We’ve seen so far that the civic laws focused on making sure that people did not unduly take advantage of the disadvantaged. And now when it comes to resolving disputes, we find that God doesn’t allow for His people to separate the ruling of the judges from Himself. Read Exodus 22:28 Excursus on being “gods” […]
Matthew 9:18-26: Healing Salvation
November 10, 2013 by
“If I only touch his robe, then I’ll be healed.” So said the woman with a chronic, bleeding hemorrhage, which we heard about in today’s reading from St. Matthew’s Gospel. Now, if we were to read St. Mark’s Gospel, we would learn that this woman suffered under the care of many doctors who, not only […]
Hosea, Lesson 8: The Way to Wellness
November 6, 2013 by
Hosea, chapter 13, delivers four of the prophet’s sayings just before the death of the nation in 722 BC. Last week, we looked at two of these sayings, which dealt with the worship life of the people. We begin looking at the other two, which are also permeated with the stench of death. The […]
Exodus, Lesson 16: Civil Ordinances Protecting Possessions, Property, and People
November 4, 2013 by
Moses had just given the Ten Words (Exodus 20) to God’s people. After that, he started giving God’s laws (mishpatim, not “words”), civil statutes, on how their society was to function. Today, we continue looking into these civil ordinances. Fighting and Assault Read Exodus 21:18-19 – How does this ordinance deal with fights (where no […]
All Saints: 1 John 3:1-3: You will be like Jesus
November 4, 2013 by
If you want to know what a church or pastor believes, go to one of their funerals. What’s at the heart and center of a pastor’s teaching? He’ll reveal it during a funeral sermon. Here’s why: A funeral sermon is the most-serious sermon a pastor will ever preach. And so, that’s when you find out […]
Hosea, Lesson 7: The Stench of Death
October 31, 2013 by
In Hosea 11, we went over God’s love letter to His people. In it, God was wistful, remembering when faithfulness was more a part of His people. Yet, looking forward, God stated that His children would come to Him, specifically from Gentile lands. God had not abandoned those whom He called to be His own. […]
Reformation Sunday: Romans 3:19-28: Saved by Grace through Faith, Apart from the Works of the Law
October 27, 2013 by
It’s lonely being a Lutheran. Of this, one of the last, true 20th-century Lutheran theologians in Germany, Hermann Sasse, wrote: As Luther once went the lonely way between Rome and Spiritualism, so the Lutheran Church today stands alone between the world powers of Roman Catholicism on the one hand and modern Protestantism on the other. […]
Exodus, Lesson 15: Civil Ordinances Protecting Life and Limb
October 26, 2013 by
It has only been a few months since Yahweh rescued Israel from their slavery in Egypt. In Exodus 3:12, He had promised to bring Israel to Mt. Sinai and again reveal Himself–this time to the entire nation. Sinai was the mountain of God, the place where He put in place His [Old] Covenant with its […]
Exodus, Lesson 14: God’s Words as It Relates to Others and Proper Worship
October 26, 2013 by
Still looking into God’s Ten Words (Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 10:4) to His people, we continue to understand what to means to live as God’s people toward those around us. Read Exodus 20:15 – What is God protecting in this verse? Genesis 2:15-16: The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden […]
Hosea, Lesson 6: The Lord’s Love for Israel
October 23, 2013 by
God and Hosea have both, almost exhaustively, called Israel to repent. But Israel’s response has been only outward at best with still an unchanged heart. And so, both God and Hosea have more to say. We begin by hearing from Hosea. Read Hosea 10:1-2 In these verses, the Hebrew is not clear whether Hosea is […]
