The Advent season rings out with the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The hymn’s origin is not from Scripture but a series of responses, the “O Antiphons,” spoken by pastor and parishioner, which do come from Scripture. The hymnic version begins singing about Jesus as Emmanuel. In the original antiphons, the words spoken about […]
Psalm 91:11-12: Angels Unaware; Not Them, Us
September 29, 2019 by
The more you traverse the text of Scripture, the more the angels fly forth from its pages. The book of Judges alone mentions angels some 20 times. Read through the Psalms with a careful eye, and you will find them in more places than imagined. For example, Psalm 8 informs we are created a little […]
Luke 17:11-19: Christ’s Uncommon Mercy
September 23, 2019 by
Most of us don’t stumble over rare artifacts since they are, well, rare; sometimes, one of a kind. Some of you into specialized hobbies may. Perhaps Denny Villwok handled a rare musket or Nancy, our organist, played on a historic, well-piped organ. Either way, don’t think you’re unlucky, for each Christian experiences the rarest thing […]
Mark, Lesson 1: Introduction
September 21, 2019 by
By Pr Rich Futrell Overview With the events in his Gospel, Mark makes no attempt to link them to the historical events taking place within Judea or the Roman Empire. Neither does Mark bother to explain the links between the various events he covers, the exception being what takes place during Christ’s passion. Rather, his […]
The Monsters Among Us
September 18, 2019 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for October 2019. Ancient peoples dreaded the deep. The darkened abyss gurgled with predatory beasts, fanged creatures to swallow you whole, hungering for more. Today, those shrieking, mythical denizens still fill us with wonder, if not terror. In the Bible, the book of Job mentions the leviathan and other […]
Luke 16:1-9: The Dishonest Manager
August 18, 2019 by
The beginning of Luke’s Gospel: A pregnant virgin sings, rejoicing in her God. The Lord “toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. The hungry, he filled with wondrous things but sent away the rich with nothing” (Luke 1:52-53). The song of Mary sets the stage. The rest of Luke’s written Gospel highlights […]
Subjective Justification
August 18, 2019 by
Recap and Intro Justification: God’s declaration of righteousness, which also establishes someone in a state of righteousness. This can only happen because someone’s sins are forgiven. (“Justification” can also refer to someone revealing his righteousness by how he lives, for example, in much of James.) Christ, in His saving work, justified the entire world. Before […]
Matthew 7:15-23: False Prophets
August 18, 2019 by
“Beware of false prophets,” our Lord cautions. The danger is real; otherwise, why did Jesus warn us with such words? Now, if a false prophet can exist, so also can false teaching and worship. From their mouths flow words of death, not life. “Enter through the narrow gate,” the warning continues. Why? The boulevard of […]
Objective Justification
August 18, 2019 by
This is a short series we’re studying on justification, with this first lesson on the objective reality of what Jesus did. Our Universal Condition The book of Romans reveals our universal human condition. The writer, Paul, combines two Old-Testament passages to announce this reality. Masoretic Text Septuagint Romans Paul’s Point Ecclesiastes 7:20 There is none […]
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10: Vocation
August 18, 2019 by
How did we find ourselves in such an unsatisfying and uncivil place? From our perspective of only a few decades, we realize the most basic of civilities are slinking away. Too many people drive like jerks and yell at others for being too slow. One person cries out against intolerance but is intolerant toward those […]
