Divine Savior Church-santa Rita Ranch Sermons

Most of us feel completely wiped out. Endless demands on our time crush us. Even our “vacations” are manic. If we only had more time! We have forgotten the ancient wisdom of Sabbath, rooted in God’s own rhythm of work and rest. Sabbath means rest. The gift of Sabbath (rest) is essential to our full humanity and faith. Since God knows how much we need Sabbath and how easily we might neglect it, He made it a command. We’ve neglected it anyhow. We’ve lost the rest of God. But nothing really changes until our minds do. God is more interested in changing your thinking than in changing your circumstances. Before we can keep the Sabbath, to be given rest, God has to change our minds. Our attitudes. Our hearts. The gift of God is to experience the sacred in the everyday. Support the show

Jesus' birth is a very significant event for the entire world, but only if it actually happened. The Apostle Matthew starts his gospel in a way that gives us confidence and joy in the fact that Jesus came to us that first Christmas! Support the show

We get frustrated and disappointed when companies don’t deliver on what they promise. But it really hurts when someone we care about breaks a promise they made to us. And we have broken plenty of promises ourselves. A promise gives us something to look forward to. To hope for. That hope is the energy source that powers us to do what we do. We need hope! We need promises to come true! In a world where promises are broken every day, hundreds of promises were made about a Savior who would come to fix everything. Seemingly impossible promises! And every one of them came true! What could be a better item on our grown-up Christmas list than a kept promise?Support the show

Living in the country we do, freedom is important to us. We don’t like to be held back. We don’t like to be told what to do. There are worse things that hold us back and restrict our freedom though… weaknesses, fears, uncertainty, lack of trust, hopelessness, insecurity, anger, grudges, guilt… All of these things restrict our lives and keep us from living in the freedom God designed us to live in. But long ago, the prophets spoke of Someone who would come to proclaim a real freedom! When Jesus spoke publicly the first time, He acknowledged He was the One who was coming to do that! Real Freedom is the perfect item for a grown-up Christmas list!Support the show

No one’s perfect. How many times have we made the rude comment that hurt feelings we wish we wouldn’t have made? How many times did we think of our own selfish wants while trampling on someone else’s needs? Break a promise to our kid? Get caught doing something we shouldn’t do? Wouldn’t it be nice to get a second chance? We don’t live in a world where second chances or “do-overs” are too common. But we do have a God who offers us a “second chance.” His prophet Isaiah talked about the One coming who would give the whole world the ultimate second chance… a brand-new clean start! The perfect thing to ask for this Christmas!Support the show

The Roman world was full of many temptations just like ours is today. Casual sex was a way of life for many. Finding a Christian spouse was difficult. Being lazy and freeloading off of others was commonplace. It wasn’t easy to live a sanctified life pleasing to the Lord. But that didn’t stop the Thessalonians from trying. More and more with God’s help they learned what God’s will is and through the power of the Holy Spirit living in them they found the strength to strive after holiness. With God's help we too strive to be more like Jesus in all that we do even when this sometimes looks so different from the rest of the world. But we know the Lord who calls us is faithful, and he will do it (1 Thess. 5:24).Support the show

To be a Christian in Thessalonica was not easy. They faced persecution and many trials. But they endured because life was different now. They knew they didn’t face these challenges alone. They had the encouragement of their church family. This made them want to stand firm in the Lord as they looked for ways to love and support each other. So too in our world it's easy to feel isolated and alone. But when we support each other like family we know that God is at work strengthening us and causing our love for each other to overflow.Support the show

When the Thessalonians first heard the gospel, they realized it was wonderfully different than any message they’d ever heard before. That’s why they received it as they did—not as the words of mere human beings, but as God’s Word—life changing and worth holding onto for dear life. We also want to take all of God's truth seriously because even in our modern world it's the Word of God that still makes all the difference.Support the show

The Thessalonians turned away from the idols they used to serve. Why? The power of the gospel! Idols are demanding. But Jesus is different! Unlike idols, Jesus is the only living God who, even when you fail him, will not punish you and doesn’t demand more from you. He is the only Lord who even when you fall short, forgives you freely by his grace. Live for him and you will never be let down in the end. The pure gospel of Jesus is why we can also live with more joy than guilt just like the Thessalonians.Support the show

There are false gods battling for the place of honor in our lives. We can’t live the life God wants us to live when we are pursuing something else. Behind the sins we struggle with, the discouragement we deal with, and the lack of purpose we live with, are false gods that are winning the battle for our hearts. They are vying for our attention. But so is our gracious God, through his Word. Through the Holy Spirit. Which voice are we going to listen to? Which volume are we going to turn up? Which will get our attention? The many false gods this world offers that ultimately won’t help us? Or the one true God who made us and loves us and shows us his grace? How can we make sure we are tuning in to Him and his Word to fill us with what we really need? Support the show

The last couple years showed us more than ever how divided we are as a people. We are divided along racial lines, political lines, gender lines, religious lines, and economic lines. It is too easy for us to think in terms of “us and them.” We judge others on this basis, and we feel superior. We tend to emphasize the weaknesses of those on “their” side and minimize the weaknesses of those on “our” side. We spend lots of time at the “altar of pride” and feel superior in terms of morality, religion, race, and ethnicity. These false gods have a very divisive power in our world, and can take the allegiance of our hearts from God to these “sides” we end up making into idols instead of blessings. Support the show

“They must be doing something right!” Have you ever thought or muttered that when someone roared past you in their sports car or fancy boat? Or while you were watching a professional sports contest or singing contest? Or browsing the blog or YouTube channel of a successful influencer? We spend lots of time at the “altar of influence” worshiping gods of people, celebrities, influencers, and culture. Wishing we could be more like them. Wishing we could have what they have. These false gods have incredible influence in our world. It can be hard not to get carried away with them, and let them guide and direct us more than the God who actually knows best how this world works. Support the show

Would you do anything for love? “Falling in love” with another person often keeps us from thinking straight. It takes a high place of importance. It isn’t hard for that kind of infatuation to take a place higher in our hearts than it should. We spend lots of time at the “altar of love” worshiping gods of romance, family, and our own ego. These things are actually good gifts and blessings from God, but can step out of order in our hearts and become more important to us than the love we have for the God who made and redeemed us. It’s good to love our spouse and family, and even have a healthy esteem of ourselves. But God needs first place in our hearts. Even over family. Let’s love our spouses, but love God more. Support the show

It is easy in this world to think that the “best life” or “life to the full” means binging on all the things that bring us temporary pleasure. Didn’t the year of shut-down show us how powerfully addicting binging on Netflix, snack foods, and alcohol can be? We were made to worship God, but we often end up spending lots of time at the “altar of pleasure” worshiping gods of food, sex, and entertainment. These false gods, which wield a very powerful mental, physical, and emotional lure, keep us from the real relationship with Jesus that we need when they become more important to us than Him. We will look at God’s Word today to see how it can defeat these idols from taking God’s place in our hearts.Support the show

We live in a world where everyone wants to be “King of the hill,” right? Climb the ladder. Be on top. Be the highest paid whatever we are. We were made to worship God, but we often end up spending lots of time at the “altar of power” worshiping gods of success, money, and achievement. These false gods, which are so attractive to our world, keep us from the real relationship with Jesus that we need. We will look at God’s Word today to see how it can defeat these idols from getting God’s place in our hearts.Support the show

There are false gods battling for the place of honor in our lives. We can’t live the life God wants us to live when we are pursuing something else. Behind the sins we struggle with, the discouragement we deal with, and the lack of purpose we live with, are false gods that are winning the battle for our hearts. We were made to worship God, but we often end up valuing and honoring the idols of success, money, achievement, food, sex, entertainment, romance, family, our own ego, and many more things. These false gods keep us from the real relationship with Jesus that we need. This week, we begin looking at God’s Word to see how it can help us defeat the idols that want God’s place in our hearts. It’s a battle for our hearts!Support the show

We believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises. Through Him, we utter our Amen to God. The creed summarizes the many promises God has made to us. It's appropriate we conclude with our "Amen." In the end, we are still and know that our Lord is God. In the end, we have confidence in his promises because of Christ. Support the show

We believe there will be a future physical resurrection of the dead for those who turn from sin and to Jesus. Those who believe will be raised to eternal reward.We hope for many things, yet there must be some ultimate hope that provides the drive to propel us forward each and every day. For those who confess the words of the creed, that hope is the resurrection and the life everlasting.Support the show

We believe only through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ and repentance from sin can one be reconciled to God and experience true life and joy.The beauty of God's grace allows us to openly admit our failings and weaknesses, relying on a God who is full of compassion and grace. Support the show

We believe the universal Church contains all Christian believers, spanning the time of the early church to today. The creed reminds us that the life of a Christian is one that desires community with other believers. Support the show