We explore how spiritual danger often looks ordinary while the ground beneath us thins, and why striving harder can make us sink deeper. We point to grace as solid ground and to Jesus as the one who bears the weight we cannot.

• hidden dangers beneath “safe” routines
• slow drift from prayer, faith, and honesty
• self-reliance versus surrender to grace
• John the Baptist’s rescue signal: behold the Lamb
• Jesus bearing collapse rather than shouting advice
• grace as firm footing in ordinary life
• the courage to admit “I cannot stand here”
• a simple reach out instead of impressive effort

Behold the Lamb of God. Look to him. The one who stands where you cannot, the one who bears what you carry, the one who will not let the ground collapse beneath you. Stop fighting the ground that cannot hold you. Trust the hand that can reach out and grab you back on to solid ground.

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We open the Baptism of the Lord with Matthew’s Gospel, then draw a bold line from Jean Valjean’s mercy moment to the font. We challenge cultural habits that reduce baptism to tradition and show how identity as beloved sons and daughters fuels mission.

• Meaning of Jesus’ baptism as mission and revelation of the Trinity
• Mercy in Les Misérables as a living image of rebirth
• Baptism as adoption and full inheritance in Christ
• Grafted into the Body of Christ, not just “being nice”
• Why parents must know the why of baptism
• Moving from rite of passage to lived identity
• How to unwrap baptism through prayer, Scripture, and community
• Letting the Father’s delight reorder worth and relationships
• Practical checks for thoughts, words, and deeds
• Annual practice of celebrating your baptism date

Find your baptism date and consider celebrating it yearly.!

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

We trace Jean Valjean’s turning point to reveal how mercy remakes a life, then apply that lens to the Baptism of the Lord and our own baptismal identity. We press the claim that grace demands a response and challenge ourselves to live as those who belong to Christ.

• baptism as ontological rupture and door to spiritual life
• grafted into Christ, adopted as sons and daughters
• grace destroys sin and indwells by the Spirit
• mercy demands a response, not passivity
• identity overrules past, mission overrules mediocrity
• public witness of faith as belonging to Jesus
• remembrance as the cure for spiritual amnesia

Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org