Teachers, parents, and even returning students are often surprised by changes that have occurred over the summer. Some examples from the past week: "You got new furniture in the atrium!!" And, "You must have grown six inches over the summer!" And, "You got glasses! I love them." Those kinds of changes are nothing compared to the changes you see in a person when God the Holy Spirit shows up. Sometimes it's a slow process, and sometimes everything changes at once. One thing is sure, though: when the Spirit shows up, there is change. Paul encouraged the Roman church by pointing out the changes he noticed. May the Spirit encourage you today as you encounter him in his Word.

The first 13 verses of Romans 15 show a theme of acceptance. Acceptance is a word and a concept with a positive connotation in most contexts, but what does God's Word say? How and why have you been accepted? Whom should you accept? How and why? We’re glad you’re here to explore this with us.

Imagine a rich uncle tells you that for your birthday he'd like to buy you a car, "Just go pick it out." You go to the used car lot and choose a 20-year-old rusty compact with 200,000 miles. You didn't fully understand your uncle's offer. He meant for you to pick out a new Cybertruck or Eurocar. You were thinking too small. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul corrects our small thinking about the kingdom of God. In chapter 14, he probes the depths of what the kingdom of God. Don’t settle. This is big. We’re glad you’re here with us today to revel in the riches you have in the kingdom of God.

Do you remember COVID? Unless you’re a newborn or have a failing memory, of course you do. Remember the unknowns, the fear, the divisiveness, and the decisions? Leaders of St. Andrew prayed often as we entered that season that the Lord would guide us to make decisions that would reflect our love for Christ and his people, weak or strong. COVID is in the rearview mirror, but we’ll always have to make decisions that have potential to hurt or help. Where do you draw the line? Don’t expect pat answers; expect the God who cared enough to die for you to guide you. Today, he does so through his Word (Romans 14) and the mystery of the Lord’s Supper.