Reformation of the Heart | Reformation Sunday

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36

More than 500 years ago, Martin Luther challenged a church that had lost sight of God's grace. But the Reformation was about more than changing religious teachings. In this sermon, Pastor TJ Johnson explores the symbolism of Luther's Rose and God's promise to write the divine law upon our hearts. True reformation happens as the Holy Spirit transforms us from within, moving us from a transactional understanding of religion to a deep, childlike trust in God's unconditional love—a love that sustains us through suffering and inspires us to share God's tenderness, peace, and hope with others.

Unfathomable Peace — Philippians 4:4-9

What does it mean to receive “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding”? In this sermon, Pastor TJ Johnson explores Paul’s promise of a peace we cannot manufacture but can receive from the Spirit of God. Through his grandmother’s simple wisdom—“Count your blessings”—Psalm 23’s image of the Good Shepherd, and the powerful story behind the hymn It Is Well with My Soul, TJ reflects on gratitude, trust, and the mysterious peace that can remain with us even in grief, anxiety, and circumstances we cannot understand.

What if creation isn’t something we possess, but something entrusted to our care?

Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air.” St. Francis took him seriously.

The birds, flowers, animals, forests—even the creatures we find inconvenient—invite us to pay attention to the love of the Creator woven through creation.

And perhaps Francis gives us an important reminder:

Each life has worth beyond its usefulness to us.

God’s love is bigger than humanity. It embraces every created thing.