Hope Archives - Page 2 of 5 - St. Peter's Lutheran Church

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Our thanks to Brendan Armitage for offering this week’s devotion. (In case you are wondering, the darkest Night Service he refers to will be held on Sunday night,m December 22 at 6PM in our sanctuary.) “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in…

What Kind of King?

Christ the King Sunday … today’s celebration … is the final Sunday of the Church Year. It is a time when the Church not only thinks about the end of our twelve-month cycle of Sunday church services and accompanying lessons and festivals. It is also a time when we think about the end of time,…

Hope in the Face of Cockroaches

Can anyone see what this is? Right! It’s a cockroach … (toss it to a parishioner) … not a real one, of course. In sharing it with you, I am letting you in on a secret ritual that your worship staff engages in each week. Yes, when your rostered leaders gather to start planning for…

Choose Life

It was 6:45 a.m. on Sunday morning, and already the day was complicated. I had just spent about forty-five minutes with a family that was in the process of removing a hospital life-support system from their loved one. She had been in a serious accident the day before, and while her body was strong and…

God is Still Good

This week’s devotion is written by Emily, a student at Pepperdine University. This devotion was offered by one of our church staff members yesterday at our all-staff meeting. It came to us through an extended family member who is Emily’s teacher. Yesterday was the one-month mark. Almost exactly a month ago I was trapped in…

Easter 7

New Day Sermon Easter 7 We yearn to find unity in our world and in our communities, but as often as not we come up short. As Jesus concluded his high priestly prayer in St. John’s Gospel, he reminded the disciples (and us) that unity is something God gifts to us, since the first days…

Healing Waters

(Please be aware that during the season of Lent, these weekly devotions will be arriving in your inbox on Tuesdays.) I see him twice within a twenty-four hour period of time. Each time, healing waters flow. You might call me a crybaby. Mea culpa. But he has been a strong presence in my life. I’ve…

Repentance Made Visible

“It only takes a spark, to get a fire going.” Pass It On, Kurt Kaiser, composer It is late in the evening, minutes shy of midnight, and two dozen of us are gathered in front of the old stone fireplace. We hear some words of Scripture and offer up some prayers to God … we…

Rejoice?

New Day Sermonadvent 3 Is it up to us to muster up hope and joy this holiday season? When circumstances make it difficult, joy, like faith can only be received from God. What we need to fill our spirits is available, yet not always accessible. Why?

Finding Hope in an Apocalyptic World

Let’s have a little chat, shall we? It will be a chat about these bizarre eight verses from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 13. Those who get paid to research and interpret the Bible make reference to the 13th chapter of Mark’s Gospel as “The Little Apocalypse.” You can read a slightly edited version of…