If you have spent any time reading the Holy Scriptures you’ll find that not every person is presented as a “hero of the Bible.”
In fact, most of those that we may aspire to follow—men like Moses, King David or St. Paul or even back to the Father of the nation of Israel, Abraham—we find that along with their admirable traits, they all had their faults. Sometimes they are positive examples. They hold to their faith despite great challenges. Sometimes, the examples are negative, and we are cautioned not to follow these examples and their descent into sin. …For more, click on the title above.
Category: Sermons
The song of Zechariah
Through His Services to us, the Lord has brought us to the second of the Church’s three Advent Wednesdays this year. They have served, and are serving, to proclaim to us Faith’s response to God’s beautiful gifts. Last week, we heard as the Magnificat was expounded that it was, and is, a reflection of this biblical principle as it applies to God’s Word and His people’s right responses: Gift, Recognition, [and] Response. The past two Sundays, we’ve heard the texts that led, and flowed from, that theme as it was, and is, wrapped about by the ancient themes of those Sundays, “Hope,” and “Peace.” …For more, click on the title above.
Freed in Christ to call upon God in the day of trouble
Today, God has called us into His Service to once again receive His gifts. Through them, He would have us hear, by our faithfully receiving His proclaimed Word, a theme that helps us in our watching and waiting for the Last Day. That is, that we, as members of the Body of Christ, are freed in Him to call upon God in the Day of Trouble. …For more, click on the title above.
The magnificat
Welcome to the first midweek service of this Advent season. Our theme for this year’s sermon series is “The Songs of the Saints,” and as I’m sure you may have guessed, the sermon text for this week is the Magnificat. Out of context, it makes sense to study the Song of Mary during Advent considering how the song was sung during Mary’s pregnancy. It is also found in the first chapter of Luke, where the Gospel is building up to our Savior’s birth. However, today we will be examining the canticle from a slightly different angle. …For more, click on the title above.
The King of Glory arrives
This day, as in years past, the New Church Year has begun with our heralding the King of Glory… He is the One Whom we believe, teach, and confess is Jesus. He is the Lord of the Heavenly Hosts. He alone was, and is, the One Who once entered ancient Jerusalem humble and sitting upon a donkey, and upon the colt of a donkey.
So, as New Church Years have begun for centuries, this week has started by our heralding Jesus as the fulfillment of the Lord’s Promise to King David. He, we are being, and will be, led to understand over the course of almost four weeks this year, is the eternal Son of David Who would, and does, sit on God’s eternal Throne of Glory. …For more, click on the title above.
Giving Him thanks
The Holiday of Thanksgiving was made on October third, 1863, by Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln issued the Thanksgiving Day proclamation in hopes that it would help to bring together the divided people.
In the proclamation, President Lincoln declared that the last Thursday of November would be treated as a National Day of Thanksgiving. The holiday was explained as being in remembrance of a peaceful exchange between the native American tribe of Wampanoag and the settlers of Plymouth who they made a strategic alliance with in hopes of using them for their own gain. This peace would be short-lived, and conflict would lead to the downfall of the Wampanoag. …For more, click on the title above.
New heavens and new earth–What does this mean?
Our initial question for this morning is: What does it mean to create a new heaven and a new earth? Is the prophet speaking about the Kingdom of Grace in which we Christians now live, or, is this new heaven and earth the one Promised at the End of the Age?…For more, click on the title above.
Life to eternity
Forty years ago, on this date, November 22,1985, at about this same hour, I heard the sound of a phone ringing. I wasn’t a pastor at that time in my life. I was a salesman, making a presentation in a house in Silver City, New Mexico. This was before cell phones, so it wasn’t my phone, it was that of the homeowner. I was a little mad because it had interrupted the flow of my sales pitch….For more, click on the title above.
The call of Moses
I can just about guarantee each and every one of you gathered here this morning or listening to this sermon in some far-off place that one day you’ll find yourself wondering, “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” Several thousand years ago, Moses was having one of those days. There he was, minding his own business, tending his father-in-law Jethro’s sheep, when God decides to call him to action. …For more, click on the title above.