As Americans, being depressed usually bothers us more than having sin and guilt. Let’s contrast the difference. Depression is so commonplace that anti-depressants are on the list of most-prescribed drugs. But when it comes to sin and guilt, few are beating down the church door to confess their sins. This is true even in the […]
Philippians 2:5-11: Jesus’ Humility for You
March 26, 2014 by
Last week, we heard preached in our ears that in His sufferings, Jesus’ righteousness even covers our sufferings, making them holy. Today, we will hear that Jesus is Humility incarnate, Humility in human flesh. And once again, we find that His lowliness is more than an example; it’s a gift through which we find humility […]
John 4:5-26: Jesus Gives the Gift
March 23, 2014 by
Jesus sat down to rest Himself by the lip of Jacob’s well, the well that Father Jacob had dug in days of old. Jesus was worn out from His journey. And as He rested, His disciples went into the nearby village to buy some needed supplies. And while He was resting, a Samaritan woman came […]
1 Peter 2:21-24: To This You Were Called: Suffering
March 19, 2014 by
Last week, I preached that we often wrongly prefer Jesus to serve as an example for us instead of hearing the message of Christ crucified. And maybe part of you thought, “Yeah, but I remember reading somewhere in the Bible where it tells us to imitate Jesus.” And if you thought that, you were right. […]
Genesis 12:1-9: The Old Testament is the History of God’s Promise
March 17, 2014 by
Psalm 25 says, “Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old” (Psalm 25:6). When God remembers His promise, His blessings are on us. And at its heart, there is but one promise of God. It’s His promise to save, to deliver from death, to rescue from sin and every […]
1 Corinthians 1:21-25: The “Foolishness” of the Cross
March 12, 2014 by
Paul’s words have an edge to them in today’s epistle reading. He calls preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified as “a stumbling block” and “foolishness.” Yet, if you’ve been a Christian a while, the cross of Christ just seems logical. For, over time, it’s easy to become comfortable with the whole saga of Jesus’ […]
Matthew 4:1-11: Jesus Being Tempted for You
March 9, 2014 by
“Do you renounce the devil?” “Do you renounce all his works?” “Do you renounce all his ways?” The pastor asks those questions to each person being saved through the Word in the waters of holy baptism (LSB, pg 270). And so I ask you this day, “Do you renounce the devil and all his works […]
1 Peter 1:18-19: Christ Has Made You Without Blemish or Defect
March 6, 2014 by
We’ve all heard the term “spring cleaning.” That’s when, often during spring, you take extra time to clean the house from winter’s buildup of dirt and dust. Yes, all of us find that we need to, now and then, stop and do some serious cleaning around our house. And although we can live with some […]
Chuck Kelsey’s Funeral Sermon: John 14:1-6
March 5, 2014 by
When Christians gather for the funeral of a fellow believer in the faith, a singular moment, unlike any other, takes place. For in such a moment is the coming together of heaven and earth. The physical remains of someone whom God has called home connect the saints here with the saints in heaven. For the […]
1 Corinthians 3:10-23: Brought into the Church
February 25, 2014 by
An early-Church document, similar to the book of Revelation, is the Shepherd of Hermas. The title comes from a Christ figure who appears as a shepherd to the author, whose name is Hermas. And in that document, Hermas has several different visions. I mention this because one vision in the Shepherd of Hermas uses the […]
