Exodus 6:2-8, Exodus 12:1-14, and Luke 22:14-20 The end is near. The words our Savior speaks are clear, “I wanted much to eat this Passover with you [, my disciples,] before I suffer.” “The Son of Man is going to his death according to God’s plan.” The path of death is now before Him. For […]
Maundy Thursday Sermon: Remembering… for you
Our God is a God of ritual. He commanded His Old-Covenant people to take part in a yearly ritual: The Passover meal. In the first Passover, God freed His people from their slavery in Egypt. Every year after their liberation, God told the Israelites to remember the first Passover by eating a meal, which God […]
Maundy Thursday Sermon
Today, we rarely use the word “mercy” in our everyday speech. But in the Church, it’s as common as the air we breathe. We pray in the liturgy: “Lord, have mercy on us.” When we do that, we echo the blind men who sought physical sight from Jesus in Matthew 9 and Luke 18. For […]
Exodus 12:1-14: Christ, Our Passover Lamb
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 […]
Holy Week
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, March 24th. On Thursday, we will have a Maundy Thursday service, using a Lord’s Supper liturgy from the oldest liturgies in the New Testament Church. On Friday, we will remember our Lord’s death and the salvation He worked through that. Services times are: Palm Sunday: 9:30 AM Maundy Thursday: […]
Maundy Thursday: Exodus 24:3-11
Did they even realize or have a clue what they had agreed to do? “We will do everything the LORD has said.” We don’t even have to think about all the Lord had commanded to realize the futility of that response. All we have to do is remember the two chief commandments: Love the Lord […]
Holy Week at Shepherd of the Hills
April 1st begins Holy Week. Our Holy Week services start with our Palm-Sunday service, which is at our regular Divine-Service time of 9:30 AM. The sermon text will be based on the Old Testament reading from Zechariah 9:9-10. On Thursday, April 5th, is our Maundy Thursday service at 7:00 PM, which will focus on the epicenter […]
Maundy Thursday, Matthew 26:26-30
Could Jesus have made it any simpler? It is Thursday, and Jesus is with His disciples in a borrowed room. They are there to celebrate the Jewish feast of Passover. They are there for the yearly remembrance of Israel’s rescue from their slavery in Egypt. They recall that glorious rescue from God. They remember when […]
Holy Week Services
Come join us for our Holy Week services. Palm Sunday: In this service, we celebrate the joy of Jesus, our King, not only being near us, but even coming to us in Word and Sacrament that He may also be in us. The Palm Sunday service is on Sunday, April 17th, at 9:30 AM. Maundy […]