Free Republic

“The Good Shepherd Gives Life to His Undershepherd” (Revelation 7:9-17; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 10:11-18) Dear Miriam, Matthew, Anne Marie, family, and friends of our brother Leonard: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. When we lose a loved one--whether that’s a husband, father, grandfather, friend, fellow church member--we can experience a range of emotions. Certainly there’s a sense of loss, grief, in knowing that we will not see that person again in this life. But for the Christian, when we lose a brother or sister in Christ, there’s also a peace and a...

“Thus It Is Written, Fulfilled, and Proclaimed” (Luke 24:36-49) Do you want to know what the Bible is all about? Do you want to know what Jesus came to do? Do you want to know what the church’s preaching should emphasize? If so, then I’ve got good news for you. The answers to all three of these questions are found in today’s Gospel reading from Luke 24, specifically, in these verses: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of...

“Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Seen and Yet Have Believed” (John 20:19-31) Suppose you happened to be indoors all afternoon tomorrow. And the next day people say to you, “Hey, how about that eclipse yesterday?” And you say, “Sorry, I didn’t see it. Therefore, since I didn’t see it, it must not have happened.” Now that would be ridiculous. Just because you didn’t see it, there were plenty of people who did. Just because you didn’t see it, it still happened. Yeah, as crazy as it sounds for the sun to turn pitch black in the middle of the...

“Just as He Told You” (Mark 16:1-8) Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!) You say that with such conviction! And well you should. For Christ’s resurrection is the heart and soul of our hope as Christians. Brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death for us. He has secured for us the sure and certain hope of our own resurrection and everlasting life. Which makes our Gospel reading today a little strange. It doesn’t end the way we would like. We would want the woman at the tomb, who had just heard those...

“The Great Good Friday Eclipse” (Mark 15:1-47) It’s early afternoon on an early spring day, with lots of people in town, and the sky turns completely dark. No, I’m not talking about what will happen here on April 8, when Greenwood and the whole Indianapolis area will lie in the path of totality of a solar eclipse, and lots of people will be here to experience that rare event. No, I’m talking about what happened in Jerusalem back on the day when Jesus was crucified. On that day, lots of people were in town for the Passover festival. And on...

“Love to Receive, Love to Give” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Yes, Jesus did that. And he also tells his disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” And so our message tonight is all about love: The love with which Jesus loved us, and then the love he would have us give to one another. “Love to Receive, Love to Give.” First of all, love to receive. This...

“Reserved for a King” (Mark 11:1-10) Our story today starts out with “a colt tied.” As our text says, “You will find a colt tied.” But no, I’m not talking about finding Peyton Manning tied with Brett Favre at 186 regular-season wins. This is not about an Indianapolis Colt. This is about a different colt, in a different town, tied in a different way. The colt I’m talking about is the one that Jesus uses to ride into Jerusalem on. Jesus sends two of his disciples ahead to get it: “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately...

“The Passion of Our Lord: ‘Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?’” (Mark 15:33-47) “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” So cries Jesus from the cross, as found in Matthew and Mark, where it is the only word from the cross that is recorded. “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” What is so striking about this is that it is spoken, and recorded for us, in another language. That language is Aramaic, which is sort of a cousin to Hebrew. Aramaic was the everyday language that Jewish people like Jesus spoke at that time. And we find several places in the gospels where Jesus’ words in Aramaic...

“Not to Be Served But to Serve” (Mark 10:32-45) Let me start out our message today with a question. Here it is. Which of these two statements is true: a) “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none,” or b) “A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Which one is true? Actually, the correct answer is c) “both of the above.” A Christian is both a perfectly free lord of all and a perfectly dutiful servant of all. It was Martin Luther who set forth these two seemingly contradictory propositions in...

“The Passion of Our Lord: Suffered under Pontius Pilate” (Mark 15:1-32) Tonight we continue our series on “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark.” During this series, we’re going through Mark chapters 14 and 15 piece by piece. Now we come to chapter 15. It’s Good Friday, when Jesus is handed over to the Roman governor to suffer and die. And so our theme tonight: “The Passion of Our Lord: Suffered under Pontius Pilate.” To set the scene: Jesus was betrayed and arrested the night before, was tried by the Jewish Sanhedrin, and found guilty of...

“The Passion of Our Lord: Truth on Trial” (Mark 14:53-72) It’s Thursday night, late. Overnight, really. Heading into Friday. And truth is on trial. Jesus is on trial. So is the Sanhedrin that is trying him. So is Peter, his disciple. And so are we, frankly. Who will pass the test? Let’s find out. And so our theme tonight: “The Passion of Our Lord: Truth on Trial.” Jesus is on trial. He’s appearing before the Jewish council, the Sanhedrin. The council is comprised of the high priest, the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, and other representatives of the Jewish...

“For God Loved the World in This Way” (John 3:14-21) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That of course is the famous John 3:16, part of the Holy Gospel for this day. “For God so loved the world.” But there’s a lot riding on that little word “so.” How do we understand it? Simply as “God loved the world so much,” and then we fill in what we think his loving the world must mean, based on our own opinions, not on...

“The Law of God Is Good and Wise” (Exodus 20:1-17) “The Law of God is good and wise”: So we just sang in the hymn. But is it? Is the Law of God really good and wise? I mean, yes, it does set God’s will before our eyes. And yes, it does show us the way of righteousness. However, the Law does doom us to death when we transgress. And we do transgress. A lot. So is the Law of God really all that good and wise? Really, when it dooms us? When it damns us? If so, what good...

“The Passion of Our Lord: Praying in Gethsemane” (Mark 14:32-52) So it’s Thursday night. Jesus and the disciples have been celebrating the Passover. At the end of that meal, Jesus institutes a new Passover, the new covenant in his body and blood. At the same time, Jesus knows that one of his disciples will betray him that very night and that he will be handed over to be killed. There’s a lot on his mind, to be sure! Now the meal has concluded. Jesus leads the disciples out of the city and up the Mount of Olives. Oh, they’ve been...

“The Passion of Our Lord: Blessing before Betrayal” (Mark 14:12-31) For these midweek Lenten services, we’re doing a series on “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark.” We’re working our way through Mark chapters 14 and 15, where Christ willingly enters into his time of suffering for our salvation. Last week we began with the account of Jesus being anointed with pure nard and then explaining that this was to prepare him for his burial. Our Lord knew what was coming, and still he went through with what lay ahead. That’s how strong his love for...

“The Passion of Our Lord: Anointed for Burial” (Mark 14:1-11) This year Ash Wednesday happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. And I think that’s a happy coincidence. Because on Valentine’s Day, our thoughts are all about love. And there is no greater love than the love that God has for us in sending us our Savior Jesus Christ. As it says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Or in 1 John chapter 4: “In this is love, not that...

“Departing in Peace” (Luke 2:22-40) Are you ready to go? What I mean is, are you ready to leave? No, I don’t mean right now. It would be nice if you’d stick around until the end of the service. But then, at the end of the service, will you be ready to leave? Will you be ready to depart in peace, satisfied and content and ready for whatever comes next? What makes you ready to leave, to leave any situation? For instance, this year is coming to an end. Are you ready to put 2023 behind you and move on...

“Christ Will Build His Church” (Matthew 16:13-20) “Will we have to shut the doors?” I’m guessing some of you at least have had that thought cross your mind recently. “Will we have to shut the doors of our church? Will our little congregation make it? Do we have enough people, do we have enough money, to keep the doors open?” And I can understand how you might think like that. Yes, our church is small. And on top of that, your pastor came down with cancer and moved out of state. And the guy filling in for him, the man...

“The Blessing of Confessing the Augsburg Confession” (Psalm 119:46) Today Lutheran churches around the world are celebrating the 493rd anniversary of the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession. It was on June 25, 1530, in the city of Augsburg, Germany, that a group of Lutheran princes took a confession of their faith, composed by Luther’s associate Philip Melanchthon, and presented it to Emperor Charles V. This Augsburg Confession summarizes what Lutheran churches believe, teach, and confess, on the basis of Holy Scripture. And what a blessing this confession has proved to be! Not only did it confess the truth in 1530,...

“The One Man Adam and the One Man Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:6-15) As by one man all mankind fell And, born in sin, was doomed to hell, So by one Man, who took our place, We all were justified by grace. So we just sang, and so is the message of our Epistle reading today, from Romans chapter 5. As it says in verse 15 of our text: “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.” In...