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“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...

“Put on the Whole Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-20) These days many people have taken up a variety of precautions and protections to guard against the Covid virus and its variants. They have put on face masks. They have put on face shields. They sanitize their hands. They keep social distance. They take zinc and an assortment of vitamins. They get injected with a vaccine and maybe now a booster shot as well. All these precautions and protections to guard against a virus. But friends, there’s something much more dangerous and deadly than a virus going around. As St. Peter...

“No Longer Aliens” (Ephesians 2:11-22) Aliens are not very popular. I’m not talking about aliens from outer space. I’m talking about aliens who are illegal immigrants, people who come in as outsiders. Often there is hostility between the aliens and the people who’ve been there their whole lives. They feel like their territory is being invaded. Foreigners, strangers, outsiders are seen as a threat. In whatever the culture, throughout history, aliens generally have been unwelcome. Well, that was what the situation was like at the time of the New Testament. The insiders were the Jews, God’s chosen people. The outsiders,...

“In Christ: Chosen, Redeemed, and Sealed” (Ephesians 1:3-14) Picture in your mind a great treasure chest--a big, heavy box, with one of those curved lids on it, like you’d see in a pirate movie. The lid is closed, and there’s a large lock hanging on the front. Inside this treasure chest, so you’ve been told, are all sorts of wonderful things--gems, rubies, diamonds, gold and silver coins--a fortune beyond your wildest dreams. And all these valuable treasures are yours for the taking. The only thing is, you need the key. Without that key, the treasure chest will simply remain a...

We are all hopeless sinners who live in a corrupted body that is continually under attack by powers under the control of the ruler of this World. (John 14:30) Both Christians and atheists face the same temptations. While aheists could careless about the destination of their souls, they are still tempted to do stupid things that can harm them and those around them. Christians however, can often times worry incessantly about their soul due to the temptations of this World. So if, you as a Christian, are constantly under attacks by the Evil one's minions, then how can you be...

“Ascended and Still Present” (Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:15-23) Where is Jesus, and what is he doing? That’s a good question to ask on this Ascension Day. Where did Jesus go when he ascended, and what is he doing now? Alright, you say, I know the answer to that; we just confessed it in the Creed: “He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” OK, fine, but what’s the big deal about that? Is that enough to have a whole special festival service, to come out and have church on a Thursday? Well, I...

Getting the Spiritual Gifts Back By Philip Cottraux Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against which there is no law. Every Christian should produce these nine spiritual fruits in their lives, making us the most effective witnesses we can be. But there’s a distinct difference between these and the spiritual gifts, which not everyone will have, as they are divided up among the body of Christ. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12:11). During...

“Life in the Combat Zone” (Ephesians 6:10-20) Have you ever been in a combat zone? I mean, a real, live, active combat zone. A place where bullets are whizzing past your head and explosive devices are ready to take your leg off. That’s a combat zone, and it’s a very dangerous place to be. You could be killed or wounded at any moment. Making it out of there alive is a very precarious proposition. Well, guess what? You are in a combat zone, whether you realize it or not. Every Christian is. It comes with the territory. The battle is...

“The Most Hated Verse in the Bible” (Ephesians 5:22-33) A couple of weeks ago I ran across an article on my news feed with the headline: “North Carolina GOP Candidate Preached Extensively on. . . .” Now I’ll tell you in a moment what he preached extensively on, but first let me give you an idea why this was even a story. You see, there’s a candidate in North Caroline running for Congress, and he used to be the pastor of a church. And of course his opponent and those who are backing him are looking for any dirt they...

“From Darkness to Light” (Ephesians 5:6-21)Have you ever come out of a really dark room into a bright, sunlit area? It takes a few moments to get used to, doesn’t it? Your eyes have to adjust to the new reality. But once they do, you have so much a better view of what’s around you and in front of you. No longer are you stumbling around in the dark, bumping into things. Now you can see clearly where to walk, what’s the right way to go. Well, that’s kind of how it is for us as Christians. We have come...

“Put off the Old, Put on the New” (Ephesians 4:17 - 5:2) “Clothes make the man.” I’m sure many of you have heard that old saying. “Clothes make the man.” The idea is that how you dress will affect how people perceive you--and maybe also how you perceive yourself. If you dress shabbily, in dingy, dirty old clothes, you will be perceived one way. If you dress your best, you will convey a different impression. “Clothes make the man.” Likewise, it’s a good idea to dress appropriate to who you are. If you’re a pastor, a clerical shirt is appropriate...

“Unity and Growth in the Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:1-16) Our text today is the Epistle, from Ephesians 4. We are now entering the second half of Ephesians. In the first half, St. Paul laid down the foundation of our life in Christ, that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing, according to the riches of his grace. Now in the second half, Paul moves into the practical implications of this for our life together as church and our life as individual Christians. Today’s text emphasizes the churchly dimension of our life together, that we walk together...

“From What We Were to What We Are” (Ephesians 2:11-22) From rags to riches. From the outhouse to the penthouse. From worst to first. These are different sayings we have to express a big change, a big contrast, between the way somebody was and the way they are now. There’s some big contrast involved between the former miserable situation and the current excellent one. And, dear friends, that’s the way it is for us, because there has been a major change, a huge contrast, between our former status and our current one. And so our theme this morning: “From What...

“Chosen by God, Redeemed in Christ, Sealed with the Spirit” (Ephesians 1:3-14) Our Epistle reading today is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. In fact, this is the first of eight straight Sundays when the Epistle comes from Ephesians. And during this time, we’re studying Ephesians for our Bible class. I encourage you to stay after service for that. So this is an opportunity for you to dive in to this epistle and really explore it in depth. You may also want to read through Ephesians, perhaps even in one sitting--it’s only six chapters long--perhaps several times over the...

“The Ascension: Past, Present, and Future” (Ephesians 1:15-23) Today we’re having church on a Thursday. That’s because we’re celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord, a major festival in the church year that always falls on a Thursday. And that’s because the event it celebrates came forty days after Easter. It was that marvelous occasion when our Lord Jesus Christ, after his resurrection, ascended into heaven. And tonight we will see that this great event connects, ties together, the past, the present, and the future work of Christ. Because it does, our Lord’s ascension has great importance for us, for our...

“The Real Jesus Is All You Really Need” (John 1:1-18; Ephesians 1:3-14) In Sunday morning Bible class, we’re doing a study based on the book, “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 12 False Christs.” And in these midweek Lenten services, we’ve been picking up on themes from the book, as well. “Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? 12 False Christs.” The premise of the book is that in our society people come up with false christs to fit their own presuppositions and desires. The real Jesus does not fit their idea of what he should be like, so...

“It’s a Gift!” (Ephesians 2:1-10) You are a Christian. You are saved. You believe in Christ. You are heading for heaven. And in your Christian life, you do good works. Now the question arises: How did all this come about? To what extent does all of this, or any of this, depend on you? The salvation, the faith, the good works: Which parts are a gift, by grace, God’s doing? And which parts are up to us, our doing, our contribution to the equation? That’s what we’re going to explore today. Now these are important questions. A lot can be...

"Epiphany: Mystery Made Known" (Ephesians 3:1-12)I love a good mystery. Whether it's Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot, it's fun to track with the detective as he discovers the clues and uses his "little grey cells" and eventually comes to the solution of the mystery. What had long been hidden now is revealed, and we the readers finally know "whodunit." I love a good mystery. And tonight, on Epiphany, we have one. A good mystery, I mean. A very good mystery, full of good news for you and me. What was long hidden has now been revealed. It was there all...

"Born a Priest, Made a Pastor" (Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16)Circuit Pastors' Conference, November 10, 2015Today is Martin Luther's birthday. He's 532 today, although I'd say he doesn't look a day over 490. Yes, it was on this day, November 10, in the year 1483, that Hans and Margaretha Luther had a baby boy, in the town of Eisleben, Saxony. The next day, November 11, that little squirming baby was taken to the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, there in Eisleben, and he was baptized. Since it was November 11, the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, the boy...

“Marriage, God’s Way” (Ephesians 5:22-33)News story from this summer: Jared Fogle, former spokesman for Subway sandwiches, pleads guilty to criminal sexual charges, and now his wife is filing for divorce. News story from this summer: Josh Duggar, one of the stars of the reality program, “19 Kids and Counting,” is discovered to have an account with a web service designed for arranging extramarital affairs. News story from this summer: The United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, strikes down state laws defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman, thus allowing same-sex “marriage” in all fifty...