To live in the ancient Promised Land required faith. Oh, its description as a place of milk and sweet honey rang true, for its country fed livestock, sheltered bees, and produced bountiful crops. Nevertheless, without rain, soon, the soil hardened and cracked into a shriveled and depleted landscape. Other places didn’t demand as much faith. […]
1 Peter, Lesson 3: Our Life with God: Is It Up to Us or God?
March 27, 2019 by
Intro In 1 Peter 1:3-12, Peter is preparing his recipients for what is to follow, to be well-disposed and ready to receive his instruction. Peter does this by expounding on the activity of each Person of the Holy Trinity, offering a blessing based on the Father (vs. 3-5), Son (vs. 3, 7-8), and Spirit (vs. […]
Being Fully Human: Lesson 2
February 13, 2018 by
Our Lord’s Physical Redemption Equals a Physical Salvation Last week, we learned the Hebrew term for “soul” [nephesh] or “spirit” [ruach] refers to the whole person as a living being. Human beings live as souls—we do not “have” souls. This association is so close we even find nephesh being used to refer to someone who […]
Romans, Lesson 16: Living in Christian Hope
December 17, 2016 by
In this life, we will experience suffering, for we live in a fallen world. “In Christ,” His suffering is ours—even if we are not suffering for being Christians. If we are in Him, we have what He gives us, which includes being glorified with Him on the Last Day. We know how the story ends—and […]
Understanding Alzheimer’s
August 22, 2016 by
This is our pastor’s article for the September issue of our newsletter. We are defective copies of imperfect copies of flawed copies. Humanity’s fall into sin introduced, not only death but also physical decay and disease. We admit as much every Sunday in our Confession of Sin: “We are by nature sinful” (LSB 151, […]
Luke 13:22-30: Are YOU Saved?
August 21, 2016 by
Convinced of being correct, with themselves as judge of right and wrong, Jewish men readied themselves for the fight. Against whom were they fighting? Other Jews. Those from the School of Hillel, such as Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, argued that every Jew would receive salvation. Not so taught Shammai, the other leading […]
Why go to Church?
November 1, 2014 by
This lesson topic stems from the idea that if God is a loving God, then why do we “have” to come to church? Like last week’s lesson on “God’s rest” for us from the book of Hebrews (4:1), we also look in the book of Hebrews to understand why God tells us not to neglect […]
Romans 10:5-17: When were you saved?
August 10, 2014 by
If you lose the basics, it’s hard to move beyond that. For if the basics aren’t there, when you move to something more advanced, your weakness in the basics will always undermine what you are trying to do. Take reading the Bible. One of the basics is to know who the writer is (or who […]
Augsburg Confession, Article 18: Free Will
June 26, 2014 by
AC XVIII: Freedom of the Human Will Our churches teach that a person has some freedom to choose civil righteousness and to do things subject to reason. However, it does not have the power to produce the righteousness of God or spiritual righteousness without the Holy Spirit. For the “unbeliever doesn’t accept what comes from […]
Romans 13:11-14: The Time when Time was Fulfilled
December 1, 2013 by
Before the people who became of age in the 1960s got the name “Baby Boomers,” some called them the “Now Generation.” Back then, that generation was young–but it was more than that. They also wanted to change the world! The Who sang “My Generation” and Bob Dylan crooned, “The times they are a changing.” The […]
