Sept summary
of sermon themes
How does each sermon connect to this theme?
“Eternal God, as a loving Father, You have heaped on me innumerable blessings; and I have heaped up many sins.” Could not each of us begin our daily prayers with these words? When we pause to recognize the abundance of God’s blessings, we also become more aware that none of them are earned. Every grace we receive is a gift of His love and mercy. This month, we will reflect on the undeserved gifts God pours into our lives.
September 6 The focus of our first Sunday is on the sacraments, acts of God on an individual. They testify of the work of Jesus Christ in our lives, as we in turn testify of our Savior to the world.
September 13 On the second Sunday, we’ll discover how the first apostles found public and private ways to share the gospel of Christ, and will be encouraged to find our own avenues of sharing the messages of God, the good news, in meaningful and relevant ways.
September 20 On the third Sunday, the sermon will expand our understanding of blessing. As we receive blessings of God, we are called to live as faithful disciples whose lives reflect His blessing and become instruments through which His grace extends to the world.
September 27 The fourth Sunday will explore Isaiah 40 and what it means to wait on and experience the renewed strength of God.
September midweek. The sermon provided for the midweek focuses on the peace of God, in contemplation of the International Day of Peace on September 21. Colossians 3 provides a framework for believers to invest in the peace of their community through new life in Christ.
Undeserved might seem negative to some, but additional words from Catherine Parr’s prayer (1512-1548) frame our theme in a different light: “Shall I fall in desperation? No, I will call upon Christ, the Light of the world, the Fountain of life, the relief of all careful consciences, the Peacemaker between God and man, and the only health and comfort of all true repentant sinners.” We are undeserving, but our Savior does not leave us in that condition. May we respond with gratitude.
John S Schnabel