What does it mean to show compassion?  Are we responsible for feeding the hungry, or should they learn to fend for themselves?  As a hungry crowd of 5,000 meets Jesus and his disciples, these questions become far more than an academic exercise.  How will we respond to the hungry ones among us?

The call of Christian discipleship leads to the cross.  As we follow Jesus, we lose much of what we think is important and gain that which is truly life-giving.

Jesus calls us to walk with him on the rough seas of life.  When the waves of life cause us to lose balance and we feel like we will certainly drown, Jesus calls us to keep our eyes fixed on him.

The resurrection strikes fear in our hearts, for we know that God's victory over death changes our perspective on death... and life.

The message of the Kingdom of God provokes controversy, especially when people familiar to us challenge us with ideas that make us uncomfortable.  Still, the Kingdom of God comes.  Are we ready for it?

An important first step in our renewal process is repentance.  In baptism, we die to our old selves and we are reborn children of God.  As God's children, we are given the opportunity and the will to change our lives and the direction we are headed.  True repentance involves changing the direction we are headed and reorienting our lives toward God.

As we begin our stewardship emphasis, we seek to discover and celebrate the spiritual gifts wach one of us is given.  We receive these gifts so that we might share them ans the body of Christ might be strengthened.

There are times in the Christian community when we value a false sense of harmony above all else, including honesty.  Jesus calls us to speak the truth in love, even when it's difficult to do.

On this Sunday, we focus on our unity , we focus on our unity with all Christians in the Body of Christ.  In our baptisms, we were adopted as God's children and made members of Christ's church.  This church is built upon Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.  Jesus' death and resurrection has broken the wall of hostility between us and God, as well as between us and our neighbors.