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“The Sheep Hear the Shepherd’s Voice” (John 10:1-10) Today is the day in the church year we call “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Every year on this day we get a reading from John 10, the chapter where Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Every year we hear Jesus talking about the relationship of the shepherd and his sheep. And so today Jesus says: “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know...

A great duet of Don't It Make You Want To Go Home (Joe South) on John Denver Thank God I'm A Country Boy variety special, 1977.

“Raising the Stakes, Raising Our Sights, Raising the Dead” (John 11:1-53) Today we come to another of those memorable chapters in the Gospel of John. So far during this Lenten season, we’ve had: John 3, Jesus and Nicodemus; John 4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman; and John 9, Jesus and the man born blind. Now today we have John 11, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. But that’s not all that Jesus raises, as we will hear. Thus our theme this morning: “Raising the Stakes, Raising Our Sights, Raising the Dead.” The chapter opens with Jesus hearing a report about...

“Jesus Opens Your Eyes--and Your Tongue” (John 9:1-41) The Holy Gospel for today is John chapter 9, the story of the man born blind. But he doesn’t stay blind, once Jesus comes along. Jesus does several things for this man: He opens his eyes physically. He opens his eyes spiritually. And he opens the man’s tongue, as well. And the good news is, he does these things for you also. And so our theme this morning: “Jesus Opens Your Eyes--and Your Tongue.” First, Jesus opens the man’s eyes physically. Now that is really something, isn’t it? Maybe we gloss right...

“The Woman--and the Man--at the Well” (John 4:5-30, 39-42) Acceptance is a big idea in our culture these days. Every weird subgroup wants to be accepted as normal. More than that, they demand to be celebrated and approved, even if what they’re proud of is really something to be ashamed of. And if you don’t approve, if you don’t celebrate them, then you are a bigot and some sort of “-phobe,” and you need to be canceled. So the challenge is how to accept people in love without approving of what they’re doing that’s wrong. And our Gospel reading today...

“Born Again, Born from Above, Born of Water and the Spirit” (John 3:1-17) As most of you know, I’ve got a big birthday coming up this week, a milestone birthday, on March 7. But I have an even more important birthday coming up later this year, on September 10. Because it was on that date that I was “Born Again, Born from Above, Born of Water and the Spirit.” Let me explain. I was born physically on March 7, 1953. That was my birthday according to the flesh. But I was born spiritually on September 10 of that same year....

“Enriched in All Speech and Knowledge” (1 Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42a) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s how I start every sermon I preach, with those words. Where did I get that idea? From St. Paul. That’s how he starts his epistles, with those same words: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” For example, that’s how Paul begins his epistle to the Corinthians, as you heard. With those words, the apostle Paul is conferring a blessing on his hearers as he begins to...

Lamb of God, I am not worthy to loosen Your sandal straps. You take away my sins and invite me home to heavenly glory. May my spirit be at peace and rejoice in Your mercy.John the Baptist was the first to recognize Christ (though he didn’t see Him) as he leaped in the womb at His coming (Luke 1:41). In his leap, he pointed his mother to Jesus who, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in homage to the mother of our Lord. In a way, the unborn John was the one who made this introduction. It was a...

Johnson’s political muzzling silenced the primary moral and religious voices that Founder John Adams said were essential to the life of the Republic.. In 1954, then freshman U.S. senator Lyndon B. Johnson was running for re-election in a hotly-contested Democratic primary against fellow-Democrat State Representative Dudley T. Dougherty. THE NEW DEAL WITH THE DEVIL IN 1954: GIVE UP YOUR MORAL AND FREE SPEECH RIGHTS IN EXCHANGE FOR TAX WRITE-OFFS In the heat of that 1954 Texas primary campaign, Johnson introduced his now infamous “Johnson Amendment” in the U.S. Senate. His revisions further restricted the free speech of churches and religious...

“Christmas and Easter Rolled into One!” (John 1:1-18) This year we have the unusual circumstance of Christmas falling on a Sunday. This last happened in 2016, and before that, in 2005 and 2011. Christmas won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2033. Not only is it Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when Christians have been going to church for 2,000 years, but it is also Christmas Day, one of the major festivals of the church year. So you would think, with this double reason for going to church, that churches across the land would be packed this morning. Nah, nah! Think...

“Three Saints of Advent: St. Andrew, Apostle” (John 1:35-42a; Matthew 4:18-20) When churches have midweek Advent or Lenten services, usually the pastor tries to come up with a theme that will tie the services together. This year, in looking at the calendar for Advent, I noticed something about the dates for our midweek services. The first three Wednesdays are November 30, December 7, and December 14. Which got me to thinking: November 30 is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. December 7 is the Commemoration of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan and one of the great Church Fathers. December 14...

From Twitter:Jont Trubek @JontTrubek The truth at last! https://twitter.com/JontTrubek/status/1588345405623787520 "While Nancy was out I decided to fix a shelf. I asked a handyman friend, David DePape for assistance.Dave and I were naked as we hammered away because we didn't want our clothes to get dirty.Just a DIY mishap.As far as I'm Concerned, that is the end of the matter. Thank you"Original Source:https://ifunny.co/picture/while-nancy-was-out-i-decided-to-fix-a-shelf-xRirXMbz9

“A Reformation in Liturgy and Hymnody” (John 8:31-36) Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Friends, this is really what the Reformation was all about: that people would abide in the living, life-giving word of Christ; that they would know the truth of the gospel, which had been obscured by the errors that had crept into the church; and that this truth would set people free from the slavery they had been laboring under. Luther himself had labored under that slavery,...

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...