Redemption made Manifest Not merely performing a drama The redemptive body and blood of Christ are made new again In this sanctuary the most precious treasure in the world is delivered to us What happens here in the Divine Service, and throughout the church year, is not some sort of a theatrical play or a dramatic retelling of history. Holy Week, beginning…

True Christian Joy The Sorrows of life Worldly Joy Godly Joy Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” You will be sorrowful, Jesus says. There are some people who really embrace that, and…

The Good Shepherd’s Voice Significance of shepherds throughout history and today Shepherds lead and defend the sheep Jesus is the Good Shepherd who leads us with His voice and defends us with His life Pastors are shepherds Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I…

Faith in that which cannot be seen After seeing flesh and blood, Thomas declares faith in Jesus’ unseen divinity We have not seen Christ nor His divinity, and yet declare our belief that Jesus is our Lord and God We receive this faith in the unseen through Jesus’ word of life In turn we boldly confess the faith, even at the ridicule…

The Battle for the Vineyard The church of God is the vineyard In love for His church God sent His Son to die at the hands of evil men Those who reject the Son lose their place in the church Those who fall on Christ are welcomed into the church The Lord sings over His vineyard the church through the prophet Isaiah:…

Calamities lead us to repentance. Theodicy/Problem of Evil Evil does not necessarily happen as a consequence for specific sins God uses worldly tragedies to bring about repentance and eternal salvation Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is so good and so powerful, why does evil and suffering exist? These questions are known as the problem of evil and…

Fighting the devil’s temptations with the sword of the Spirit The temptations of worldly comforts The temptations of worldly glory The temptations of presuming God’s mercy That the devil is at work in the world today is not the least bit shocking to you. Afterall, his works of darkness are quite apparent to any of us, and there’s no need to describe…