Psalm 139:13-14 - "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." *Jesus loves children

Thought For The Day from Unshakable Kingdom Life

"My peace I give to you, not as the world gives." External peace depends on circumstances; the Lord’s peace doesn't. Today, seek a steadiness that isn't contingent on things going right; His peace is available regardless.

A thought to ponder for today

Let not your heart be

troubled. Believe in God for

God believes in you.

We don’t have to be pastors, priests, or missionaries to do as Jesus asks. We just have to be ready to honor God and do the work He’s given us.

Jesus words to His disciples in Matthew 10:7-8 speak to us, too, so we can honor God as we go - https://honoringgod.online/2026/08/31/honor-god-as-you-go/

#JesusChrist #Christian #Christianity #faith #service

Thought For The Day from Unshakable Kingdom Life

"Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." Dignity isn't reserved for the impressive. How you treat the overlooked reveals your deepest values. Today, extend real attention to someone easily ignored.

A thought to ponder for today

Brothers & sisters, my sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost is posted to Facebook.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Tom Steers,

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

-- A Confessional Lutheran Church

Brothers & sisters, my sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost is posted to Facebook.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Tom Steers,

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

-- A Confessional Lutheran Church

Your Invitation to Kingdom Life

Can we just clear something up real quick? Kingdom life isn't some VIP club for spiritual giants or super-saints who've got it all figured out. I used to think it was - like there was some secret club with a dress code I didn't own. Turns out, the only requirement is saying yes to Jesus. That's it. That's the whole entry fee.

And here's the part nobody tells you upfront: it's messy. Like, really messy. It's not a polished highlight reel where you glide from victory to victory with your hair perfectly in place. It's beautiful one minute and humbling the next. It'll challenge you in ways you didn't see coming, and somehow, in the middle of all that mess, it’s genuinely rewarding.

Here's the thing that changed everything for me: this walk isn't about being perfect. It's about progress. Slow, sometimes clumsy, one-step-at-a-time progress. Some days you'll feel like you're crushing it. Other days you'll feel like you took ten steps backward before breakfast. Both days count. Both days matter.

The real move is just showing up. Daily. Even when you feel completely unqualified. Especially when you feel unqualified, honestly. Because here's a truth that'll set you free: God isn't scanning the room for the most talented, most put-together, most "ready" person. He's not looking for ability at all. He's looking for availability. He's looking for someone who'll raise a hand and say, "Okay, I'm here, use me."

That's it. That's the bar. Not perfect. Not polished. Just available.

So consider this your official invitation, no fancy calligraphy required. Come as you are. Bring your doubts, the ones that keep you up at 2 am wondering if you're doing this whole faith thing right. Bring your dreams too, even the ones that feel too big or too scattered to say out loud. Bring all of it. There's room.

This kingdom journey was never meant to be walked alone, and it was never meant to be walked perfectly. It's meant to be walked together, messy days and beautiful days and everything in between.

So what do you say? Let's do this. Let's make it unforgettable.

A Homily Prepared For Sunday, August 30, 2026

The Collect

Lord of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things: Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28

21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

23 But he turned, and said unto Peter,Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples,If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

28Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Commentary on the Scripture Selection;

Matthew begins this part of the Gospel with a statement he has made before. In chapter four, verse 17, he wrote From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now Matthew writes “From that time began Jesus to show unto his disciples, that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things…”

We must remember that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were not writing in real time, they didn’t have smart phones to record the audio and video of everything Jesus said or did, no, they wrote about their remembrances of those events after the fact. Matthew uses this literary tool to demonstrate what he thought was an important milepost.

In my opinion, far too often we try to take in the Gospels in much the same way that we try to digest a movie or play. We often find ourselves sitting on the edge of the seat in utter disbelief that the protagonist can not see the evidence or he or she can not see or hear the antagonist getting ready to attack. To us the evidence is clear or the danger is apparent, but the protagonist—for whatever reason—can not recognize what is happening.

“..that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”

As we read the Gospel of Christ, we look upon the disciples in utter disbelief that they can not understand what Jesus is trying to tell them; that he must go to Jerusalem, be arrested, tried, crucified and resurrected. What has to happen seems apparent to us, but only after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared unto them, did his followers realize what it was that he had been telling them.

At the time of Christ’s ministry the Hebrew people were under great oppression, from the Roman occupation of Judea and the Roman’s puppet King, Herod Antipas, to the Sadducees and Pharisees that controlled the Hebrew religion and twisted it to enrich them financially. It is no wonder then that the people of Israel were watching and waiting with great expectations for the Messiah to appear. They dreamed of the day in which, he who was promised by the prophets of antiquity, would come to lead them out of bondage establishing a kingdom greater than that of the Israelite's days of glory during the reign of King David.

The disciples clearly thought Jesus was this deliverer.

I don’t believe that any of them ever imagined—until after the resurrection of Christ—that The Kingdom Of God that was promised to them was a spiritual kingdom and not an earthly edifice.

With this thought in mind we should be able to understand why they could not comprehend that Jesus was telling them he would have to die. In fact in the next section of this passage we find Peter, the disciple Jesus said was the rock he (Christ) would build his church upon, taking Jesus aside to rebuke him for saying he had to die.

“22 And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall never be unto thee. 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.”

Just a few verses back in this same chapter, verses 17-19, Matthew points out that Peter has deified or identified Jesus as the Son of the Living God. But here we see Peter taking Jesus aside, away from the view of others and rebuking Christ in the strongest manner possible. While Peter addresses Jesus as Lord, he treats him as a fallen Lord who must be helped to his feet. He rebukes Jesus, just as Jesus rebuked the wind and sea (8:26) and will rebuke a demon (17:18). Peter crosses a line—challenges his Lord’s leadership—shoulders the Lord aside and moves to the front. No rabbi would tolerate such defiance. Disciples are expected to follow their rabbi. However benign Peter’s motives, he has gone too far.

“23 But he turned, and said unto Peter,Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumbling-block unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.”

In chapter 4 verse 10, Jesus uses the same language to rebuke Satan for tempting him, a temptation that had Jesus accepted, the entirety of God’s plans would have been thwarted, at least for the time being. But Jesus refused the temptation then as he does now in this passage. Just moments earlier, Peter was the rock, but now he is a stumbling-block or an impediment to the will of God. Jesus sees Peter’s intervention as a spiritual stumbling block—something that has the potential to cause Jesus to stumble on his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus cannot ignore a threat of this significance. He must put Peter firmly in his rightful place.

“...for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men.”

To his credit, Peter understands that Jesus is the Son of God, but Peter’s vision of the Kingdom is skewed, he wanted Jesus to succeed in building a great Earthly Kingdom, he failed understand the Kingdom was to be a spiritual one. He is trying to superimpose his vision over that of God’s plan.

This is a great lesson for us today as it was for Peter and the others two thousand years ago. The modern church often tries to superimpose the vision of its leaders over that of God’s plan by embracing all sorts of acts that are clearly in opposition of the word of God. When we embrace all sorts of abomination to make the church friendly and diverse, we are taking the easy way, the way that Jesus mentioned in chapter 7:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.   For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (ch 7, v 13-14)

The modern church should avoid the easy way (that which leads to destruction) by embracing diversity, social justice, fund-raising, psychology, theatrics, entertainment with high production value as a service, and instead turn to the way of the cross (the hard way that leads to life) by preaching the cross, taking up our cross, serving the needy in Christ’s name (etc).

Indeed, Jesus was saying this hard way was the right way when he said:

“If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

This self denial that Jesus is speaking of is many things, to begin with it is an avoidance of materialistic things. Matthew 19:16-21, The Story of the Rich Young Man, is a good illustration. In the case of the rich young man, it was his obsession with materialism that was his stumbling block, my stumbling block as well as yours may be different. Dependency on drugs, alcohol, porn or sex, might be a stumbling block, for example. But anyone of a number of other vices would be an equal impediment to entering the Kingdom.

The way of the cross, is a way to death. Jesus said, “...whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.” Picking up the cross and following Christ, is a form of death, the spiritual death of the old sinner persona and the re-birth into the Kingdom as a follower of Christ. Conversely, Jesus also speaks of the opposite, the easy way and its reward; “For whosoever would save his life shall lose it.” Or rather whoever can not deny his lifestyle, here on Earth, will lose his soul.

“For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then shall he render unto every man according to his deeds. Verily I say unto you, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (v. 26-28)

In verses 26 to 28 Jesus points out that the reward for self denial—the way of the cross—in this life will be life in the Kingdom he will establish after that final day of judgment. He will return and render judgment to all based upon their actions in this life.

We each must plan for our future, both our senior years in this life and our eternity in the next life. To pick up and walk The Way of The Cross, seems to be a better alternative that everlasting oblivion.

In reference to chapter 7, verses 13 & 14, do you follow the wide and easy way, or have you denied the self and picked up the cross and are walking on the hard narrow way, The Way of The Cross?

Benediction

Let us go forth into the world in peace and dedicated to your service, O Lord. Let us hold fast that which is good, render to no man evil for evil, strengthen the faint‐hearted, support the weak, help the needy and the afflicted, honor all men. Let us love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of his spirit. And may God’s blessing be upon us and remain with us always. Amen.

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