The focus of our meditation during Lawrencetide is Sanctification and Holy Absolution.
God calls His people to offer their sacrifices with thanksgiving, to keep their vows to Him with faith, and to pray to Him in their time of need. To put it simply, “What do we do?” and “What do we receive?” as we gather to worship here in the Lord’s house? After all my years in the ministry, this is still one of my favorite questions: What are we doing here?
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Category: Sermons
The way out is Jesus
What it means to be vindicated in Christ
For around 20 years, many of you who have regularly received God’s gifts at Catalina Lutheran Church have heard, and worked to discern, the ties between the four primary readings used in most of the Lord’s Services. For about two decades, members of this congregation have been encouraged to discover God’s promises through the historical One-Year Lectionary Series. You’ve worked diligently to hear the ties that occur between the weekly Old Testament and New Testament readings. …For more, click on the title above.
Joy and gladness in Christ alone
Today’s Psalm is one that may be heard several times each Church Year. It is proclaimed each Ash Wednesday, on the seventh Sunday of the Resurrection Season, on this Sunday, and, if the date of the Feast of St. Matthew Apostle and Evangelist falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, near the 21st of September. The 51st Psalm also appears, in whole or in part, in Lent’s weekday readings. Parts of it are spoken, sung, or chanted in other orders of the Lord’s Services among us. It’s important to our life in Jesus….For more, click on the title above.
God of our fathers, God of our children
Today we observe the ancient church holiday dedicated to Mary Magdalene. You may remember that Mary Magdalene was one of the faithful women who followed Jesus during His incarnate earthly ministry. As we heard in the Gospel reading a few moments ago, Mary was among the women who went to the tomb early in the morning on the third day following Jesus’ death. When she did so, she saw that the stone that had previously blocked the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away. …For more, click on the title above.
The words of man and the Word of God
With the rapid development of technology, communication has drastically changed over the years. It was not all that long ago that your only options for relaying information were to send a letter through the mail, send a telegram message, or simply going to speak with the person face-to-face. But, due to technological advancements we now have small devices in our pockets that can send emails and text messages, make calls, and can even make video calls. …For more, click on the title above.
‘Let all the earth fear the Lord’
Well, what do you think? Is it a good idea to lead with the LAW? Of Him all the inhabitants of the world should be in dread.
I guess one could say that it does grab one’s attention. But if that was all we heard it would leave us living a life of fear and trepidation. One can justify having these words as the antiphon, if, as we have discussed especially during this year of the Psalm, it points to the theme of the Divine Service. But this can only be true when it is guaranteed that these words will be expounded on and not just left hanging for people to figure out what they mean…and especially, what they mean to you….For more, click on the title above.
Freed to not sin
Blessings we inherit
Called by the Lord
“The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot.” As you heard earlier when Pastor chanted it, this is the antiphon for today’s Psalm. This verse was selected to be the antiphon for the same reason that every antiphon is selected during the Year of the Psalm. The antiphon is selected because it best represents and ties together the message and readings for the day. …For more, click on the title above.