Pastor Kurt Holm
The Creek Church Community

Mark 9:7 Then a cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Remember the first time you looked through a microscope?  What looks like a speck of simple dirt suddenly comes alive with texture, color and patterns. You now never look at things the same way again because everything has the potential to be more than it seems.

The transfiguration of Jesus was an event that revealed that there was more going on than what meets the eye. For Jesus, it affirmed the difficult path toward Jerusalem and the cross. Moses and Elijah assured him that this was what history had longed for and hoped for and looked forward to. God his Father spoke as well, to assure him he was acting as his own beloved son should act and must act. All of this was just a little frightening for the disciples. They were invited to witness a fuller reality of who Jesus is and of his relationship with his Father God. The voice from the cloud confirmed it. Jesus is the beloved son of the living God. And they were emphatically instructed to listen (carefully) to this Son of God. Listening carries with it the idea of not only hearing but obeying.

Continue Reading…

Pastor Sean Blomquist
Shelter Covenant Church

Matthew 16:18-19 Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven.”

There is plenty yummy invitation and challenge for the follower of Jesus in this passage.

The first thing I see is Jesus giving Simon his new name, Peter.  It is an invitation from Jesus to Peter, the little rock to be one, to be in covenant relationship with Jesus the Big Rock.  His identity now flows from the Rock. Like Jacob who in the Old Covenant was called “Israel,” Peter is given a new name. This covenant identity will remind Peter WHO he is. Covenant relationship is the first theme of the bible.

Continue Reading…

Pastor Kevin Murphy
St. Mathew Lutheran Church

Matthew 16:15-17 NKJV He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven

I want to declare today as the day we give God thanks for one of the greatest gifts God’s ever given us – revelation.  If I were to ask you the question, “What has God revealed to you over the course of your life?” I would be willing to bet that the list would be as long as the things for which “we can give God thanks and praise.”

Continue Reading…