Wanting the Right Person for the Wrong Reasons Luke 23:6-12 A king with wealth and standing, Herod, can do almost anything he wants. Still, an unfulfilled longing yearns within him—to meet Jesus. “For a long time, he wished to meet him because of what others said, hoping to catch him do some miracle.” The […]
Genesis 22:1-14, John 8:46-59: Abraham, Isaac, and Jesus
April 2, 2017 by
The life of Abraham forces us to face several facts. First, is his faith. Many years earlier, God told him to leave his home and family and travel to an unknown land. Revealed to Abraham, who is now an old man, is the promise to become the father of a son. The wrinkle in this […]
Romans, Lesson 27: The Liturgy Being Lived Out
April 2, 2017 by
By finishing with the hope the Christian has, the resurrection of the body, given to him by faith through the Holy Spirit, Paul begins his conclusion. What he does, which we may consider is unusual, is he includes two conclusions. The first is for the “stronger brother,” the Gentiles (Romans 14:15-21). (His conclusion for the […]
The Passion and the People: Pilate
March 29, 2017 by
Matthew 27:11-14, 24-26 The Governor, Pontius Pilate. Every week, we mention this man in the creeds, who caused our Savior to suffer, whom He crucified. Still, who is this mystery man, who brought the weight of an Empire on our Savior’s shoulders? Let’s begin with what we understand about Pontius Pilate from history. The […]
Acts 2:41-44: The Fulfilled Synagogue and Temple in the Divine Service
March 28, 2017 by
Long ago, in ages past, the Creator remembered, recalling the promise He made to Abraham. “Through [Abraham, God will bless], all the people of the earth” (Genesis 12:3). So, years later, the Almighty enlists a Hebrew man raised in an Egyptian household, Moses. Through him, the remembering God rescues these descendants of the promise, using […]
Romans, Lesson 26: What Those in Christ Have
March 25, 2017 by
The stronger brother is chided not to abuse his Christian freedom toward the weaker brother (Romans 14:13-21), for what does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Apart from faith, everything a person does is tainted with sin and, thus, not perfect enough to merit anything before God. So, we turn to Christ to […]
What is the Church?
March 24, 2017 by
Here is our pastor’s newsletter article for April 2017. In the Nicene Creed, from the original Greek, we confess, “We believe in… one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” What is this Church? The Augsburg Confession, which we affirm as a Lutheran congregation, also gives us a definition. “The Church is the assembly of saints where […]
The Passion and the People: Caiaphas
March 22, 2017 by
John 11:45-53: Pragmatism During the Passover In our Lord’s killing, who plays the most active part in His death? Many take part, and without their involvement, Jesus will not die. Still, one man sets the death train in motion—Caiaphas. Without him, many others will be without a role to fulfill. The High Priest, Caiaphas, holds […]
Psalm 136:1-16: God’s Chesed
March 19, 2017 by
The highest mountain in the world, Everest, stands. The majestic mountain remains unmoved before your birth and after your death. So permanent in our minds is this tallest peak, stamping itself into our pathway of neurons. Still, we are left wanting when comparing Everest to the Creator. The eternal mystery of God’s being is older […]
The Passion and the People: Nicodemus
March 19, 2017 by
John 3:1-9, 14-16: From Bystander to Believer With Jesus crucified, the Apostle John identifies Nicodemus as “the man who earlier visited him at night” (John 19:39). So, we travel back to their first meeting to learn of Nicodemus. “A man from the Pharisees and a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus, came to Jesus one […]
