Who do people say Jesus is? You could rattle off a few answers, I'm sure. Watch TV, listen to the radio, surf the net, go to Thanksgiving dinner, talk to some friends in the coffee house or brew pub, and you'll get answers. Some will be baseless and some blasphemous, some true to one degree or another, but few will hit on the heart and center of who Jesus is and what he's done. We’re glad you’re here today to get God's own answer from the lips of Peter. You're already guessing that Jesus’ identity has something to do with his cross. Just a warning, your identity has something to do with your cross, too.
It takes courage to be honest, especially when admitting weakness or insufficiency. You’d only be that honest with someone you trust. Welcome to the presence of One you can trust. The Lord God promises to meet you through the gospel, the message of what Jesus has done for you. As you receive that message today, may God convince you to trust him. We call that spiritual sight and pray the Lord blesses you with a rich measure of it today.
Have you ever been asked a tough question? I'm not talking about the daily tough decision of what to have for dinner or the occasional question of, “Where should we go out to eat?” I'm talking about a simple yet deeply probing question that forces you to examine your perspective on life. Today, Jesus asks a few of these questions designed to focus our hearts and lives on his true identity.
How do you complete this sentence: The more things change, the more…”? We all know what we want to say, but there is a contrary view. The more things change, the more things change! Wise King Solomon said by inspiration of the Spirit, "to everything there is a season." God's plan is to keep you close to him by feeding your faith every season. So that's what we do at St. Andrew. We feed and nurture Christian faith with his Word and sacrament whether you're a child or long in the tooth. We’re glad you’re with us today. Learn five stages of life, determine which stage(s) you're in, and plan how you'll feed your faith no matter what season you're in.
Today’s Bible account may seem like déjà vu. Many would assume that because there are two similar accounts of a miracle of Jesus in the Scriptures, they must be the same event just with different details. This is possible, but more likely Jesus did a similar miracle for a similar reason in a different location. Mark's Gospel is all about showing us Jesus as the Christ, our Savior. Today we see Jesus provide food yet again, but he will also explain that faith isn't about the miracles, it's about his identity as our Savior.