Two Knowledges of God The Nicene Creed starts out by saying, “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” Because God created all things, we can learn more about God by studying creation and applying logic. What kind of being would create the universe …
God’s Patience with Jerusalem Tonight’s sermon theme and text is based on the Gospel reading, Matthew 24. Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, …
Reconciliation is so much better than wings and a harp In popular culture, heaven is a place where the deceased are equipped with wings and harps and have nothing to do but sit on the clouds. However, what Scripture says about heaven is about having a relationship with God. It is about being reconciled to …
Rebellion or Obedience The Bible can be thought of as a story about two men. One features strongly at the beginning of the Old Testament, the other in the New. One is the father of the entire human race, but he rebelled and brought God’s curse. The other is mankind’s Redeemer, through His obedience to His …
Wisdom of God or Wisdom of the World? We struggle. Every day presents new challenges and old temptations. And yet, we know to turn to God. Do we always turn to Him? Nope. It may seem obvious that the wisdom of God should be our first choice in every situation but our old Adam loves …
Words Matter Remember the old schoolyard saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me”? Well, it’s rubbish. Words can hurt because they matter. But the inverse is also true – words can heal and more importantly, words can share love. We continue this Lenten season with the focus on …
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree In today’s Gospel reading, we hear one of Jesus’s wise parables and as always, there is a valuable lesson to learn; one of patience. A familiar joke shared in Lutheran circles goes like this, “Lord, grant me patience and please do it now”. Our sinful flesh craves instant …
Love one another; as I have loved you. In tonight’s Scripture lesson, we hear Jesus give a new commandment. Naturally, it’s important. It shifts the paradigm from obedience to love. The 10 Commandments are still useful, but the new commandment evokes love. Love cannot be commanded. That is the lesson we learn from the old. …
Lent is known as the season of repentance. While that may sound depressing to confront and confess our sins, it is a blessing of the greatest means. We get to acknowledge our inclination to sin, seek forgiveness and absolutely receive it. But it doesn’t start and end with Lent. The life of repentance is a …
The apostle says that “God…raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places.” Not “will be seated” but just “seated.” We have been raised up, and we have been seated. But clearly we are on Earth! Can this be right? With daylight savings time starting this weekend, I do not …