“Weak Power and Foolish Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31) Every so often an organization called the American Religious Identification Survey conducts a national survey to find out how Americans are identifying themselves by their religion. And so we have data to … Continue reading
“Hold Lightly to the Things of This World” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31) Are you married? Some of you are, some of you aren’t. OK, so let’s broaden the field. How about these questions: Are there times when you mourn? Are there … Continue reading
“A Day of Judgment and Salvation” (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) In thinking about a theme for our three midweek Advent services this year, I decided to go with the Epistle readings for the first three Sundays in Advent. For there is … Continue reading
“The Last Enemy to Be Destroyed Is Death” (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 51-57) Over 25 years as a pastor, I have had a number of World War II veterans as members of the congregations I have served. Homer Rouggly was one … Continue reading
“Death Is Swallowed Up in Victory” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57) Chuck, and the friends and family of our sister Gwen: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First I want to say that you … Continue reading
“If Christ Has Not Been Raised” (1 Corinthians 15:1-26) Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!) Yes, he is risen indeed! Risen from the dead! Risen bodily. And everything depends on this. Your faith, your forgiveness, your future. … Continue reading
“Examples from the Exodus” (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) Some good examples can be instructive for us on what to do. We learn from watching others. Children learn from their parents, about how to speak, how to tie their shoelaces, about how … Continue reading
“Life and Love in the Body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:1 – 13:13) I don’t know if you noticed it, but today and for the last two weeks our Epistle reading has come from 1 Corinthians. That’s One Corinthians, by … Continue reading
This is the second part of my response to the blog article, “How Lutherans Implicitly Deny Faith Alone in Christ Alone.” Three Examples of How Lutherans Deny Justification by Faith Alone: A Response – Part Two of Two 3) Loss … Continue reading
“Blood of the Covenant” (Exodus 24:3-11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; Mark 14:12-26) “Blood” and “covenant” go together in the Bible pretty much all the time. Whenever God establishes a covenant with people, generally it is sealed with blood. And tonight is … Continue reading
“The Cross of Christ, the Tree of Life” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31) What a joy it is to be back here in the house of the Lord! Because of the snow and ice, we lost four out of the first five … Continue reading
“Glorify God in Your Body” (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) “Flee from sexual immorality.” “Glorify God in your body.” Now those are two direct quotations from today’s Epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 6. “Flee from sexual immorality.” “Glorify God in your body.” Two … Continue reading
“But We Preach Christ Crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) You’ll notice that the color of our paraments today is red–in other words, something different from the ordinary green that we use in the non-festival half of the church year. This means … Continue reading
“The Word of the Cross, the Power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:12) As many of you know, these past two weeks I was at our seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take a continuing education course on the … Continue reading
“Gifted Speakers” (John 1:29-42a; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9) Have you ever heard of the St. Louis Speakers Series? Every year there’s a series of lectures, held in St. Louis, given by famous speakers from around the country. Well-known authors, politicians, broadcasters, … Continue reading
“Who Are the April Fools? How Do You View Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and … Continue reading