Free Republic

Amid chaos on many fronts, globalists march forward into the night. Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum convening in Davos, Switzerland, welcomed fellow globalists with this: “The future is built by us, by a powerful community, as you, here in this room.” Meanwhile in the United States we face soaring gas prices, shortage of baby formula, and the highest inflation seen in 40 years. The global elite would find more reality than their self-aggrandizing meeting if they drove to nearby France for the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival, where Tom Cruise drew a five-minute...

“From the Now to the New” (John 16:12-22; Revelation 21:1-7) Our readings today take us “From the Now to the New.” What I mean is, they take us from the “now” we are experiencing in the present to the “new” that awaits us in the future. And that knowledge of the “new” gives us the hope and strength we need to carry on in the “now.” Let’s start with the “now” of the disciples. Their “now,” as we read about it in John 16, was a time of sorrow and sadness and grief. It’s Thursday evening, and Jesus has been...

“The Good Shepherd and His Flock” (John 10:22-30; Acts 20:17-35; Revelation 7:9-17) Today is the Sunday in the church year known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” You’ll notice that on this day all of the readings, the psalm, the hymns--all carry the theme of the shepherd and his flock, the sheep. And this will strengthen our faith today and give us life and hope for the future, as we see what God’s word says about “The Good Shepherd and His Flock.” The first thing we need to do is to identify who this shepherd is and who are his flock. The...

“Only Jesus: No Other Name” (Acts 4:1-12; Revelation 1:4-18; John 14:1-14) Something significant, something momentous, happened in the city of Chicago 175 years ago this week. No, I’m not talking about the day I was born. I was born in Chicago, yes, but I’m not quite that old. No, but something else was born there 175 years ago. It was the birth of our church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It was on April 26, 1847, that representatives from fourteen Lutheran congregations came together at First St. Paul Lutheran Church on the north side of Chicago, and they formed a...

John Edward Szeles, the standup comic and magician who delighted in shocking audiences for decades as “The Amazing Johnathan,” died at his Las Vegas home Tuesday after a long battle with heart disease. The self-described “Freddy Krueger of comedy” was 63. “Johnathan Szeles (Amazing Johnathan ) has passed away at around 11:30 pm 2/22/22,” fellow standup comic Penny Wiggins, 60, posted on Facebook. “My heart is broken. One of my best friends, one of the funniest humans I’ve ever met. I loved him so very much and will never forget this wonderful, amazing, kind, funny, great person.” The Detroit native’s...

“The Sign of the Water into Wine at the Wedding” (John 2:1-11) “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory.” It was a sign. The thing about a sign is, you need to be able to read it and know what it means. A sign points to something beyond itself. So, what does this sign point to? What does it tell us? Let’s find out now, about “The Sign of the Water into Wine at the Wedding.” The sign that we’re looking at today is Jesus changing water into wine at the...

Is John 7:53-8:11 Authentic?The account of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) has a textual history that makes heads spin. Michaels in her commentary on John [146] offers the details: It is not in the earliest manuscripts (with one exception); in those manuscripts where we do find it, it is not found in one place. Some have it at the end of John. Some put it after our John 7:36; one puts it after 7:44. Some have it in Luke, after Luke 21:38. So what's happening here? Do we maybe have a bit of an otherwise rejected gospel, or...

“Eleutherios: Free Indeed!” (John 8:31-36) Today, October 31, along with millions of other Christians around the world, we are celebrating Reformation Day. Why? What’s so special about this day? Well, 504 years ago today, on October 31, 1517, Dr. Martin Luther posted his Ninety-five Theses against the sale of indulgences on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. And what Luther did that day started the movement known as the Reformation, which corrected many bad practices that crept into the church. Ever since, we observe the last Sunday in October as Reformation Day, and we thank God for using...

“This Is a Hard Saying” (John 6:60-69) For the last couple of weeks, the Holy Gospel has been Jesus’ famous “Bread of Life” discourse from John chapter 6. And last week I preached on the appointed text, under the theme, “Eat This Bread and Live Forever.” But last week I only got through the first half of that text. What I didn’t get to was the reaction to what Jesus said. And that’s what I want to take up this morning. And so our sermon text today is what is printed in your bulletin, namely, John 6, verses 60 through...

“The Lord Kept Sharon in the Faith” (Psalm 121; John 6:35-40) Dear family members, church members, I must confess, you have an advantage on me: You’ve known Sharon a lot longer than I have. Family members--you, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren--you have known Sharon literally your entire life. Church members, many of you have known her for ten, fifteen, twenty years or more. Me? I’ve only known Sharon for just one year. So you all have the advantage on me on that. You have a lot more memories to share with one another than I have. But, in serving as...

“Eat This Bread and Live Forever” (John 6:51-69) The world’s oldest living person is a woman in Japan by the name of Kane Tanaka. She is 118 years old. She has held the title of oldest living person for over three years, which is unusually long for someone to be the world’s oldest living person. Usually, they relinquish the title before that long. What is Miss Tanaka’s secret? “Eating delicious food and studying,” she says. Her nurses say, “She has a strong appetite and likes eating chocolate and drinking Coke.” Well, I have a strong appetite, I like eating delicious...

“A Christmas Carol” (John 6:51-58) One of the first things you notice about Carol’s obituary is the date of her birth: December 25, 1940. Carol was born on Christmas Day! It was like God was sending us a nice Christmas present that we all could enjoy for the next 80+ years. She was a true “Christmas Carol,” and the music was sweet indeed! What a gift Carol was to us! Beloved wife to Jim for over 60 years. Loving mother to all you “T” kids, her children: Tammy, Tom, Tim, Terri, Tracy, and Toni. Whew! Grandmother, great-grandmother, faithful church member,...

“Born of Water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-17) On this Trinity Sunday, our Gospel reading, from John chapter 3, tells us of the work of the Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--in bringing us to a new birth and the new life that flows from it. And this is where Jesus goes in his conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he needs to be “Born of Water and the Spirit.” This Nicodemus was a prominent Jewish religious leader. He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Jesus even calls him “the teacher of...

“Love Commanded, Love Connected” (John 15:9-17) “This is my commandment, that you love one another.” So says the Lord Jesus today in the reading from John 15. “But, but, Jesus, how come you’re giving us a commandment? Like we’re supposed to obey this? But I thought you were not about commanding people, just forgiving them. This sounds like Law to me, and I thought you were only Gospel!” Yeah, how can you command us to do this, Jesus, to “love one another”? That’s too hard. I mean, there are some people I like to love. I love my children; I...

“Branches, Abiding in the Vine, Bearing Fruit” (John 15:1-8) In the Holy Gospel for today, in John 15:5, our Lord Jesus says to us: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” And so our theme this morning: “Branches, Abiding in the Vine, Bearing Fruit.” And those will be the three parts of our message today. First, branches: How do we become branches? Second, abiding in the vine: How does that happen? And third, bearing fruit: What...

“The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep” (John 10:11-18) Are you feeling a little sheepish today? Well, if you are, that’s good! Because it’s good to be a sheep when Jesus is your shepherd. Today the message is that Jesus is our good shepherd, and “The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep.” Today is the Sunday in the church year known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Every year on this Sunday in the Easter season, the Psalm is always the 23rd Psalm, the Holy Gospel is always a portion of John chapter 10, and the...

“Believing Is Better Than Seeing” (John 20:19-31) The doors were locked. The disciples had locked themselves in, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, who had just had Jesus killed a couple of days earlier. And since they were Jesus’ disciples, if it became known where they were, the authorities might come after them, too. So the disciples were afraid and were staying behind closed doors. But if a sealed tomb couldn’t keep Jesus in, a locked door couldn’t keep Jesus out. He passes right through and stands in their midst. “Shalom aleichem,” he says, “Peace be with you,”...

“The Light Shines in the Darkness” (John 1:1-5, 9-14) Tonight we’re doing a traditional Good Friday evening service called “Tenebrae.” The Latin word, “tenebrae,” means “shadows” or “darkness.” This is the Service of the Shadows, the Service of Darkness--moving to complete darkness at the end of the service. This reminds us of the darkness that came over the land when Christ was hanging on the cross, the great darkness that occurred when the author of life was put to death. And then his lifeless body was placed in the tomb, and night fell, and all was darkness and shadows. The...

“Washed Clean with Jesus’ Love” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) One thing we’ve been reminded of a thousand times over the past year is to wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands, we are told, is an important way to keep you from getting the virus or spreading it to others. And so we wash our hands. Frequently. But you can wash your hands fifteen times a day, eight days a week, and still, eventually, something is going to get you. We’re all going to die of something. But there is one type of washing that will keep you from dying eternally....

“Hosanna!” (John 12:11-19) Today is Palm Sunday, and if there is a “word of the day” for this day, it’s “Hosanna!” How often do we see that word show up in our service today! We started the service by saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” Then we heard the Gospel reading, where the crowd cries out, “Hosanna!” As we processed in, we sang the refrain six times, “To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.” And we concluded the procession by saying, “Hosanna in the highest.” So before we even sat down, we heard or said or...