Before Jesus started His incarnate earthly ministry, the attention of the 12 Tribes of Israel was focused on someone else—John the Baptizer. John whom some of us heard about on Advent II Wednesday, was the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth and had a special role to play in God’s plan for salvation. In our Gospel reading we see John talk about this role. John also answers the question: Who are you? …For more, click on the title above.
Tag: Vicar Decker
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.
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.
Faith heals
But deliver us from evil
He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear.
Over time, the Church has heard a number of things. In its first days, the Church heard
the public preaching of Peter, Paul, and the other Apostles, as well as the cries of glee and horror as they were martyred. It heard Constantine end it’s persecution. It listened closely as the Church Fathers fought over confessing rightly the Trinity and the divinity of the Son of God. The Church
listened as Islam threatened to wipe the Truth and Word of God away, all the while seeking to replace it with lies, hatred, and the worship of an idol. The Church heard the ground rumble from the marching of boots and hooves as armies advanced under the banner of the Faith as they
waged wars across the land in the crusades. ”
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Dining With the Pharisees
Our Savior took the plans of the prideful who attempted to honor themselves and brought them down, putting them to shame. At the same time, Christ took a man who was low and suffering and raised him up.
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Freed in Christ to not be anxious
The life of sinful man is plagued by numerous conditions, struggles, and troubles. How widespread these different undesirable things are or how much of an issue they are may wax and wane like the moon in the night sky as the years and decades go by but nevertheless, they persist. …For more, click on the title above.
Deaf and mute
Throughout His incarnate earthly ministry, Jesus performs a wide variety of miracles for the people He comes across. Christ feeds many with a small amount of food, raises people from the dead, calms a raging storm and sea, fills nets with fish, casts out demons, and as we see in our Gospel reading for today, heals the ailments of those who are suffering. Today we hear that God listens to our pleas….For more, click on the title above.
The temple of the Lord
Luke’s account of Christ’s arrival at and actions in the Temple in Jerusalem, which was read a few moments ago, is quite wonderful. It falls right after the Triumphal Entry, where the Savior enters the city that is the final destination of His incarnate earthly ministry. It is a city that would soon demand His death on the cross as punishment for claiming He was the Son of God, and in the eyes of the officials, misleading the people. …For more, click on the title above.