From the pulpit

Excerpts from messages being presented at area places of worship this weekend.

The Rev. J. Christopher Roberts, rector, St. Martha Episcopal Church, Papillion

Thomas said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

One of the great challenges of faith and of life is learning to see fully. Seeing is about perception and understanding, not just physical sight. Often we miss much of life because preconceived expectations limit us. Thomas would not believe the resurrection until he physically saw the wounds of the cross. But when Jesus appeared to him he did not need to touch; his perception was transformed.

Spiritual tradition is full of stories about sight and awareness. One said to be told by Thomas Aquinas tells of a man who heard about a special ox and set out to own it. He traveled the world, spent his fortune and gave his whole life to the search. Moments before he died, he realized he had been riding on that ox the whole time.

Can we learn to “see” more fully? It will change everything for us.

The Rev. Warren Riley, Trinity Lutheran Church, Papillion

Christians often struggle between the desire for God’s best will (plan) for our lives and our own plan. In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Thy will be done” when in reality we mean “Thy will be done, Lord — my way.”

I am sure that God wants us to prayerfully make plans and it’s OK to set short-term goals with appropriate strategies to aid us in achieving our goals. However, God wants us to take these steps of preparation with the understanding that His will for our lives may be different from our own plan.

Our lives, plans, goals and dreams will be more satisfying for us in the context of Proverbs 16:9 — “The human mind plans the way, but the Lord directs the steps.” Clearly, as people who honor and follow God, we must leave room for Him to guide our steps in directions that we may not understand or choose.

How much more will we thrive and even enjoy life when we are able to make plans in pencil and allow God to finish them in ink?

The Rev. Ronald E. Holling, pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church and School and Bethany Lutheran Church, Omaha

We walk by faith, not by sight. We live by faith when we go to the doctor, when we go to the grocery store, when we put our money in the bank, and even when we take our medicine.

Faith is what God works in our hearts and lives. It is His gift. He gives the power for us to take hold of it and to use it in our lives. Yet why is it so hard to believe Him? It doesn’t need to be that difficult.

God has always been there for us. He has never abandoned us.

He is more dependable than our parents.

He is more caring and loving than our parents.

He is always doing what is best for us, better than our parents did.

He is more trustworthy than our doctor because He knows exactly what we need.

And when it comes to knowing what is for our benefit, there is no one like our God.

Throughout history there were many, many times when He could have said: “I have had enough of these people.” But that’s not the way love reacts and responds. Love reacts and responds always with love. And so ultimately His love called for the sending of His own Son here to this world. And it called for the giving up of His own Son for us, the people that He had created to love.

That Son, our Lord Jesus, took our nature and our sin upon Himself, living a perfect life for us, and then going to a cross for us to suffer and die in our place for our sins but then to rise again for our salvation. That’s what I call love. And that kind of love calls forth faith.

I can believe a God who has done all that for me. I can believe what He says and what He promises. And I can believe in a God who has done all of that for me. This God truly has my best and my ultimate interests at heart, because He really does want me to spend eternity with Him in heaven. So I can trust Him.