Intro We have an old 13th-Century Christmas carol, later paraphrased in the 1850s, called “Good King Wenceslaus.” King Wenceslaus was a real person. In the 10th century, he was the Duke of Bohemia. He was also a devout Christian. One morning, on his way to the Divine Service, a band of ruffians, led by his […]
The Nativity of our Lord
December 25, 2010 by
Intro Today, we celebrate the birth of life. For that is who Christ Jesus is. He’s not simply the holiest among those who think themselves as holy. He’s not simply a man of historical renown. Such understatements fail to recognize Christ Jesus as Life. They don’t recognize Him as Life eternal. Jesus is the […]
Christmas Eve
December 24, 2010 by
Intro This evening, we leave the world behind, and we travel together on a long journey. It is a journey that leads beyond Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and gift giving. This journey leads us to the quiet, sleepy town of Bethlehem. We stand with the shepherds, huddled around the manger. We stand, straining our […]
Baptism in the Early Church: Part 1
December 17, 2010 by
Baptism and the Early Church: The “How” and the “Who” A paper presented to the Springfield Pastors’ Circuit of the Missouri District, Jan 12, 2010 By Pr. Rich Futrell This paper takes a brief look into the early Christian church practices on baptism. The historical era looked into will be after the period covered in St. Luke’s […]
The Story of the Real Santa Claus
December 2, 2010 by
The Real Santa Claus by Pr. Rich Futrell The Feast of St. Nicholas is December 6th. When we remember such a saint of old, we are simply being Christians. Hebrews 13:7 tells us: “Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s Word to you.” These leaders aren’t just our current pastors, but the faithful pastors of all […]
Confessing Christ to Someone Near Death
December 1, 2010 by
Someone in my parish asked, “Pastor, how do I confess Jesus Christ to someone dying in hospice?” This is what I shared. With someone in hospice, there’s no need to dance around the subject of death. Most likely, the person knows something is seriously wrong with him and that he is dying. See this as an opportunity […]
The False Teaching of the “Rapture”
November 30, 2010 by
A Biblical and Historical Look at the “Rapture” By Pr. Rich Futrell, The belief in the Rapture teaches that one day, without warning, Christians will “be taken” up to heaven, while non-Christians will be left behind on the earth. God will remove Christians from the earth to spare them the Anti-Christ’s tribulation, which the rest […]
Advent 1
November 29, 2010 by
Intro They are nearly gone. The leaves, that is. Rich in the green of spring, they are even more stunning in autumn: gold, auburn, red as if on fire. Then follows the falling leaves and the blowing wind. Finally, only the muted-brown pallor of death remains. This death is followed by cold, biting wind, and […]
