Rejoice in all things

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,  

give thanks in all circumstances; 

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, 

but test everything; hold fast what is good. 

Abstain from every form of evil.

 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, 

and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless 

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

He who calls you is faithful; 

he will surely do it. 

(1 Thess 5:16-24)

Listen to Sunday’s sermon here.

Sheep or Goat?

The Final Judgment (Matthew 25)

 ³¹ "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' ⁴⁰And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,^[f] you did it to me.'

 ⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' ⁴⁴Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' ⁴⁵Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

He is coming.  Soon. What will He will say to you?

Listen to Sunday's sermon here.

The day of the Lord

True enough!  And He will!

Is this a terrifying thing, or a comforting thing?

Do you look forward to the day the Lord comes in judgement?

We read in the book of Amos:
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
...Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
...I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies...

(Read the full OT text here: Amos 5:18-24)
But we also read the words of Paul:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.  And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with them.(Read the entire epistle here: 1 Thess 4:13-18)

Are we supposed to be afraid?  Or hopeful?
To find out, listen to the full sermon here.

Gain vs. Loss

In this week's Epistle, Paul speaks of gain and loss.  Jesus radically changed Paul's perspective.  Paul declares, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."


What do you count as "gain" in your life?
What do you regard as "loss?"



Is it possible that you, too, need a change of perspective?

Allow God's word to give you clear vision.
Listen to Sunday's sermon "Gain vs. Loss" here.
(based on the Epistle reading)

God, open my eyes.  Help me to see things as You see them.  

May Your Word correct my eyesight.  Amen.

Click here to listen the the sermon.

Without blemish

We are part of a crooked generation.
All we know is coal; yet. sometimes we are amazed by grace that shines like a diamond.

A work of God!

We hear the words of Paul as he considered his potential beheading: "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. "


We hear the words of Jesus: "Forgive them Father."


 We cannot fathom the love that spoke such words.  Surely, this must be God at work.


We are called to join that work.  We are told to do all things "without grumbling," but we find ourselves grumbling all the time.  We are not joined in singularity of mind.  We do not place others above ourselves.  It's just not natural.


It is not natural, to love as God would have us love.  Yet we go to God, sinful by nature and unclean.  He pours Himself out, forgives, cleanses.  He clothes us in His righteousness, and His miraculous love covers us.









Heavenly Father, 
Forgive us Lord, and clothe us with Your holiness.  Fill us with Your love that feels so unnatural, that we may be healed, and that we may pour your love into the lives of those around us.  We are bold to ask for this miracle only in the name of Jesus. Amen




Click here to listen to last Sunday's sermon.

on Suffering

Last weeks prayer of the church was roughly two pages of prayer requests.

2 pages of suffering.  2 pages of people crying out to God for help.

Lord, have mercy!  Will it ever end?  Is it just going to keep on getting darker and darker in this place?

Behold, God sends our way out:



Jesus's death on the cross.  Surprising, sad, counter-intuitive.  A God who dies?  This is what we need?  Yes.  We who suffer must look to Jesus.  Jesus, whose death on the cross conquers death and suffering, whose sacrifice explodes like a bomb in our dying world.  Jesus, whose light shines in our darkness, and promises us that the darkness will not overcome it.

For the sermon on August 28, click here

Hope for the Dismayed

"Change and decay in all around I see,

O Thou who changest not, abide with me!"

Listen to the sermon from August 21, "Hope for the Dismayed," here.

Heavenly Father,

We look around to the heavens and the earth, and we fear.  We see change and decay, we see sickness and death, and we see no place to hide.  We look inside ourselves and we see sin and darkness.  We know that we have been made in your image, but we see how we have stained that image; we have mixed poison in all that you have given.  We are sinners, and we are mortals, and we cannot free ourselves from our condition.

We look back, not to our own pasts to see what good we have done, for we know that we will not find hope there.  We look instead to the past of Your people, and we take heart when we see Your steadfast love towards other sinners like us. You had mercy on Abraham and called him out of idolatry.  You had mercy on Noah, on Israel despite their hard hearts.  You are a God who has mercy on sinners.  In Jesus we see Your open arms for us, we receive Your healing grace.  In this world of decay and sadness, we find our security in Your promise.

The heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever,

and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

Isaiah 51:6

The Gathered

Click here to listen to Sunday's sermon based on Isaiah 56:1-8

Heavenly Father, 

We are by nature sinful and unclean.  We are rebellious, we are idolators.  We have broken every one of Your commandments, and we have refused to behave as Your children. 

Your love and grace towards mankind is nothing like what we find in our own hearts.  Yet at your invitation, we confess our sins, and You cover us in free and full forgiveness.  You unite us with Your Son, and call us Your own.  You open wide the doors to Your kingdom, and speak words of grace into our hearts.  

"You are forgiven, child.  Welcome Home."

Keep us safe in Your home, Father.  Sustain our lives and our faith by Your Word.  Let Your love flow abundantly into our hearts, that it may fill us up to overflowing.  May Your grace move us to pour that love on others, to bring them to You, that they may also be welcomed into Your eternal home.

In the name of Jesus, Amen

Welcome all,
to one of God's houses.

God's calming Word

Most merciful God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean.  We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone.  We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. 

And because of all of that, it is hard for us to see.  We try to discern right from wrong, we try to understand who God is, but our vision is clouded.

Add caption

Come to us here, in our darkness and our confusion: we do not know how to find our way to You.  As a father comforts his child, comfort us with Your strong and calming word.  Open our ears, that we may hear "Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid."   In the storms and black nights, assure us that You hold us in your loving hands.  Envelop us in grace so that even in the darkest places our hearts may hear and believe You as You say, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  

Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of your holy name.


Click here to listen to Sunday's sermon.

Fear not.

The Miracle of Satisfaction

Based on the Gospel reading: Matthew 14:13-21

We all feel overwhelmed at times.  We all face moments when the needs around us and within us are simply too much.  We look at our own resources, and we see that we simply do not have enough to satisfy ourselves or anyone else.

Yet even then, it is hard for us to stop.  It seems easier to just keep going, to move faster, to work harder, to live like the Energizer Bunny.



Jesus says, of our paltry resources, "Bring them here to me."   He has compassion on us, and He tells us to SIT DOWN, to receive what we need from His hands.  Just as he multiplied the loaves and the fish, He multiplies what we have as we use it and share it.

We look to Him, we receive what we need from Him, and miraculously, we are satisfied.

Click here to listen to last Sunday's sermon.

The parable of the sower

Read Matthew 13:1-23

Listen to Sunday's sermon here.

Heavenly Father,
Blessed are we, for we have heard Your Word.  You did not look only upon the sins of our hearts;You did not withhold your seed, though we are hard and rocky soil.  You graciously scatter the seed of Your Word in all places, and let it fall on all ears, because grace is given to all people in Your Son Jesus.  It is Your strong Word of Law that breaks up the hard soil of our hearts, and it is Your strong word of Gospel that gives us life.  Grant us hearts to receive that Word and hold it fast.  Cultivate us, Lord, prune us with your Law and feed us with Your Gospel, that we may grow in faith towards you and fervent love for one another, through Jesus.  Amen.

Easy Yoke

Weary.

Heavily burdened.

Laboring.

Exhausted.

Is this you?

Hear the voice of Jesus, calling you to rest in Him:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

New rules: I'll be doing all the work.

Listen to Sunday's sermon here.

The sword

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34 (read the entire Gospel reading here)

God takes us through trial to peace with Him, and the sword of His Word can be painful indeed.  His law pierces our hearts, revealing that we are indeed not worthy of Him.  The mirror of His Word reveals the muddy sinful mess of this world and our own hearts.  What can we do but come to Him for cleansing?

Listen to Sunday's Sermon here.

Create in me a clean heart, O God!

NOTE:  We apologize for the technical problems with the link for last week's sermon.  It should be working now.

born dying

We are born dying.
Like an infant in the NICU, we are sick, dying, and unable to free ourselves from our sinful condition.

Our God does not forsake us in our great need.  The blessed Trinity, Three in One, is God for us.

Our Father develops the plan of salvation; the Son fulfills the law in our place; the Holy Spirit brings us the Son.

Our Father writes the prescription; the Son fills the prescription; the Holy Spirit gives it to us.  Oh, blessed Trinity!  God is for us!

Praise we the Father and the Son

And Holy Spirit, with them One,

And may the Son on us bestow

The gifts that from the Spirit flow!

(Come Holy Ghost Creator Blest verse 7)

Listen to the sermon for Trinity Sunday here.

A life-giving flood

We in Columbus know quite a bit about stagnant water.  It stinks.  It ruins things.  It breeds nasty mosquitoes.

In Sunday's sermon, Pastor Cook reminds us that our hearts without Jesus are much like stagnant water: stinking, ugly, and yielding only death.  Just as land cannot clean itself, we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition.  But God's mercy is poured on us through Christ, in Baptism, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Thanks to His life-saving flood of grace, we are cleansed and refreshed.  We receive, and we live.

For Sunday's Pentecost sermon, click here.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold I freely give

The living water, thirsty one,

Stoop down and drink and live

I came to Jesus and I drank of that life-giving stream

My thirst was quenched, my soul revived

And now I live in Him.

(LSB 699, I Heard the Voice of Jesus say, verse 2)

Um, thanks a lot pastor.

This week our dear pastor had an unusual prayer for his congregation:

“I pray that God would open my eyes and your eyes to the real spiritual war that is going on: 

the Howitzers and the Apatche helicopters and the tanks and all of the spiritual weaponry that Satan has encamped around  us;

the way he wants to send a tank round right through your heart and kill you;

the way he goes about and lays land mines to destroy us, pits for us to fall into.”

Though I am not sure I am ready for God to fully answer this prayer, I do see the Christian love that inspired it.  Just as Peter wants us not to be surprised at our own fiery trials, so too does our pastor want us to be awake to the traps of the enemy that surround us.

We see these things, we are wounded by them and by our own selves; we suffer and cry out with David, “Where is God my deliverer?”

The enemy tells us, "He is not here.  Work harder, try harder, get yourself out of this mess."

Instead, we hear God’s call to look up, to cling to Him and wait for Him to rescue us.

Our God is a powerful adversary who fights for us, His children whom He keeps safe in Christ Jesus.  Though we live and wait here in the lion’s den, our Father has promised not to let us see defeat. 

He himself will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.  

Amen.

To hear Sunday's sermon, based on the Epistle: 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11
click here

"Jesus, Lover of My Soul"

by Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

1. Jesus, Lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide.
Oh, receive my soul at last!

Notes from The Lutheran Hymnal
Hymn #345
Text: Is. 32:2
Author: Charles Wesley, 1740
Composer: Simeon B. Marsh, 1834
Tune: "Martyn"

If you love me...

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15

This is a hard word of Law for sinners to hear.  We say we love Him, but we don't keep His commandments.  Jesus knows this about us.  So what does He do about His rebellious children?

He sets His face for the cross.  He promises to send a Helper.  He has mercy. 

Read all of John 14:15-21
And listen to Sunday's sermon here.

Acceptable

Listen to Sunday's sermon here.

Heavenly Father,

Because of your great mercy, we who were once not a people, are now Your people, and through Christ we have been made acceptable in Your sight.  As we live as your dear children, teach us to long for the pure milk of Your word.  Help us fill our ears with what is good for us.  Teach us to let go of our pathetic attempts to bargain with You, and to accept your love and forgiveness as the free gift that it is. 

Jesus, our dear sacrifice, our living foundation, uphold and care for the church You are building.  We are mere beggars before You, yet You pour out Your mercy on us daily.  Keep us safe in You dear Jesus. Hold us close when the storms of life rage.

Amen.

1 Peter 2:2-10 (English Standard Version)

² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
 ⁴As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For it stands in Scripture:

   "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
   a cornerstone chosen and precious,
 and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."
 ⁷So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

   "The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone,"
 ⁸and

"A stone of stumbling,
   and a rock of offense."
   
   They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
 ⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The Voice

So many voices compete for our attention, but there is only One who speaks to us in love.

Our Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep, and His voice calls us to trust and follow Him in faith.


Father in Heaven,
Open our ears that we may hear the voice of Your dear Son.  Quiet the voices of this world, and the fears and doubts in our own hearts, that we may hear and be encouraged by Your great love for us.  Though we were wolves, we have been clothed in the Righteousness of the Lamb of God.  We are Your sheep, and we are well cared-for by our Good Shepherd Jesus.  Continue to lead and protect us.  


In Jesus' name, Amen

Listen to Sunday's sermon, "The Voice" of our Good Shepherd, here

On the Road

On the road to Emmaus, the disciples faith flickered, and they were discouraged. 

Yet Jesus did not leave them in their doubt and fear.  He gently explained the Scriptures to them, leading them along like a mother leaing a young child through a storybook.

He does this for us on our dark roads, too. Just as a flame cannot light itself, we cannot make our faith shine brightly when the storms come. Yet He has not left us alone in our suffering; He feeds our faith, our souls, with His very Self.  And our eyes are opened.

To listen to Sunday's Sermon, click here



On a more personal note, my dear husband over-estimates my patience in his illustration!  I have slammed the chapter book shut and sent them away in frustration!  However, not just because of his kind forgetfulness of that fact, I do think this is one of my favorite of his sermons. :)