St. Paul's Church - Willington, Ct

We have a tendency to think of our anger as a sign of our righteousness, but Jesus challenges us to think differently.

Early in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, he gives a clarification about his relationship to the Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets). He says that he hasn't come to abolish it, but to fulfill it. He also says that "every stroke of the pen of the Law" will remain "until heaven and earth pass away," and that anyone who teaches someone to break "the least of these commands" will be called "least in the Kingdom of God." We considered how we should understand Jesus's words and what they mean for our lives today.

Today we returned to our ongoing series in the Gospel of Matthew with the next major section: the Sermon on the Mount. We considered the significance of the beatitudes, Jesus's description of the kind of people who are blessed. What does it mean to be blessed, and what does it look like to be a blessed person?

He is risen! This morning we reflected on the the resurrection: what it means for our own future, and how it's reality and power are revealed.

The Gospel of John tells us that after Jesus died, a soldier put a spear in his side and out of the wound flowed blood and water. Tonight we considered the meaning of this moment.

This week we reflected on the significance of Jesus's trials before the Sanhedrin and Pilate: his last stops before the cross.

Today we considered how the meaning of the Passover should help us to appreciate the significance of the Lord's Supper.

This week we considered the significance of one of Jesus's most impressive miracles: the raising of Lazarus: what it reveals about God's attitude toward death, and his power over it.

This week we considered the role of faith in making it through the spiritual wilderness of life. What actually is faith? And what does it enable us to do? We looked at Hebrews 11 for insight.

Jesus invited fishermen to be his disciples, telling them he would make them "fishers of people." This morning we considered what that means.

This morning we considered the meaning and significance of Jesus's first message in the Gospel of Matthew: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near."

This week we considered what we can learn from Jesus's temptation by the devil in the wilderness. The temptations were all attempts by the Devil to get Jesus to be the kind of Messiah people want, rather than the one we need.

All four Gospels include the story of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus. But why? This morning we considered why the baptizer and the baptism matters.

In the final message of our "When the Word Became Flesh" series we considered: what does it mean that Jesus "fulfills" the Scriptures?

On the "7th Day of Christmas" we considered: who were the Magi? And what was the significance of their visit?

This Christmas Eve, we considered what the circumstances of Jesus's arrival tell us about God.

On this third Sunday in Advent we considered the significance of the virgin birth.

What Jesus's adoptive father reveals about what true righteousness looks like.