Paul in Ephesus In the last Lesson, we saw Luke hurriedly describe many events in passing (Acts 18:22-23), wanting to bring us to Ephesus. Luke now does that, telling us what took place there with the Apostle Paul. Ephesus was located in what today is the western coast of Turkey. It was the fourth largest […]
Revelation 7:9-17: Now and Not Yet, but also with the Saints and Archangels
November 2, 2014 by
If you look at the Church with the eyes of your body, the Church can often be a despicable mess. Think of how one hymn describes her: “Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed” (LSB 644, stanza 3). And that hymn doesn’t even mention the […]
Why go to Church?
November 1, 2014 by
This lesson topic stems from the idea that if God is a loving God, then why do we “have” to come to church? Like last week’s lesson on “God’s rest” for us from the book of Hebrews (4:1), we also look in the book of Hebrews to understand why God tells us not to neglect […]
Acts, Lesson 19: Paul’s Second Missionary Journey Ends and His Third One Begins
October 30, 2014 by
Paul had preached on the Areopagite in Athens and some “joined him and believed.” Paul then travels to Corinth, the capital of the Roman province of Achaia (Greece). Silas and Timothy join him later. In Corinth Read Acts 18:1-4 Corinth: In Paul’s day, Corinth was a city known for its moral depravity. It was a […]
Reformation: Remaining in Jesus
October 26, 2014 by
“We hold that someone is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law” (Romans 3:28). Can it get any clearer than that? All have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory, but they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24). “Freely” means […]
The Promise of Entering God’s Rest -vs- the Fear of God
October 24, 2014 by
Hebrews 4:1: Therefore, let us fear so that, while the promise of entering God’s rest still stands, none of you will fail to reach it. Fear of God “The fear of the LORD” is a key idea throughout Scripture. In Hebrew, the word y’rah is usually translated as “fear.” And y’rah can mean to […]
Acts, Lesson 18: Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, Part 2 (with Silas, Timothy, and Luke)
October 23, 2014 by
Paul and Silas, after being freed from prison, leave town as directed. Still on their missionary journey, they make their way to Thessalonica. Unlike Philippi, Thessalonica had a synagogue and established community of Jews, which was about 100 miles from Philippi. It had a population of about 200,000 people, was the capital of Macedonia, and […]
Ebola
October 19, 2014 by
This is an article by Pr. Burnell Eckardt, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kewanee, Illinois. Looking back on how his congregation dealt with the flu epidemic of 1918, he reflects on the reality of the Ebola virus having made its way on to our shores. Although everything he writes does not apply to […]
Isaiah, chapter 45: God Hides Himself
October 19, 2014 by
150 years before his birth, the prophet Isaiah foretold of him, told us his name, and the tasks that God had chosen for him to do. His name was Cyrus. Cyrus was the only Gentile whom God spoke of as “His anointed.” Using a Hebraic expression, “the right hand,” God said that He had grasped […]
The Relation between the Tree of Life and the Sacraments
October 16, 2014 by
The Two Trees Note: In this lesson, the translations from Genesis are your pastor’s. He has done this, hoping you can you get a better “feel” of the poetic language in the Hebrew text. Genesis 2:9: And YHWH, God, made sprout from the soil every tree that was pleasing to the eye and good for […]
