St. Luke Columbus

Maundy Thursday is a night in which we experience a rich continuity with the past.  Paul begins the reading in 1 Corinthians with the statement, “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you…” referring to the passing on of the Lord’s Supper to the believers in Corinth.  Jesus gave the supper to us, and we in turn give it to the next generation.  We share in an experience of God’s grace that has been experienced for centuries.     Jesus says a similar thing about washing feet, “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”  We are, in loving service, called to serve others as Christ serves us.   Tonight we receive and are invited to share with the next generation the incredible, unconditional grace of God found in Jesus Christ.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

What draws you to worship?  On Palm Sunday we read about the crowds who worshiped Jesus as the coming Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Like a moth drawn to a flame, the crowds were drawn to Jesus.  Throughout the Gospels, they followed Jesus from place to place.  He had something they needed, something no one else could give.   Are we the same?  Are we drawn to worship Jesus as well?  If so, why?  What is it for you that draws you to worship Jesus as Lord?   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

In our day, it is a primary mission of the evil one to divide a congregation, just like he has divided the Church in the past. When a congregation is divided, lives are wrecked and the mission is severely crippled.  St. Luke has many differences within our family over politics, economics, human sexuality, gender identity and roles, leadership, worship styles, and more. While we should never dismiss these because they are very important to each other, they should not divide us nor motivate any of us to walk away from our St. Luke family. Remaining united in the body of Christ was a top priority in the teaching of the Apostle Paul, second only to the Gospel of Jesus. We stay united when we affirm as of greatest importance the essential beliefs and mission that we hold in common.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Often it is said that our children are our future. While that is true, it is more helpful to understand that reaching the next generation with the gospel is a primary responsibility that God has for us. The trends currently look very bleak, but by relentlessly structuring and resourcing the St. Luke mission to effectively reach the next generation, this family of faith can turn the tide within our congregation and our surrounding community.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Jesus has strong words, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  That is the change we need to make.  But, what changes does God make on our behalf?  God is like the vineyard owner who patiently tends to us, even when we don’t bear fruit.  When the world around us finds us useless, God in his mercy, tends to us so that we might bear fruit to the world around us.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We often find Jesus in the most unexpected places. We find Jesus walking the gauntlet in the covenant ceremony recorded in Genesis 17. In the gospel narratives, we find Jesus brooding over God’s people like a mother hen, with the little, least, last, lost, and dead, and on the cross. No matter where we find Jesus, it is good news for everyone. In our lives, Jesus shows up in unexpected places – where we need him the most.    Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We all want certain things in life and out of life.  Some of us want more adventure, authority, or attention.  But do we want more of God?  Do we desire to deepen our faith?  Do these make the list?  This week we’ll explore how Jesus was tempted to get more out of life, but instead, he opted to get more from God the Father.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

We must utterly despair of our own ability before we are prepared to receive the grace of Christ. Luther wrote, “The thirst for glory is not ended by satisfying it but rather by extinguishing it.” This is the cross story that stands in direct opposition to the glory story that is our default view of ourselves. Forde writes, “The most common overarching story we tell about ourselves is what we will call the glory story. We came from glory and are bound for glory.” BUT, “Our story is not that of the exit from and return to glory of an undying soul. The cross destroys all that.” All of our schemes for gaining the glory we imagine that lost come to an end at the cross of Christ. They are ashes - for we are dust and to dust we shall return. Our only hope is that when we die with Christ, we will also live with Christ. (2 Timothy 2:11)   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

In our world today there is so much out of our control. If we focus on those situations and people beyond our control, we will end up frustrated and anxious. When we stay focused on what we can control, we can respond to life with peace and self-confidence. Jesus stayed focused on what he could control and the mission God had him on despite the swirling political and social pressures of his day.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Having a safe place with safe people is vital to strong mental health. Because Jesus inhabits our vital friendships with other Christ-followers with his grace and forgiveness, He empowers those connections to equip us with strong mental health. The symptoms of disconnection are evident, depression/mood; anxiety/fear; acting out/impulse problems; addictions; distorted thinking (negative/worrisome). The outcomes of a vital connection with others who are in Christ are more evident: peace, security, acceptance, truth is spoken in love, fortified resilience, and the capacity to love others as Jesus loves us. This fosters strong emotional health. Next step: Find a safe place with safe people who follow Jesus.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

What is mature love? Humanity has a tendency to curve on itself, where all we think about is ourselves. One way through mental health issues is by seeking to better another person’s life through kindness while we ourselves are seeking to be better. Jesus’ way of love lifts our heads from seeing only ourselves to seeing others around us. Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

When we are honest and vulnerable before God and one another regarding our faults, we put ourselves in the place to experience being fully accepted by God and others. This gives us a solid foundation for strong mental health. The central teaching of our evangelical faith is that we are saved, accepted, and justified by grace through faith in Christ. All of our efforts for making ourselves good and accepted fall short and come to end at the cross of Christ. We are left with only Jesus and his work to make us right with God and each other.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

It’s wise to fight.  The foolish avoid conflict and thus let resentment, misunderstanding, and bitterness fester. Every relationship will experience conflict.  What matters is not whether or not people fight, it’s how they fight that matters.  The measuring line for successful relationships is not the frequency of fighting, it is in the quality of the conflict.  Wisdom teaches us that we can fight fairly and find a resolution to our conflicts regardless of their intensity and duration.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Pastor Tyus Nedd joins us from International Christian Center to share five pieces of w.i.s.d.o.m to take with us as we journey through life.  Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

It’s wise to grieve.  Avoiding grief leaves our wounded hearts open like a cut that will not heal. Every person experiences grief.  It follows as we experience loss in our lives, whether it be because someone we loved has died, we lose physical ability, friendships end, or hopes and dreams for the future die.  The wise allow themselves to grieve.  If we don’t allow ourselves to grieve, the emotional toll we face are physical and relational difficulties.     Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

God’s wisdom for our lives is the cost of dying so that we will be able to love God and others.   Everything in what Jesus taught and the way Jesus lived and died reveals the hidden wisdom of God for our lives – to die to ourselves so that we will be able to love God above all else and to love others as Jesus loves us. One cannot be raised to a new life without first dying. This hidden wisdom of God is upside down and backward from the “wisdom” of the world. It is the message of the cross which is foolishness to those who yet do not know Jesus.   Next step: Identify one bit of the world’s “wisdom” that you are relying on more than you should. Put it in its proper place of your priorities. Recommit yourself to trust in the message of the cross above the wisdom of this world.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

Paul describes Jesus as the “wisdom of God”,  Thus, Jesus embodies the entirety of wisdom.  He is the Savior of the world and the wisdom of God. The beginning of the year is a time for us to look ahead at what will be.  We envision, make plans, set goals…but wisdom will be the way it is accomplished. The world today may be filled with incredible knowledge, but be bereft of wisdom.  Google is knowledgeable, but not wise.     Next step:  Ask for wisdom for the way through the year.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

When Mary visits Elizabeth, Elizabeth is shocked and says, “Why am I so favored…?”  The NRSV re-words her question, “Why has this happened to me…?”  Regardless of how it is worded, Elizabeth is surprised and taken aback by the grace she’s experiencing by Mary’s visit.  Mary, in whom the Savior of the Word dwelled in bodily form, visits Elizabeth and gives her a day she would never forget.  Might we do the same for others?  What if we set out to make someone’s day this holiday season?  After all, the risen Christ dwells in our lives as well.  God, through Mary, gave Elizabeth a day she would never forget.  Might God be asking us to do the same for others?  Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

In the morning, many of us ask, “What should I do today?”  We think of tasks and obligations and make plans to carry them out.  Do we ever ask, “Who should I be today?” or as we look at the holiday season, “Who should I be this Christmas?”  What difference would it make if you did?  During Advent, we anticipate the coming of Christ, his first coming in his birth in Bethlehem and his second in glory.  He comes as a who first...a person in the flesh.  He shows up intentionally before he does anything.  The readings this week lead us into how we might show up during the holidays:  joyful, attentive, gentle, generous, peaceful...not as an obligation, but in response to all God has done and is doing in our lives.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website

As you look at what is happening in our world and individual lives, you may be thinking, “Evil seems to be winning. Where is the God of justice?” God brings justice through Jesus alive in us and everything is made new. The Hebrew prophets Malachi and John the Baptist proclaimed that God’s justice was coming. God’s justice came in Jesus. God’s justice is backward from the world’s justice. God’s justice flows from God’s grace found in Jesus and not from the world’s karma justice. At the same time, God’s justice calls for a response of trust in God and living in obedience to God’s values. When we trust in Jesus and seek to live by the Lord’s values, God’s justice overcomes the evil injustices of our time, and lives are changed to be more like Jesus.   Subscribe to stay updated with the latest content. Follow St Luke Lutheran Church: YouTube Instagram Facebook Website