Sermon Cloud

Fear freezes. And, truth be told, our society seems to be getting more fearful. Courage is not the absence of fear but a proper handling of fear. As a pastor, what amazes me is all the different fearful situations our congregation faces week in and week out. How will we be different than everyone else? Do we have resources that enable us to live, not without fear, but in the face fo fear in Christ? Today in the Word we come to a section of Acts that focuses on Paul’s trials. We have said these are more than legal trials. As every defendant knows, a legal trial is also an internal and spiritual trial. Such trials call for courage. It is so easy in this age to turn away from the hard but right path and or to buckle in the face of fear. But Jesus calls his disciples to courage. I believe He calls the church to courage. He died to save us from sin and to turn us from freezing fears and cowardice to courage. This is wonderfully illustrated in the life of Paul in Acts 22 and 23. Let God speak to you through His Word and the sacrament this morning. And let this All Saints Sunday remind you of the many believers in the past who have lived with courage in Christ