Easter is here again this Sunday. There are three things to observe. First, Jesus demonstrates that He really is alive, in the flesh, by pointing to His hands and feet and by eating some fish. Then He demonstrates the significance of Easter from the Scriptures as the basis for proclaiming repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Finally, He commissions His hearers as…

The Day of the Resurrection of our Lord, the First Sunday of Easter, is the climax of the church year. This fifty-day season proclaims the victory of Christ, who overcame sin, death, and the devil. It follows the forty-day season of Lent that reveals the weight of humankind’s sin, the need for repentance, and the saving work of Christ’s death on the…

In today’s Epistle (Phil 2:5–11) the apostle Paul manages to capture the mystery and majesty of this day in one simple sentence: “And being found in human form, Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:8). The humility of Jesus is also accented through the preaching of Zechariah in today’s Old Testament Reading…

The Propers for the Fifth Sunday in Lent take us to the heart of our Lord’s saving work on behalf of the whole world. In the Old Testament Reading, the prophet Jeremiah succinctly lays out the Lord’s promise of a new covenant. From this new covenant flows a gracious promise: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no…

Last week the lectionary gave us one of the most famous readings in all Scripture: the Ten Commandments. This week, the Fourth Sunday in Lent, the lectionary tops that: Ephesians 2:8–9 and John 3:16! So much to say. So much already said. So familiar. Let us listen closely. Link to Service video on Vimeo Link to service bulletin

We would not expect a Sunday in Lent to be without confrontation, and the Third Sunday in Lent does not disappoint. Lent is the season of the church year in which we are most powerfully reminded that our sin sent Jesus to the cross. The penitential character of Lent comes into stark relief this Sunday as the sacred confronts the profane. God,…

The Propers for the Second Sunday in Lent are filled with promise and hope for the suffering. In the Epistle, Paul explains how “we rejoice in our sufferings” (Rom 5:3). All this hope in suffering is keyed by the Gospel: Jesus bears His cross to accomplish redemption, and His disciples bear theirs as well (Mk 8:31, 34). Welcome to all our brothers…

The First Sunday in Lent begins this penitential season of preparation for Holy Week and Easter with the account of a test by God and temptations by the devil. The traditional Hymn of the Day, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” proclaims Jesus Christ as the victor over Satan, the old evil foe. We welcome all to God’s house today! Link to…

The transfiguration is a momentous event in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. It has been celebrated distinctively by Lutherans on the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday (which has been the conclusion of the Epiphany season) since Reformation times. The Old Testament Reading of the day (Ex 34:29–35) is logically connected to significant aspects of the appointed Gospel (Mk 9:2–9)—both…

Epiphany 4 continues the Epiphany theme of the Light shining on all the world. The Gospel for the day (Mk 1:14–20) relates the call of more disciples who would, after Pentecost, evangelize the world, though at the cost of their own lives. As Jesus calls these disciples from boats on the sea to become fishers of men, Jonah failed to escape his…