Sunday Morning Genesis
“Sunday Morning Genesis” is a weekly Bible study walking through the Book of Genesis.
New Season of Podcasts!
Be sure to check out the new season of podcasts! This season it will be everything from devotionals and Bible studies to extended conversations on a variety of topics!
07 with Jay Winters
Join in as I talk with Jay Winters, pastor of University Lutheran Church in Tallahassee, FL. We discuss campus ministry and some of the generational considerations we encounter proclaiming the gospel.
06 with John Roth
Join in as John Roth and I scratch the surface of what it means to be a theologian of the cross! John is pastor of Thrive Community Church and an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the theology of the cross as it pertains to ministry.
05 with Richard Tucker
Join in as I sit down with Pastor Richard Tucker to talk about ministry, Christianity in the Mohawk nation, and other things.
New 2 Corinthians Study!
Join in as we begin our study on 2 Corinthians! What’s this letter about? What does it have to do with our lives, and why is it important for us to read as Christians? For the next few months, we’ll be walking through the whole thing! The study will be available in video and audio…
Jesus Reshapes Our View
We tend to believe things that confirm other things that we already believe and want to believe or that fit better into our own view of the world. In fact, we even seek out things that confirm what we already “know,” because that kind of confirmation makes us more comfortable with the world around us.…
The Temple, Authority, and the Institutional Church
Join in this week as we discuss the beginning and end of the Jerusalem Temple. Why was it built? How did Jesus interact with it? What lessons can the church learn from it today? You can find this two part series in video and audio format below!
New Podcast Episodes!
Be sure to check out all of the new podcast episodes! The Jonah series is now in full audio format. Join in as I sit down with a friend of mine to talk about Christian nationalism. There’s also a lot more and even more to come!
Are you wise or just a scoffer?
When’s the last time you got in a discussion or maybe an argument with someone who doesn’t see the world the way you do? How did you respond to that perspective? Was it a civil conversation?
Blessed are those who believe without seeing (audio)
Click here for the latest podcast episode!
Jesus gives us the Spirit of Peace (w/ podcast & online service)
When Jesus greets his disciples with a blessing of peace, it’s on God’s terms. Only the Creator knows what’s best for us. Only he knows what makes us whole, what makes us complete. Only he truly knows what it is for his creation to exist in harmony, and through Jesus, he reveals it fully to…
Jesus brings us into God’s presence (w/ podcast & online service)
We don’t deserve to stand in God’s presence. But Jesus, in all of his power, in all of his might, he brings us there, to stand pure and blameless before our God.
NEW PODCAST: 03 with Trinity Lutheran Church – Algona, IA
Join me as I was graciously invited to sit down with the pastors of Trinity Lutheran Church in Algona, Iowa for one of their episodes of “Ask the Pastors” to discuss biblical manuscripts, translation, and how we get our Bibles today. Audio Only YouTube
NEW PODCAST: 02 with Rev. Dr. John Denninger
This episode I’m joined by Rev. Dr. John Denninger to discuss his story in ministry as well as the new SED Lay Deacon Program. Dr. Denninger currently serves as president of the Southeastern District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and has a heart for reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Available on: YouTube…
Nothing Compares to the Glory that Comes from God
Before the crucifixion, the people hadn’t seen the glory of God yet. Even after seeing the miraculous signs of Jesus, they hadn’t yet seen him give up his life for the world out of love. They hadn’t seen him defeat death itself. Isaiah stood in the throne room of God, a vision of heaven itself,…
The Hero of One is the Villain of Another but Jesus is the Savior of All
These are all too common responses—postures—when we as humans find ourselves in hard situations. We see it all around us today. The outright villains and the false heroes—designations which are increasingly relative these days. The hero of one is the villain of another.
Podcast – Extended Conversations
Often it takes us time to work out ideas and give real attention to what others are saying. This kind of discovery is a life-long process.
New Video Series: “At the Edge of Faith”
This week saw the launch of the new video series “At the Edge of Faith,” which explores the concepts of faith and identity in a nihilistic world. Constantly forced to question what’s real, how do we know whom to trust, and where do we fit into it all? Where do you go when your account…
Holy Week in John (John 12:26–37): Jesus draws us to himself
Jesus, the true light, is counterintuitive to the darkness of this world. Which is so hard for us, isn’t it? When the world is saying one thing and God is saying another, it’s so hard for us to walk away from the darkness even when we know it’s wrong, even when we know it goes…
Absent from Each-other, Present with Christ
We can trust Jesus in difficult times. We can trust him in times that we doubt ourselves—in times that we make our own share of mistakes. We can trust him even as we come to him as sinners, who don’t deserve his love. We can trust him in times of change—times of uncertainty. We can…
Holy Week in John (John 12:12–26): We wish to see Jesus
When Jesus invites us to join him, it’s with the promise that he will see us through it. The crowds proclaimed Hosanna, save us now we pray. Well, that’s how he saves us. And even to this day, we pray the same thing. Jesus, save me from my sin. Save me from myself. Save me…
Waiting with Lazarus part 5 of 5: Dying and Living with Jesus
Mary knows that the world brings death even upon the one through whom it was created in the first place. I think that’s a good lesson for us—especially now. As everyone is trying to deal with life as it is now, we could be facing a future that looks radically different from the past—even within…
Waiting with Lazarus part 4 of 5: Jesus leads us in enduring for others
I think that this time of physical distance between us and the ones we care about might be an opportunity—a time of honest reflection. How do I normally interact with those around me? How might I better endure for the sake of those around me? Not just to feel good about ourselves or to do…
Waiting with Lazarus part 3 of 5: Jesus shows us the impossible
As Jesus stands there with Martha and Mary—with all those other people who have followed Martha and Mary to Jesus in their mourning—even as he himself mourns, Jesus has his mind on something greater than anything that they could have expected. And he tells Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you…
Jonah part 5 of 5: God’s Mercy Even for You
God wants to be in a good relationship with the whole world. And that sounds really nice at first, and it might seem obvious because God is merciful, but that means that God has mercy even on those with whom we’ve had to bear. God has mercy on those who have hurt us—all who repent.
Waiting with Lazarus part 2 of 5: When your heart is troubled, bring it to Jesus—the Living One
At that moment, John writes, “Jesus wept.” Jesus wept. Jesus sees the people in their sorrow. Jesus sees Martha and Mary, and something inside of him changes. He’s shaken to the core, and he just can’t take it. On the way to the tomb, knowing fully well what he is about to do, surrounded by…
Jonah part 4 of 5: God of Reconciliation
They believed God. They believed that they were evil, and that judgment was coming. They knew that God was serious, and they mourned Jonah’s message. What a surprise of a reaction from this mighty city. Whereas Jonah took it for granted, the Ninevites—along with the sailors from the previous chapter—took the word of God seriously.…
Waiting with Lazarus part 1 of 5: In following Jesus, we see what is truly valuable
The love that Jesus has for Lazarus, the love that Jesus has for Martha and Mary, which will become increasingly more evident as the story unfolds—this selfless, unending, unconquerable love—is something so valuable that Jesus will risk his own life for it. Later in the story, he will give his own life for it—that God…
God is Enough
This is our sobering reality. Is this world evil? Yes. Is there evil within our own hearts? Yes. Does God forgive us for what we’ve done wrong? Yes. But it doesn’t magically make all of our circumstances right again.
Jonah part 3 of 5: Jonah and the Monster
Jonah wasn’t just fleeing the presence of the Lord in Israel, by going to Tarshish—to the other side of the known world. Jonah is fleeing from the presence of his creator by running as fast as he can into the place of un-creation. But, the Lord is God even over the sea, and he forces…
3 Conversations with God: When the sky is silent, we must speak
When Jesus cried out in agony, this time he got no confirmatory voice from the sky. Instead, it was the Roman soldier overseeing his crucifixion—his murder—that confessed who he really was.
When we trust in God, Jesus turns us into vessels for his glory
Jesus fulfilled the Law, so just look to him. When our focus is on Jesus, when we listen to him and trust in him, we don’t need to worry about ourselves—our righteousness, our salvation—because he’s taken care of everything for us. Instead we can live for those around us. We can show them Christ. We’re…
Jonah part 2 of 5: God is at work even when we don’t realize it.
Jonah tells them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Jonah finally acknowledges the fate that he deserves for running from God and putting all of these people in…
Jonah part 1 of 5: God Comes for Us in a Pluralistic World
Like us, Jonah lives in a pluralistic world, and he hides from it—afraid to proclaim what God declares to Nineveh. He’s afraid to tell the sailors about his God until they press him on it. Jonah thinks that he can take control of his life by hiding. Are we afraid to engage our world as…
Jesus brings us the Kingdom
Jesus reveals it to them, makes it known to them, embodies it in his own life, and transfers that life to them—transfers the power of the Kingdom. Those who’ve encountered Jesus—no matter status or perception—are blessed. They are the beginning of the transformation that he brings. This is a proleptic act—one that he will bring…
Conquering Hades
So, the action on earth is the actualization of the reality of something that’s already happened. The church, the priesthood of all believers, is the mechanism through which God works, and Hades—Sheol—doesn’t stand a chance. Jesus doesn’t just save us from Hades, he completely dominates it in his death and resurrection.
You Have to Repent Before You Can Fish
Before you call someone else’s attention to Christ you yourself must be turned toward him—facing him. You have to experience his love and his daily forgiveness. You must emulate it, show mercy, have a Christ-centered disposition. A mind transformed to see all things through Jesus—the same Jesus who lives inside of you and loves through…
3 Things That Keep Us from God
Jesus overcame these temptations from the very outset of his ministry leaving Satan powerless over him. The Spirit that was with Jesus at his baptism and in the wilderness, is the same Spirit that was with us in our own baptisms and remains with us throughout our lives. The angels who ministered to Jesus after…
Come and You Will See
As Jesus invites us into his home, he also brings us along to be a part of what he’s doing here and now—to be a part of the transformation that he has brought and continues to bring. He invites us to bear witness to his sacrifice as the Lamb of God, that we ourselves might…
The Baptisms of John and Jesus are Different
When Jesus comes to John to be baptized, a gesture showing Jesus’ own faithfulness to his heavenly Father—mourning the sins of his own people—something else happens. Mark writes, “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately…
Jesus takes ownership of his people’s sin
In Jesus’ own body—in his own existence, the human and the divine are reconciled to each other. We talk about it during Christmas. We talk about it at Epiphany. But we see it in Jesus’ own baptism. Humanity is reconciled to God now and forevermore. That means your humanity is also reconciled to God through…
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Pastor Alec Fisher 