“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. If you forgive other people when they sin against you – willfully and recklessly, then your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you refuse to do your part, nurturing your hurt and anger, your Father will not forgive your [...]
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you [...]
“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you do [...]
This is the episode for Ash Wednesday as we begin a new season in the Christian year calendar, the season of Lent. Reading from Romans 12 verse 2. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve [...]
John 1:43-51 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.†44 Philip was from Bethsaida, which was the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets [...]
Matthew 4:12-17 12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 13 He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “In [...]
Quick recap of the storyline so far. The adult man Jesus makes a public declaration to dedicate His life to the service of God by immersion in the waters of the Jordan River by John the Baptist. John identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit falls on him like a dove and [...]
             Luke 4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” After his baptism and the heavenly pronouncement, which must have [...]
 Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. At that moment the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, who brings me great joy, with [...]
 On the liturgical calendar, the baptism of Jesus is traditionally commemorated on the second Sunday of Epiphany. Reading from Matthew chapter 3:13-15 13 Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be [...]
