1. This is an excerpt from part two of “On Any Given Sunday: The Story of Christ in the Divine Service” by Mike Berg (1517 Publishing, 2023).
  2. The story of salvation is the true story of God doing his unexpected work of salvation for us.
  3. What if sin was truly removed and what if the one who took it from us had the power to conquer it’s curse and spit in the face of death?
  4. This is the prelude of Easter. Is a dead Jesus still resting in the tomb? No!
  5. What is undoubtedly true, however, is that St. Peter wasn’t left outside. He wasn’t left weeping. He was restored, as am I, as are you.
  6. If the season of Lent is a journey, Holy Week is the destination.
  7. Past, present, and future are tied together in Christ.
  8. My fear of this coming darkness only lasts a moment.
  9. What we discover in O’Connor’s stories and Martin Luther’s theology is that God’s grace is elusive because the human heart is resistant to it.
  10. We don't make Church "happen." Only Christ can do so. It's his happening.
  11. Unprompted, without any warning, for no reason at all, without any instigation say, "I love you." And that will wash over your parents like a beautiful absolution.
  12. This is the message of Lent. We are not called to sacrifice for Jesus in order to earn our salvation. Rather, we are called to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us.