The joy of Christ’s resurrection and the gifts He won for all by it are brought home as certainties in the lessons for this second celebration of Easter. Why are they certain? Because it’s God who has won them! The Epistle from Peter’s first letter assures the believer that hope, the gift of eternal life in Christ, is just as “living” for…

Throughout the Lenten season we looked at the kings of the Old Testament and found the truth of Psalm 146: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish” (vs 3–4). The plans of God are eternal, gracious…

Palm Sunday is that pivotal Sunday in the season of Lent. Through the preceding five Sundays, we have lamented our sins in contrite hearts, pleading the Lord’s mercy as we joyfully look toward His coming. And Jesus does come to us—descending from heaven above (to earth I come!). But now He ascends, up to Jerusalem, the place of sacrifice. We follow our…

All what Paul talks about in this chapter is the Christian’s union with Christ through Baptism and faith. This is all part of what Christ won for us by dying on the cross and providing unity with the Holy Spirit by Baptism and faith. It is here that Paul rejoices in Christ as the fulfillment of the Law. Using the “in Christ”…

The season of Lent, as the name reminds, is the season of lengthening days, when light overrides darkness. The obvious evidence, which nature provides, foretells the final triumph when the darkness of Good Friday will yield to the glorious sun of Easter morning. Already this Fourth Sunday in Lent, though, exhorts us to “walk as children of light” by seeking what is…

The Lenten battle against sin is intensifying. Last Sunday Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in John 3 about God loving the world. Here in chapter 4, that declaration is made more concrete with the people of Samaria, who were traditionally rejected by the Jews. The readings for this Sunday contrast the grumbling and unbelief of the people of Israel when they need water…

The Gospel in a nutshell (John 3:16). That’s what we know this verse from St. John’s Gospel as. It is, in many respects, the simplest and clearest expression of who Jesus is and what He came to earth to do. Quite simply, Jesus came to save the world. Save the world from what? Save the world from itself, from Satan, and, most…

The account of the fall in Genesis 3 is part of the seamless narrative not only of the Book of Genesis but of the whole Torah delivered by Yahweh through Moses. This text sets the stage for the rest of Scripture, revealing the need for redemption and promising that redemption. Link to Service video on Vimeo Link to service bulletin

Transfiguration Sunday brings the Epiphany season to a close. It capstones the revelation that Jesus is the Son of God from eternity. That serves as transition from Epiphany to Lent. Epiphany manifested the glory of Christ; Lent will be a penitential season calling us to repentance and faith. Faith looks to its only hope: Jesus Christ alone. Confidence in this is grounded…

Epiphany is wrapping up, and the Lenten journey to the cross will soon begin. Because we rehearse these events every year, we can feel we already know this story. However, if we think we know it, we do not know it as we ought. When it comes to God’s Word, we can be so arrogant and so forgetful. Let us turn to…