Sermons from March 2018

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.  Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse…

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you…

The Lord works righteousness     and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses,     his deeds to the people of Israel: The Lord is compassionate and gracious,     slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse,     nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve     or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth,     so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the…

“And afterward,     I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,     your old men will dream dreams,     your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women,     I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens     and on the earth,     blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness     and the moon to blood     before the coming of the great…