance of simply being present for others. God gives us the gift of himself. You too can give the gift of self, yourself. Your presence may be the best present you can give. Make your present a high quality presence. Since you can only be in one place at one time it’s a “one at a time” kind of gift, a “one of a kind” kind of gift.
In this week we will introduce the value of generosity and how we naturally are in a giving mood in the Christmas season. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us that when we give, especially to those in need physically or spiritually, we are really giving to Jesus. We give because it gives to Jesus and because Jesus promises a reward to people who are generous with their time, their money and their energy.
As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we all have the opportunity to thank God by taking the Next Step with our financial giving. When you take the next step and thank God in this way, you will be affirmed, promoted, and invited to share your Master’s joy.
To serve means to be of use to God by being useful to others. To love God and love others by putting love into action. We can serve others in many ways. For Jesus, serving wasn’t just a good idea, it was the whole idea, the whole idea of his life..
For your faith journey and spiritual growth to have staying power, you need to be known and loved and supported by others who are also trying to live out their faith. Without Christ-centered friendships, our walk of faith will most certainly be a slower, less steady one, and we’re far more likely to fall and fail.
Sharing your faith helps you grow spiritually. It does this in 3 distinct ways. First, it helps you grow in love of God. Secondly, sharing your faith helps you grow in love of your neighbor. And, finally, sharing your faith grows your gratitude and enthusiasm for what God has done for you. Sharing your faith means working to bring the good news of God’s love and mercy to people who do not know it.
Prayer is the most widely accepted spiritual practice of all. This one, we can all easily agree on. This practice is a universal one among people of any and every faith found in every time and place. Even people of no faith are known to turn to this practice, at least from time to time. If you want to grow spiritually and as a follower of Jesus Christ, you want to pray. Prayer is both a conversation and an encounter with God in which we tune our hearts to him.
In this series, we will look at the power of commitment and the steps we invite people to commit to in our church community. We grow not only by the commitments we make but by those that we fulfill. Committing to a marriage, a job, or a friendship allows us to grow personally. Likewise, we mature as Christians by the faith commitments we make and keep. This is a series about how to grow in your faith as a follower of Jesus Christ and the commitments we want to help you make in order to do that.
We will end our series by looking at the passage from Matthew in which Jesus says, “The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.” We will delve deeper into the meaning of this phrase as a way to sum up the series. We will look at Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith. He is wonderful in our eyes. Our faith is not founded on human beings but on Jesus who was rejected at the crucifixion and rose from the dead to become the cornerstone.
Jesus came for the lost and this greatly upset the religious leaders. Jesus further upsets them as he stated that tax collectors and sinners were entering the kingdom of God before them. The lost were coming into a relationship with God before the religious leaders because they were repenting and doing what God wanted them to do. Often people who turn back to God are the most zealous for him. At Saint Mary, we want to keep focused not on religious people, but on the lost so that they can become fully devoted followers of Jesus
Jesus tells the parable of a landowner who hires laborers throughout the day. He brings more and more people on board as the day continues. This is an image of the church. It is to be a growing movement. As followers we must be going deeper, but it also means that God wants more and more people on board. There is plenty of work to be done in building God’s kingdom. In this message we will look at the importance of going deeper and wider as a church.
In this week message we will look at the parable of the unforgiving servant. A foundation of our church is that we are all in need of God’s mercy. We gain heaven because of God’s mercy and love and can do nothing to earn it. We are to extend that to others. A cornerstone of our faith is that we can all have access to God through the person of Jesus Christ and that no one is too far from him. We want to be a grace filled church.
Jesus is our cornerstone, and he tells us to share him with the world. That is his vision for us. Over the centuries the church has lost this vision. The Coronavirus presents us with the perfect opportunity to reclaim it.
When you live out your life by making disciples as you are called to do, your life becomes a ministry. And by doing so you lose your life for Christ and gain everything in the process. Not just in eternal life but in the quality and joy of your life now here on earth.
The beauty of intentional prayer and how it causes the one praying to search his/her heart and pour the heart out to God. When practicing intentional prayer in a group, also helps us understand other’s trials and joys.
We are all on a journey. It is important to reflect on where you have been on your journey and see how you are moving toward a relationship with Jesus.
We have been given the grace to get into heaven. God chose us; God chose you. Grace is the free and undeserved gift we are given of God’s favor and life. We are given grace at our baptism, and it is a lot like a seed. At our baptism we were given grace, God’s very life, and it was placed inside each of us.
God’s power is God’s Love. Nothing can separate you from God’s love. No matter how difficult things may get, how broken life may feel, or how broken you may feel at times, nothing, nothing can separate you from the love of Jesus Christ. This is a perfect example of God’s love, his generosity.
Even though we experience brokenness in our lives, there is good news for those who love God. “We know that all things work for good for those who love God…..
The Holy Spirit Groaning” The Holy Spirit wants to come to the aid of our weakness. Our weakness could refer to the general sense of vulnerability in the conditions of our present age. It also refers to the fact that we can not even imagine the goal to which God is leading us. Hence we do not know what to pray for and we do not know what is the appropriate prayer to make.
God will bring restoration, in spite of our pain and brokenness. Christ has won the victory over death; our suffering has an end. This should not only give us comfort, but a great hope in a God who loves us so much he would share in our suffering so we could live eternally with Him.
Jesus calls us to rest. The ability to step away from the busy world, and to enter into a divine rest, is a blessing that can be yours. Stepping away from the world and trying to figure everything out never works. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” Give your worries to Jesus and trust in Him.
In Baptism, we are united to Christ and His Church as an accepted and redeemed member of the family of God.
Jesus becomes like us, so we can become like him. We read in the bible that we are created in God’s image. Throughout our life we should be growing, maturing, from God’s image into God’s likeness, and the Son of God, Jesus, makes that possible because he remakes us, recreates us, and leads the way, showing us how to mature through life from God’s image to his likeness.
Message Matters Monday -
Corpus Christi means the Body of Christ, but why do we celebrate one day specifically called Corpus Christi? It is basically a celebration of the fact that the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is present in the bread and wine during the Eucharist, a reenactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever”
Episode 6 - June 15, 2020
Corpus Christi means the Body of Christ, but why do we celebrate one day specifically called Corpus Christi? It is basically a celebration of the fact that the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is present in what appears to be bread and wine during the Eucharist, a re-enactment of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever”
Message Matters Monday
Monday, June 8, 2020 - Episode 5
With Fr. Doug Martin and Scott Gulig
www.saintmary.life/messagematters/
Saint Mary Catholic Church - Fort Walton Beach, Florida
We begin this new series on Trinity Sunday, as we honor God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. For this message series, we are taking a very close look for five weeks at Jesus, the Son of God. We will take each letter of Jesus’ name and apply it to a message for five weeks. This first week we are looking at the letter J, and our theme is Jesus, the Son of God.
This is week 4 of our homily series More than Words. Go to our website, https://saintmary.life/messagematters/ to follow along as we break open the word and answer some questions about how what we say reveals our hearts.
With Fr. Doug and Amanda Martin
Saint Mary Catholic Church - Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit because fire purifies. Fire purifies metals. It kills germs and impurities. The Holy Spirit purifies our hearts. He purifies our souls. When the Holy Spirit came to the first disciples, they were then able to speak in different languages. God was giving the disciples an ability speak in different languages and bring unity of speech because they were filled with God’s spirit and unified with the desire to bring the Gospel to the world. No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
This is week 3 of our homily series More than Words. Go to our website, https://saintmary.life/messagematters/ to follow along as we break open the word and answer some questions about how what we say reveals our hearts.
With Fr. Doug and Amanda Martin
Saint Mary Catholic Church - Fort Walton Beach, Florida
The Gospel of Matthew depicts the scene of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. Before Jesus ascends he gathers the 11 remaining loyal apostles and gives them his final instructions. He gives them their mission and their focus. When the Church stays focused on these words, it succeeds but when it forgets them, it goes wrong. The same is true of our lives when we have a few words that clearly define our purpose and our mission.
In this week, we will encourage members of the parish to find words or verses from Scripture that are their key verse for their lives that give direction to their lives.
This is week 2 of our homily series More than Words. Go to our website, https://saintmary.life/messagematters/ to follow along as we break open the word and answer some questions about how what we say reveals our hearts.
With Fr. Doug and Amanda Martin
Saint Mary Catholic Church - Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Jesus said that the words from our mouths come out of our hearts. If we watch our language and the words of our mouth we will see the impurities that need to be purified from our lives. Words help us evaluate the condition of our hearts. We will see the things in our heart that are negative and lead to death. We can also spot the positives that lead to life.
This is the first of our Message Matters Monday, a discussion the weekly message. This week we premiere our new homily series, More than Words. Words have power and God’s words have God’s power. To access the power of God in our lives and use our words for good, we should connect with God’s word.
With Fr. Doug and Amanda Martin
Saint Mary Catholic Church - Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Today we begin a new homily series but also celebrate Mother’s Day! We will introduce the power of words deriving from God’s Word. The early Church grew as the disciples devoted themselves to the Word of God and did not neglect it. To grow in life and use our words well we must not neglect our service to the Word. Words have power and God’s Words have God’s power. To access the power of God in our lives and use our words for good, we should connect with God’s Word.
The abundant life comes from listening to the voice of Jesus, becoming more and more familiar with his voice so we follow him and not the voice of strangers who do not have our good in mind.
The death of the Lord on the Cross brought a crisis of faith for his friends and followers. It was the end of the world as they had known it, as well as the death of all their hopes and dreams. Then something even more unbelievable happened. Something that seemed impossible. Easter celebrates the impossible things that God can do in the midst of a crisis.
Faith and hope go together. The deeper our faith in Jesus’ resurrection, the more hope we will have for the future. Faith is the foundation of hope. So over the course of this series we are looking at the early disciples and their accounts of how they came to believe in Jesus’ resurrection and the hope it gave them. We all need hope right now and the firm foundation for that is our faith in Jesus’ resurrection.
Over the next four weeks we are going to look at the evidence and experiences of the early Christians and the hope which that brought into their lives. Faith and hope are two things we desperately need right now. They are available. So I want you to make a few commitments to get the most out of this series. One, commit to join us here online, each Sunday. This is a series that you want to be a part of. It will help deepen your faith and give you hope for the future.
This Passion Sunday is, in one way, a very sad day: Walking with Jesus on this day can break your heart. But it's also the brightest of days, because it tells how very much we are loved, and because it reminds us, who view it from the vantage point of the resurrection, that despite all appearances, ALL WILL BE WELL! So let us rejoice, because, thanks be to our good God, ALL WILL BE WELL!
Over and over again, Jesus’ friends and followers were pressed into service. Consistently, Jesus would do what he could do only after his followers did what they could do. That’s why he tells them: “Roll away the stone.”
The Gospel readings this week point out the corruption and injustice of the pharisees. It also shows us that even in the midst of injustice and misuse of authority, God can do great works. Right now we are dealing with this virus and like injustice and misuse of authority, this virus is a bad thing! But if we are like the blind man and draw close to Jesus, even when things are tough, he will help us to see. He will transform our vision to see beyond injustice, or a health threat like the coronavirus, and grow in relationship with him.
There are times when it looks like God is just making our life difficult. It seems obvious that if God would just remove the immediate obstacles then life would be much easier, and much better.
God’s original design for the world was good and operated without suffering an injustice. When sin entered, so did suffering. This was not part of God’s original plan. The transfiguration occurred shortly after Peter fi rst confessed that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and that he would suffer and die. The close connection between the transfiguration and Peter’s confession is significant – the Messiah must suffer but glorification, not suffering, is his ultimate fate. This was reassurance for the disciples to see Jesus “changed” and “glorified” as they contemplated what was about to happen to Jesus and to them (a future of suffering for Christ). We are also expected to endure some suffering for Christ as Paul says in today’s second reading.
In this week, we are looking at times when God says “no” to things that seem good to us. During these times, it even seems God wills or wants the bad thing for us, or is not powerful enough to make what we want happen.
We will be looking at this mystery through the second creation story of Adam and Eve and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to see how even when God says “no,” there is a much richer “yes” yet to be revealed.
As a result of sin, we are not comfortable in our own skin and are alienated from ourselves. We lead busy lives so that we can avoid solitude and times of quiet. In this scripture from Leviticus we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our ability to love and connect with others rises and falls on our ability to love and care for ourselves. In this message we will look at ways to love ourselves so that we can overcome the feeling of loneliness and love others. And, we will look at how trusting God strengthens and heals our relationship with him.
When God created human beings he called everything good, but then he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God has created us for community, but we experience loneliness because sin alienates us from other people. In this message we look at the importance of reconciliation in relationships and how groups support relationships. We form relationships in small groups; family, friends or co-workers, that support all our other relationships in life.
God created us to be in harmony with others, with ourselves and with him. However, when human beings chose to sin, it led to a threefold alienation that has destroyed that harmony. It is this alienation that leads to a sense of loneliness. We are disconnected from God, from others and even from ourselves. In this introductory message we talk about our loneliness, where it comes from and how we can combat it. Only in dealing with this alienation can we fulfill the purpose Jesus gave us to be “the salt of the earth and the light of the world.”
Paul writes to the Corinthians saddened by their rivalries and disunity. He wants them to be united by Christ. In this message we will look at how we are to forgive others because Christ was crucified for us. Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free and discovering the prisoner was you. Forgiveness is for our benefit. The other person’s behavior may never change. It is up to God, not us, to change that person. It is our responsibility to be set free from the pressure and weight of an unforgiving attitude. Forgiveness is cheaper than resentment. It saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred and the waste of bitterness.
Jesus is the Lamb who takes away our sins. The process of forgiveness begins with understanding that we have been forgiven by God. To become people who forgive others, we accept God’s forgiveness and then allow the truth of God’s forgiveness to permeate our minds and penetrate our hearts, and direct our attitude toward others, especially those who owe us. There are a lot of people, who would certainly call themselves Christian, who are practicing Catholics, who have never accepted Christ’s work on the Cross in a personal way, they don’t even know what that means. Maybe that’s you. Maybe you’ve denied the reality of your sin, so you don’t even think there is a debt. Maybe you think you can cancel that debt for yourself, through your own efforts and good work.
God is pleased with you because he loves you. Scripture tells us today you are my beloved in whom I am pleased. To stop seeking constant approval from others calls for a certain type of self forgiveness. When appropriate, we need to forgive ourselves in the ways we do not meet the approval of others. That will reduce anxiety and worry. Our inability to forgive ourselves comes from our misunderstanding that God only approves of us if we are perfect. This can cause worry, anxiety, self loathing, self directed anger and serious depression.
The reading from Isaiah, Isaiah 60:1-6, tells us that God wants the whole earth to know him and his forgiveness. In this fi rst week, we will look at what forgiveness is and connect it to God’s desire that it be extended to the ends of the earth.
Most of the Christmas stories we know and love: the scenes pictured on Christmas cards, and sung in carols, the shepherds, the kings, the angels, the star: they’re all found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. John tells the Christmas story as well, but it is from a different perspective. John describes the arrival of The Word.
From day one, Jesus was a burden to almost everyone he came in contact with. In some form or another along the way, Jesus burdened Joseph, Mary, the Roman Empire, even the innkeepers. Preparation for Christmas is often a burden- there are the practical difficulties of shopping, cooking, etc., but for others, it brings a bigger burden or fear for the bad memories or experiences it creates.
But Mary and Joseph, prompted by the angel Gabriel’s greeting to Joseph, “do not be afraid”, cooperated with God’s plan to receive Jesus as grace, despite the challenge and burden it seemed. Under the influence of grace and truth, what often seems like a burden or threat becomes a blessing, a source of joy and healing
We long for meaning. We long for our lives to matter. Wondering whether our lives have an impact or make any difference is the worst place to be. How depressing is it to feel like our lives don’t matter, that life is but a walking shadow, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.
The truth of Christmas, the truth Jesus shared with John the Baptist is that all our energy and efforts fi nd their fulfi llment in the person of Jesus Christ. Our lives can have a great impact and make a tremendous difference by preparing others to meet Jesus.
Grace is a free gift; we are free to accept it or reject it. God does not force us to love him. That means we need to cooperate with Grace. John the Baptist combines grace and truth into one word: “Repent”. As a result of his message: many “were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins”. John the Baptist shows that grace and truth is not an “either/or”; it’s a “both/and.” In other words, grace and truth cooperate with each other, and so we need to cooperate with grace and truth. We need to acknowledge the truth of our sinfulness, and then move on to trust the grace of God’s mercy
Advent is a time when grace and truth enters the world in a special way: the arrival of Jesus. Many people struggle balancing grace with truth. We tend to be good at emphasizing one but not the other. Truth without grace isn’t actually truth… it’s about being right. Grace without truth isn’t really grace… it’s enabling or lawless.
In this series, we hope to move from thinking about grace and truth as an “either/or” to a “both/and” attitude. In the persons of John the Baptist, Mary, Joseph, and most perfectly, Jesus, we witness examples of living in both grace and truth. In each week’s readings, we will identify the grace, identify the truth, and then bring them together to bear on our decisions and actions so that we might experience Christ more fully at Christmas.
Jesus is the King. He is the King of Grace. He is the King of Grace and the message of the cross is not that you have to try and be good enough on you’re your own power or merits to get into heaven or to enter Paradise, but that Christ has done that for you. Everyone of us is like the thief, Dismas, on the cross. At times we have failed. We all fall short of our standards, much less God’s standards. And yet God accepts you. This is the Good News!
Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple which was the center of their society. It was a symbol of Judaism and everything they knew and believed. Yet, it was going to come down. Jesus told the disciples not to fear, but to persevere and they would secure their lives. Our faith is not in the current systems or structures but in the God who loves us and provides for us. Often we fear change around us because it signifies a loss of control or loss of what is comfortable.
One of our greatest fears is a fear of death. While this world has its own trials and tribulations and is often a valley of tears, Jesus assures us that there is a resurrection from the dead and that death is not the end but the beginning of something more. In this message, we will explore our fear of death and how the promise of resurrection can help us overcome our fears.
In this message, we look at the life of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus lived alone and as an outcast because of his love for money. Our attachment to “stuff” can come out of a fear that we won’t have enough, and so like Zacchaeus our fear of not having enough money can separate us from God and others. In this message we will look at some of our fears about money and how to overcome them by trusting in God and his provision.
Everyone experiences fears. Fears often hold us back from what we desire to achieve or the people we want to become. But what is behind our fears? Very often our fears are based on lies or half-truths we have come to believe. Overcoming fear requires getting to the root of those lies and finding out the truth about God and ourselves. In this series, we look at some common fears and how to overcome them. This week, we introduce the topic of fear and then dive into the fear of abandonment and rejection. Today we want to look specifically at rejection. It’s a big fear that many of us have carried around for most all of our life. The fear of rejection tells me that I’m not good enough. This fear can manifest in three different ways, fear of rejection from others, fear of rejection from God and fear of rejection from ourselves. The good news is that there is a clear antidote to this fear found in the Gospel passage today.
When we are young we tend to think of the minimum: how can I push the line without getting caught? How bad can I be and still get in to heaven? A more mature faith no longer looks for the minimum, but is willing to sacrifi ce and trust in God. Paul counsels Timothy about his work in ministry, encouraging him to be persistent in faith “whether it is convenient or inconvenient.” As we mature in faith, we see Jesus not as someone who deserves our minimum effort but who deserves all of our life.
Growing up our faith is naturally based on the experience of others. It is given to us or taught to us by parents, grandparents, or other adults. We take their words for granted. Ultimately, for faith to mature it must become very personal to us, since faith grows through a personal encounter with God. In this message we will look at the story of Naaman and how he came to faith in the one true God of Israel. We will look at Naaman’s story to see how we can make faith personal.
As kids, we are told to say our prayers. We memorize prayers before meals, the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” and prayers for bedtime. Rote prayers are good, but to mature in faith we eventually need to move beyond saying our prayers to entering into prayer and conversation with God based on the events and details of our life. In this message we will look at the prophet Habakkuk as a model for prayer.
As kids, we can easily see faith as something we “do” on Sundays, a subject in school, or an hour to get through. It is something we are made to do. A more mature person comes to see faith as a way of life, and a way to grab hold of the eternal life offered by God. In this message, we look at Paul’s instruction to “lay hold of eternal life.” To grow in faith, we need to change our view of Christianity from something we do for an hour to a way of life that we live.
When we are young, we are taught to take responsibility for our things. A more mature faith comes to see that everything belongs to God and that it makes sense to view our lives not as owners, but as stewards of what God has entrusted to us. In this message we will look at the parable of the dishonest steward and what it teaches about using our possessions wisely.
When we are in eighth grade, we are often taught the rules and commandments, because at this time in our life, the “rules of life,” basic boundaries, and morality are what our minds can grasp. On the flipside, a more mature faith sees God not as a “cosmic cop in the sky,” but a heavenly Father who loves us. In this message, we look at the older brother from the parable of the Prodigal Son. His emphasis on rules and loss of a relationship keeps him from celebrating life with his Father.
In the Gospel reading this Sunday Jesus is at a Sabbath dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee. Jesus tells a parable. He tells a story about a wedding feast. He uses this parable to remind us to invite all people to the “feast”, not just important people or people that we may like. Also, not to take the best seats for ourselves. We are to call all people to come and eat at the Lord’s Table, and to become disciples of Jesus We are so blessed here at Saint Mary to have welcomed Deacon Doug Martin and his family to our parish. Deacon Doug has a beautiful life story that he will share with us about how the Lord called him to the table. And, how very soon, he will be ordained into the priesthood of Christ. Hallelujah!
In the Gospel reading this Sunday Jesus is at a Sabbath dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee. Jesus tells a parable. He tells a story about a wedding feast. He uses this parable to remind us to invite all people to the “feast”, not just important people or people that we may like. Also, not to take the best seats for ourselves. We are to call all people to come and eat at the Lord’s Table, and to become disciples of Jesus We are so blessed here at Saint Mary to have welcomed Deacon Doug Martin and his family to our parish. Deacon Doug has a beautiful life story that he will share with us about how the Lord called him to the table. And, how very soon, he will be ordained into the priesthood of Christ. Hallelujah!
God is faithful to His promises. The promises that God made to Abraham, that through him he
would bring blessing to all the peoples of the earth, is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The promises that
he made to David, that he will establish a kingdom that will reign forever through his lineage is
fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God is faithful to his promises. When John the Baptist announces the
coming of Jesus, he says, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” Announcing to everyone that the
Kingdom of God is here, what He promised to Abraham and David, a kingdom that would reign
everlasting, an eternal kingdom is here! We are The Kingdom.
When you possess money, possess wealth in this life, it is entrusted to you for a period of time. You are it’s steward or manager, but someone else’s turn is going to come soon because this isn’t our home. We’re going to live somewhere in eternity. When we understand this principle, that we are stewards, not owners, we start to see life differently. This isn’t our home. Heaven is our home.
This week we learn that relationship rifts can become a chasm when left unaddressed. If you have a relationship
that needs work, you can start the healing by saying you’re sorry, “I’m sorry, this relationship is not where I want
it to be. I’m sorry for my miscommunication. I’m sorry for my part of the problem.” Healthy relationships are
made up of people who are willing to lean into the relationship and repair the rifts.
Today we learn that instead of covering up our sins and failures we admit them. We admit them first to ourselves,
then to God, and then to the appropriate people in our lives. If we are willing to admit mistakes upfront we
can save ourselves from the pain that comes with the cover-up, that comes from lying about it or taking other
measures to hide it from others. We can see that when we admit our failures, it brings peace to our hearts.
Another lesson is to receive those admissions of failure with grace. If we can create environments where people
feel free to admit their failures, we’ll have much healthier families and communities, a healthier country, a
healthier world!
This week we hear about David’s eventual rise to the throne. Although there are hurdles, David succeeds and
takes his rightful place as the anointed king of Israel. David balanced great strength with great worship. Worship
and prayer require vulnerability, humility and effort. The success of David’s kingdom will not be determined by
David’s power nor by his ingenuity or wisdom or eloquence or even his good looks. The kingdom will be built
on David’s trust in the power of God!
Last week we talked about inquiring of the Lord, asking God for His wisdom and counsel. There are some things you don’t need to ask God what his counsel is, because he’s already given it to you. It’s already in his Word, it’s already in the scriptures. So we don’t need to ask God about things that he’s already told us are wrong. See, David knew what was right in this weeks story because he loved God’s law. He loved God’s teaching.
David escapes from the court of King Saul, and his life takes a few twists and turns. I encourage you to read 1 Samuel so you can read it for yourself, but eventually, we are told in 1 Samuel, "David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam (Ad-dual-am), and when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down to him."
Welcome to the second week of our summer series, David for King. The story of David is one of the most important, detailed, sprawling, cinematic stories in the whole Bible.
“I will bless the Lord who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.” (Ps 16:7-8)
The half-truth we want to discuss today is one that exists between Christians, and is an important element of our Catholic faith. This half-truth is that Holy Communion is only a symbol. A symbol represents something. Holy Communion represents God’s love for us, but it is much more than that. So if anyone says communion is a symbol, that is true, but it is only half true.
Today we want to confront this half-truth that all religions are the same, deep down. Now, that is true if you mean that all religions struggle with, and attempt to answer, the same questions. They struggle with questions such as what is the very foundation of reality. Does God exist? If God exists, what is God’s nature? Is there one God or many gods? If God exists, what does he expect of us? Does he expect anything of us? What happens to us after we die? These and many other questions are questions that various religions attempt to answer. Religion is a set of beliefs that attempt to explain what life is all about, who we are, and the most important things human beings should spend their time doing.
Welcome to the second week of our message series Half-Truth. Our culture often has half-truths. Half-truths are beliefs that are kind of right, but not completely. Just as if you get it half right when you put the right street address in your GPS, but the wrong town, you arrive at the wrong destination, if we buy into these half-truths of culture, then we wind up at a place we do not want to be.
A half-truth is a statement that includes some element of truth; the statement might be partly true, but in leaving out the rest of the truth, it brings about a deception. The half-truth often leads us to embrace a whole lie. In this series, we will confront popular misconceptions and errors in thinking that our culture believes. This series deals with basics of our faith: the Ascension, Pentecost, the Trinity and Corpus Christi. We will explore each of these truths of our faith and show the popular misconceptions they refute, including: there are many ways to God, all religions are the same, you don’t need a Church to connect with God, The Holy Eucharist is just a symbol.
At the Council of Jerusalem, it was decided with the Holy Spirit not to make it difficult for the Gentiles to come to God. They were going to put rungs on the ladder so that Gentiles could easily come to Christ. Basically, what they said is: We ought not make it difficult for the Gentiles to turn to God. We ought not make it difficult for people to come to church. There’s a groundbreaking idea: we ought not make it difficult for people to come to church! Let’s make it easy—as easy as possible for people who are interested in turning to God and learning more about Him to get started.
In this message, we will look at the truth that the natural inclination of Churches is to become insular, but to fulfill the mission given to us we must make it easy for people to come to Christ as a community. We will look at how we are partnering together to make it easy for people to come to Christ at every age level.
The early Church broke new ground because they were able to bring the Gospel into places that had never heard it. They didn’t fear failure but persevered and kept sharing the Gospel. As followers of Christ, it is our job to share the good news with people who don’t know the good news. We have an opportunity to break ground with people who don’t know Jesus. Like Paul and Barnabas we must persevere and not fear that not all our efforts will be successful.
One of the most appealing things about the early church was the clear and direct communication of what was
required of a follower of Jesus. One of Jesus’ new requirements for us after the new covenant is that we should
not be afraid. In Acts 5, the Sanhedrin arrested the apostles and ordered them to stop speaking in the name of
Jesus. They replied that they “must obey God rather than men.” The apostles left that meeting “rejoicing that
they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.” Imagine how different our world
might be if we fearlessly obeyed God rather than man. Let’s make it appealing for others to turn to God by
living lives confident in the resurrection.
The Church was a place where people could come to be healed. They were able to have success solely because they had the power of Holy Spirit upon them. The same power is available to us too. In this message, we will look at how the Church broke new ground by bringing healing to the people of the first century and how we can still accomplish this mission today. As more and more people’s hearts are healed through the Church, more people will be drawn to it.
Easter celebrates the most groundbreaking event in history. And it’s impact is still being felt. Over a billion people all around the world this morning are gathering to celebrate a Jewish carpenter from an obscure village who lived 2,000 years ago.
What we want you to know: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
What do we want you to do: Ponder this passage above about God’s love for you, in the depths of your heart, and with this in mind, come to our Holy Week services Thursday and Friday.
As we wrap up our series today, we want to look at how helpful the attitude of humility can be when it comes to recognizing and eliminating sin in our life.
Today, we focus on the message of humility that comes in the form of repentance. Admitting our sins and our failures is the key to growing in humility. We are all prodigals who need to admit to God our need for his mercy and forgiveness. We need to practice the humility of saying we are sorry and that we have done wrong.
What we want you to know: Humility has the incredible ability to change and transform us into the person thatwe want to be, the person that is more attractive to the people around us and the person God wants us to be.
What we want you to do: Cultivate a habit of admitting your faults and failures. Be humble; admit your faultsand own your mistakes, honestly and regularly say you’re sorry.
Some of Jesus’ listeners ask him about the death of some people, asking Him for an interpretation. At that time, the thinking was that if something bad happened to you, you deserved it. Jesus warns them not to compare themselves, but instead to focus on their own repentance. Comparison kills our humility because we often compare ourselves to people we will measure up positively against based on our standards not God’s. In this
message we will look at avoiding the comparison trap
We introduce people to Jesus because he is the only one in the history of the world who conquered the grave. If someone can predict their own suffering and death and then rise from the grave, that is someone worth following.
In this week’s message, we will look at prayer and worship as a way in which we humble ourselves before a God who is greater than us
What we want you to know: Humility is not a low opinion of yourself, it’s a clear opinion of yourself. Humility is knowledge of yourself as you really are.
What we want you to do:. Humble yourself in prayer & acknowledge that God is great!
The reading from Deuteronomy reminds the Israelites that God formed them as a people and delivered them from Egypt. They called themselves “The Chosen People” not as a badge of honor, but as a reminder that they were only a nation because of God’s initiative. Other nations had power or wisdom, the Israelites only had God’s help. In this week’s homily we will look at humility as understanding all we have comes from God.
You are church! And the only time we are church is when we exist for others, especially those who are not here, following Jesus’ call to share him with the world. That’s what we want you to know.
Today is the last of a brief series called Hooked: Followers Fish. Two weeks ago, we heard that Jesus called the first Apostles and promised that they would learn to bring people into a relationship with him. He used the metaphor of fishing for that activity: they would become fishers of men. When it comes to bringing people to Christ, we have to put aside our own fears, discomfort, and laziness. One of the ways we can do so is by having a very simple strategy: invest and invite.
Jesus’ resurrection to new life proved the power of his death. His resurrection proved that his work on the cross was not just the death of a good man, but the God Man. His cross and resurrection redeemed the whole world.
When Jesus called the first disciples he didn’t promise to make them better or smarter or stronger. He said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. In this message we will make the point that followers fish. We will look at the call of Peter and how we can get over the fear of bringing people to Jesus so that we become a place where it becomes impossible not to share Jesus with the world. Throughout these three weeks, we will discuss the importance of sharing our faith, both for the benefit of others and for our own spiritual growth.
Happy families, successful ones are characterized by mothers who understand their role is like Mary’s role, a role of preparation. They're preparing their children for release into their own lives, under their own authority, in the larger world, in the same way that Mary released Jesus into his public ministry. This is the selfless role of all mothers, to bring their children up to live independent faith-filled lives.
Well, today, we're going to look at a unique role in the family. It is the role of a father or a father figure. And in order to do it, we're going to take a look at Jesus’ relationship with his father, based upon a key moment in Jesus’ life.
All of us come from families that are diversified by size and other factors, but share many commonalities, including our strong emotions when it comes to different familial relationships and experiences. In this series, we will look at our family relationships – both in the past, present, and future - and we’ll explore three principles of every happy family: Successful families accept the messiness of family life with grace and flexibility; are marked by mutual respect; and are committed to a larger purpose beyond themselves.
Giving your Best Yes to Sharing for Christmas. To share or not to share, is that the question?
The second part of our homily series, Your Best Yes. Enjoy Christmas by giving your best yes! Discover that that has to do with repentance
Is getting ready for Christmas stressful for you? Here is our new homily series on de-stressing during Christmas.