| 1John 3:1-3 | Behold, We Are the Children of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | All Saints Day | |
| It can neither be fathomed nor comprehended the amazing love that the Father has given to his people, that they should be called the children of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are God’s children now, and what we shall be has not yet appeared but when Christ appears, who we really are will be seen, for we will see him as he truly is. |
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| Matthew 22:34-46 | The Great Commandment | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| The first and great commandment within the holy Scriptures is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. The second commandment, which is similar to the first, is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. On these two commandments, our Lord taught, hinge the entirety of the Law and the Prophets. |
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| Matthew 22:15-22 | Render to Caesar and to God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| When asked whether it was fitting to pay taxes to Caesar or not, Jesus asked for a coin. In referring to whose likeness and inscription the coin bore, Jesus said that the things that are Caesar’s should be rendered to Caesar, and the things that are God’s should be rendered to God. |
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| Matthew 22:1-14 | Come to the Wedding Feast | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| Jesus often compared the Kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast. The host of the feast has prepared everything, and invited everyone to come to the banquet but, because of various excuses and alibis, many choose not to attend. The host therefore resends his servants out to invite all they can find to come, in order that the wedding hall may be filled. Yet, only those properly attired will be allowed to remain. |
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| Matthew 21:33-46 | The Stone That the Builders Rejected | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| When accosted by the chief priests and elders of the people, Jesus asked them if they had never read in the Scriptures concerning how the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Because of their hardness of heart, he warned them that the Kingdom would be taken from them and given to a people producing its fruits. |
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| Matthew 21:23-32 | The Tale of Two Sons | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| Those who challenged Jesus’ authority were not truly interested in whether or not the Father sent him. Rather, their intent was to trap him, and prove him to be both inauthentic and ungodly. In order to rebuke their idle claims, Jesus told a parable about two sons, showing that it is not your claims about obedience that ultimately matter, but whether or not you repent, believe, and act on the truth. |
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| Matthew 20:1-16 | Laborers in the Vineyard | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| Jesus compared the Kingdom of heave to a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. He contracted each laborer for his wage, and granted to each according to his contract. As lord of the harvest, he determined the blessing and remuneration, not the workers; he determines the reward and the blessing to all. |
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| Matthew 18:21-35 | The Unforgiving Servant | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| When asked how often we should forgive our brother who sins against us, as many as seven times, Jesus expanded that number and said seventy times seven. We ought to be forgiving, because our Father in Christ Jesus has forgiven us. |
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| Matthew 18:15-20 | A Brother Who Sins Against You | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| Jesus taught that if our brother sins against us, we should handle it discreetly, privately, and yet directly, all for the sake of reclaiming the one who fell. Forgiveness and reclaiming souls and relationships in the body is a communal event, anchored in the mercy and forgiveness of God. |
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| Matthew 16:21-28 | Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| As time passed in his mission, Jesus testified to his disciples that if any would come after him, they must deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him. Whoever would save his life would lose it, and only those who would lose their lives for his sake would actually find life. |
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| Matthew 16:13-20 | The Christ, the Son of the Living God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| At a retreat with his disciples at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” After various answers, he then asked them who they thought him to be. Peter confessed: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus affirmed that this recognition was not of flesh and blood, but the result of the Father’s revelation to him of his true identity. |
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| Matthew 15:10-28 | Dogs, Crumbs, and the Master's Table | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| Jesus reveals that it is not what a person consumes that makes them unclean, but what comes out of them. When a Canaanite woman asked for mercy for her demon-oppressed daughter, Jesus responded that he was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel, and that it was not right to give the food of the children to the dogs. The woman responded that even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master’s table, and for this saying, Jesus healed her daughter. |
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| Matthew 14:22-33 | Sometimes He Calms the Storm | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
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During a storm on the sea of Galilee, with the disciples’ boat a long way from land, beaten by waves against a strong wind, our Lord came to them, walking on the sea. Though Peter sought leave to do the same, he sank due to his doubt. Jesus retrieved him, and entering the boat, the wind and storm ceased, and they acknowledged that Jesus truly was the Son of God. |
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| Matthew 13:24-43 | The Parable of the Weeds | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Kingdomtide | |
| The Kingdom of God can be compared to someone sowing weeds in the field of a landowner. The field is the world, the good seed sown in it are the children of the Kingdom, and the weeds are the evil ones, sown by the landowner’s enemy, the devil. At the close of the age, the field will be harvested, and all causes of sin and evil will be gathered and throne into the furnace of judgment. |
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| Romans 7:14-25 | The Law of God and the Law of Sin | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| Living in between the times, the Christian lives in the “now and not yet,” possessing the “new man” created after God and his holiness, as well as the “flesh” serving the law of sin in the sin nature. Yielding to Christ by the Holy Spirit can deliver us from the tyranny of our sin natures, and give us victory over the law of sin and death. |
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| 1Corinthians 13:11-14 | Love, Grace, and Communion | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Trinity Sunday | |
| The Lord and true God, Maker of the heaven and earth, has revealed himself as triune, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Paul prayed that the love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit would ever be with the people of God. |
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| 1Corinthians 12:1-13 | Come, Holy Spirit | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Pentecost | |
| If you want the Spirit's empowerment, focus on Christ. |
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| Psalm 68:1-10 | Let God Arise! | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| With Jesus exalted as Christus Victor (To Christ the Victory), he has ascended on high, leading a host of captives in his train, receiving gifts and spoils to distribute among his valiant ones, displaying the booty he won in his battle. |
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| 1Peter 3:13-22 | The Right Hand of God | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Ascension Day | |
| Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the same one who has been both crucified and is now gone into heaven, God has exalted him at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers now all being made subject to him. |
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| 1Peter 2:1-10 | A Cornerstone, Chosen and Precious | Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis | |
| | Eastertide | |
| The Lord God has laid in Zion a chief, chosen, and precious Cornerstone, a foundation that cannot be moved. Whoever believes in God’s capstone will never be put to shame, for no other foundation can be laid than the one already laid–Christ Jesus, our Lord. |
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