Evangelism is bringing Jesus and what He did and does to save us to another. Someone never outgrows his need for the evangel, for salvation is more than a one-time event. The Christian speaks Jesus to another because of who he is in Christ. It is also what each Christian does to help gather God’s […]
How We Got the Old Testament
July 12, 2016 by
This lesson is part of adult catechesis after studying the Small Catechism. It in, we look at how we received what we call the Old Testament. Warning: This may be upsetting, for Church history does not affirm the content of the Old Testament that most read today. —————- As a frame of reference, we start […]
Luke 10:25-37: Trying to Earn the Inheritance
July 10, 2016 by
Love God and love your neighbor. What could be simpler? You can condense the entire Law of God in one word: Love. Is God’s Law that simple? Not when the lawyers are through with it! A lawyer, an expert in the Torah, came up to Jesus to test Him. That was his first mistake. Test […]
Our Life with God, Lesson 15: Evangelism, Part 3
July 9, 2016 by
The Evangel is the “good news” of what Jesus did and does to save us. Evangelism is the speaking (and bringing) of what Jesus did and does to save us. Pastors and laypersons both do this, each according to their vocations. Understanding the nature of salvation (was saved, being saved, and will be saved), one […]
Jackie Roschi’s Funeral Sermon
July 7, 2016 by
2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9 Hebrews 11:1-2, 35, 39-12:1-2 Luke 15:1-7 Jackie was an enigma to me. I don’t mean as a friend but as a pastor. We met a few years ago, and the specifics of our first meeting are now forgotten memories to me. Jackie was a neighbor and our paths often crossed. […]
Galatians 6:1-10: Reaping What Was Sown
July 3, 2016 by
Everything else being equal, a tried-and-true principle exists in this world: You reap the seeds you sow. Do you want to harvest a wheat crop during the autumn? You plant the seed in the spring, harvesting what you earlier planted. This principle is also true when it comes to the evil in life. Someone who […]
Our Life with God, Lesson 14: Evangelism, Part 2
July 2, 2016 by
Evangelism takes place within our everyday vocations. Through Word and Sacrament, the pastor evangelizes as He brings Jesus to others and the life Jesus gives. This is the pastor “discipling” others, as Jesus gives His pastors to do. The layperson also evangelizes in his everyday vocations. He does this by letting his light shine on […]
Luke 9:51-62: Preconditions Not Allowed
June 26, 2016 by
Jesus sets His gaze on Jerusalem, the city where He will be “taken up.” “Taken up” is shorthand for dying for the sins of the world, rising to life on the third day, and then returning to the Father in heaven. Jesus does this all for you and your salvation. So, He goes forward without […]
Our Life with God, Lesson 13: Evangelism, Part 1
June 25, 2016 by
Evangel: From the Greek word euangelion, meaning “good news,” the Gospel. Although evangel means “good news,” the evangel is more than information that happens to be good. This “good news” has the power within it to do what it says. Romans 1:16: I am not ashamed of the gospel [euangelion], because it is God’s power […]
Our Life with God, Lesson 12: Fasting
June 19, 2016 by
In part of these lessons, we’ve used Matthew 6 as a template for the Christian life. In that chapter, Jesus describes (not commands) what the life of being a disciple entails: helping the poor, praying, and fasting. Jesus did not command them because such a living of the faith was so obvious that it He […]
