What brings to someone God’s forgiveness? For example, why does baptism forgive sins but not watching a beautiful sunset? Why does the Lord’s Supper forgive sins but not playing a round of golf? And how can absolution give God’s forgiveness when it’s words spoken from a man? How can God forgive in such ways? It’s […]
1 Corinthians 15:19-26: Christ, the First Crop of the Harvest
March 31, 2013 by
“I know that my Redeemer lives” is a confession of faith. Yet, the Apostle Paul asserted a couple of verses before our Epistle reading: “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). But then in verse 20 of our Epistle reading, Paul cries out: […]
Isaiah 52:13-53:12: Meditating on the Crucifix
March 29, 2013 by
As Lutherans, we have a long and noble tradition of meditating on the crucifixion of Christ. For example, Luther invited people to use the crucifix as a way to help them meditate on Christ’s crucifixion. Part of that tradition is our services on Good Friday. In the 12th century, a monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote […]
Exodus 12:1-14: Christ, Our Passover Lamb
March 28, 2013 by
The first Passover was a horrific and gruesome night, a night unlike any that Egypt had ever seen. At twilight, the Israelites slaughtered thousands of lambs, ate their flesh, and brushed their blood on the doorposts of their houses. Because the lambs died, the Israelites lived. But for the Egyptians, that night of death was […]
Palm Sunday Sermon
March 24, 2013 by
Today, we’re saddled with an Old Testament that Jesus and His disciples didn’t use. They used the Septuagint, which was the Old Testament translated into Greek. But what distinguishes their Old Testament from ours even more is that it had books that our Old Testament is lacking. Those were also books that we Lutherans had […]
Hebrews 13:9-16: We Have an Altar
March 20, 2013 by
Although Lutherans don’t follow religious dietary laws about what we may or may not eat, many do. Muslims do, Jews do, and so do Seventh-Day Adventists. Roman Catholics also have days where they may not eat certain foods. Yet, we also know that if someone fasts or limits what he eats, that is a good, […]
St. Patrick’s Day Sermon
March 17, 2013 by
St. Matthew recalls Isaiah’s prophecy: “The people living in darkness have seen a bright light, and for those living in the land and shadow of death, a light has risen” (Matthew 4:16). Through his words, Matthew tells us that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies by bringing to us His healing and salvation. In the book of […]
Hebrews 2:10-18: Jesus is Our Blood Brother
March 13, 2013 by
Blood is thicker than water. We use such an expression to point out that our ties to family are stronger than our ties to others. It’s an expression we use to say that families stick together, not just in the best of times, but even in the worst of times. Families have a bond. Families […]
John 6:1-15: Seeing Jesus with Your Ears
March 10, 2013 by
Faith believes what it cannot see, for if faith could see what it believes, it wouldn’t be faith. That would be walking by sight, which doesn’t need faith. And so faith grasps the invisible mysteries of God, for it “sees” (if we want to use that word), not through our eyes, but through our ears. […]
Hebrews 12:22-24: Worshiping with the Saints and Angels
March 6, 2013 by
After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, the Jewish leadership had decided it was better for the people if Jesus was dead. They said, “If we let Jesus go on like this, everyone will believe in him. Then the Romans will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation” (John 11:48). “So from […]
