Right now, I’m going to warn you. I’m going to use the word “catholic” a lot in this sermon. That’s because “catholic” is a Lutheran word, even a Christian word! When we let the Roman-Catholic Church steal that word away from us, and claim full right to it, we have only become the poorer for […]
Acts, Lesson 3: A glimpse into the earliest New-Covenant Church
June 4, 2014 by
In the last lesson, pastor taught that the “they” in Acts 2:1 referred to the entire Christian Church at the time: those before whom Peter spoke (Acts 1:15). And we find more confirmation that more than just the Apostles spoke in other languages. Read Acts 2:5-13 What brought the Jews to where the Christians were […]
Augsburg Confession, Articles 8-9
May 18, 2014 by
AC VIII: The Church (Part 1) Properly speaking, the Church is the assembly of saints and true believers. However, since in this life many hypocrites and evil persons are mingled with believers, it is allowable to use the sacraments even when they are administered by evil men, according to the saying of Christ, “The scribes […]
Understanding New-Covenant Worship as the Fulfillment of the Old
March 22, 2014 by
Worship before God gave Moses instructions on worship From the dawn of time, proper worship of God involved resting from work on the Sabbath day to hear God’s Word (Genesis 2:3). At first, that Word was proclaimed by word of mouth with no written Scriptures: Adam to Seth, Seth to Enosh, Enosh to Kenan, and […]
Romans 6:1-11: Baptized into Christ’s Death and Life
January 19, 2014 by
Water is the substance of life. We cannot live without it. Plants and animals cannot survive without it. We drink water to keep ourselves from dehydrating and dying of thirst. We use water for cooking and cleaning. We use water to wash ourselves, to make ourselves clean. So, it makes perfect sense that God would […]
Joshua 3: God’s Use of Water to Bring You into His Promised Land
January 13, 2013 by
Oh, Paradise; Paradise is the place to be! Long ago in the Garden of Eden, the garden of Paradise, our first parents, Adam and Eve, lived. They had perfect joy, unity, and communion with God and each other. They were perfect and sinless. In Eden, a river flowed out of Paradise, which separated into four […]
From Adam to Jesus: Circumcision
November 26, 2012 by
Almost out of the blue, the Bible introduces us to Abram. From the faithful line of Noah’s descendants, from Noah’s son, Shem, comes the first of the great patriarchs: “Abraham the Hebrew” (Genesis 14:13). Abram lived in Ur (today in Iraq), a city known for its prosperity. Abram was wealthy. So, when God told Abram […]
From Adam to Jesus: The Rainbow
November 17, 2012 by
Priestly Service Last week, in our lesson at least, God finished creating the world. We also saw how Moses described the world’s creation in much the same way as the Tabernacle/Temple’s construction. What was God doing through such crafted literary accounts? He wanted His people to see, after further meditation, that the Garden of Eden […]
Holy Trinity: John 3:1-17
June 3, 2012 by
Paradox: That’s an underlying reality for the Feast of the Holy Trinity. For the Holy Trinity is the paradox of all paradoxes. And what is a paradox? It’s a seeming contradiction that may still be true. Would you like an example of a paradox? How about this? “And the catholic faith is this: We worship […]
Acts 8:26-40: What is to keep me from being baptized?
May 6, 2012 by
An angel of the Lord sends Philip chasing after a chariot. A eunuch from Ethiopia is reading the Prophet Isaiah. He reads about Jesus but doesn’t know that. Then he comes to some water and is baptized. The Gospel is a messy business, isn’t it? We don’t like it messy. We prefer our life with God […]
