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“Ascension Joy” (Luke 24:44-53)How did you feel about going to church this evening? Were you happy and excited? If you were happy, were you more excited about the service or the ice cream social afterward? C’mon, admit it! No, seriously, did coming to an Ascension service tonight spark joy for you? Or were you instead a little grumpy about having to go to church on a Thursday night? Did you focus on the joy of being able to be in the presence of God, to hear his Word and receive the blessed Sacrament? Or did you complain about one more...

“The Gracious Father--and the Two Lost Sons” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling against Jesus. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus was welcoming tax collectors and other bad, disreputable people when they came to hear what he was saying. “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” “Such a disgraceful thing this Jesus fellow is doing! We certainly wouldn’t do such a thing! We’re better than that!” The Pharisees and the scribes didn’t approve of what Jesus was doing. So Jesus proceeds to tell them a...

“When Good Things Happen to Bad People” (Luke 13:1-9) Did you see the pictures of the terrible flooding across Nebraska this past week? I used to live in Nebraska for several years. Lots of good people out that way, hard-working farmers and their families. Church-going people, too. Did you know that the state with the highest percentage of its population being Missouri Synod Lutherans is Nebraska? But now many Nebraskans are facing huge financial losses. Why did God let this happen? Or consider an even worse tragedy befalling innocent people. In the last few weeks, hundreds and hundreds of Christians...

“The Fox and the Hen” (Luke 13:31-35) Have you ever noticed how we sometimes describe people by comparing them to animals? For example, if you call someone a “pig,” that word carries with it some associations that are not particularly flattering. On the other hand, when a father calls his little girl “kitten,” he’s using that word as a term of endearment. Animal imagery abounds in our language: “like a bull in a china shop”; “like an ostrich with its head in the sand”; “as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” These references to animals...

“What Kind of Son Are You?” (Luke 4:1-13) “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” So came the Father’s voice at Jesus’ baptism. Yes, Jesus is the Son of God. And we know from the rest of the New Testament that Jesus is the Son of God in a unique sense, a one-of-a-kind sense, in his very being. As we said in the Nicene Creed, Jesus Christ is “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds.” He is the Second Person of the Trinity, true God, divine in his very nature. In...

Actor Luke Perry, who gained fame as a teen heartthrob on "Beverly Hills, 90210" and became a fan-favorite TV dad with his starring role on the hit series "Riverdale," has died at age 52 after suffering a massive stroke. "He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancé Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends," Perry's publicist Arnold Robinson told Fox News Monday. "The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world,...

The 29-year-old man who allegedly crashed his car into a Wayne gas station Tuesday while high, killing three people, had previously lost his license after being arrested on charges he drove recklessly while under the influence and has a history of drug addiction. Jason Vanderee, of the Glenwood section of Vernon Township, is accused of slamming into three cars at the Delta gas station on Route 23 “at an excessive speed,” killing a father and son sitting in their car as well as a gas station attendant. He remains in custody pending a hearing, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office said...

“Here’s the Catch” (Luke 5:1-11) In 2001 the baptized membership of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod was a little over 2.5 million members. In 2017 the baptized membership of the LCMS was slightly under 2 million members. That’s a loss of a half-million members in sixteen years, a 20% decline. Here in our little congregation, our membership likewise has experienced some decline. This is not surprising. It’s a similar story all across the synod. As the older members have died off, there haven’t been the younger members to replace them. In churches all across America, there’s been a long slow decline...

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.(Luke 2:4-9)Joseph, Mary’s espoused husband, almost divorced his...

“What Child Is This?” (Luke 2:1-20) When a child is born, there are questions that people typically ask. Parents wonder, “Is he healthy?” “How much does he weigh?” Grandparents ask, “What did you name her?” “Who does she look like?” Nurses and doctors closely examine the child and want to know, “Is he alert?” “Are her lungs clear?” We expect those kinds of questions. But there are other questions we never expect to hear at the birth of a child. No one would ever think to ask, “Who will handle his funeral arrangements someday?” Or, “What cemetery do you think...

“The Meeting of the Moms” (Luke 1:39-45) Over these three midweek Advent services, we’ve been looking at readings from Luke chapter one, which is the lead-up to the Christmas Gospel itself in chapter two. Back in our first midweek service, we heard the angel Gabriel announce to Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child named John, John the Baptist. Then last week we heard Gabriel announce to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Now today these two storylines intersect. Mary goes to visit her relative Elizabeth. It’s the account of “The Visitation,” that is,...

“The Problem of Perplexity and the Promise of Hope” (Luke 7:18-28) What happens when something you’ve been hoping for, something you’ve been waiting for eagerly and expectantly, what happens when it finally arrives, and your life still doesn’t get any better? In fact, it may even get worse. What then? Well, it can be rather perplexing. You may ask yourself: “Is there any hope for me to hold on to? Has God forgotten about me? Why is he letting this happen?” If you’ve ever felt like that, then our message today is just for you. And so our theme: “The...

“An Impossible Son, an Impossible Deliverance” (Judges 13:2-7; Luke 1:26-38) It was an impossible situation. For forty years, Israel had been suffering under the oppression of the Philistines. The Philistines were looting their cities and ravaging their countryside. It was a period of great distress. Israel was in a dark and hopeless time. Often, though, in God’s way of doing things, dark and hopeless times give birth to new hope and renewed faith. So the Lord heard the Israelites’ cries of distress and did for them what was humanly impossible: He delivered them from the hand of the Philistines. But...

“The Way of Repentance” (Luke 3:1-14) In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the Baptist in the wilderness. And every year, in the month of December, during the season of Advent, the word of God comes to us through John here in church. Yes, every year at this time, on the second Sunday in Advent, we always have a Gospel reading in which John the Baptist preaches God’s word to us. And what is he preaching? Our text tells us: John went...

“The Child Who Is Zechariah’s Hope” (Luke 1:5-25) “What Child Is This?” That’s the theme of our midweek Advent series this year, picking up on the title of the hymn we sang. “What Child Is This?” Of course, the child we sing about in that hymn is the Christ child, Jesus, the Savior sent from heaven. But there is another child we consider first, one who prepares the way for Jesus, both later on in his ministry, but also even here in his birth. And that child is John, John the Baptist. And because our text today is about John...

Some ask, “How was the thief on the cross saved if he didn’t live a righteous life?” Let us consider what this implies about how they believe a person is declared right before God. Original question: Please clarify this for me. Regarding the theif on the cross. How do you compare his salvation with ours? I mean, he did not live a good life at all. He did not show any fruit of repentance. He did not live right, yet Jesus saved him anyway. How was Jesus able to save him when we are clearly instructed to live right and...

“Advent: Receiving the Coming King” (Luke 19:28-40) Well, it’s Advent. And you know what that means: We’re beginning the countdown to Christmas. Of course, the world has already been celebrating their Christmas for several weeks now, what with Hallmark Christmas movies, and Christmas TV specials and commercials, and radio stations playing songs about “Santa Baby” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” But that’s the world’s Christmas. In the church, though, we get to celebrate the real thing, the true Christmas. And Advent, which begins today, serves as the lead-up to it. But that’s not all Advent does. Oh,...

This week's "Why the New Testament Was Written" vlog (part 10) is about why Luke wrote Acts (if you couldn't tell by the title). We also delve into the importance of Acts in apologetics...Luke's writings vividly detail his historical environment, which is crucial to verifying the truth of Christianity.Why Luke Wrote ActsVideo clocks in at 12:41. Three critical sources: "The Untold Story of the New Testament" by Frank Viola, "Cold Case Christianity" by J Warner Wallace, and "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist" by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler.

Red Double of the Second Class The goodness and kindness of God our Savior hath appeared to all men. It would seem that the third Evangelist, a disciple of St. Paul, had purposed setting forth this word of the Doctor of the Gentiles; or may we not rather say, the Apostle himself characterizes in this sentence the Gospel wherein his disciple portrays the Savior prepared before the face of all peoples; a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of … Israel. St. Luke’s Gospel, and the words quoted from St. Paul, were in fact written...

“The Nativity of St. John the Baptist: Born to Forerun” (Luke 1:57-80) Last week I opened the sermon by saying that we are in the “long green meadow” of the church year, that is, the non-festival half of the church year, when the liturgical color is green. But then, here we are today, and the color of the paraments is white! What gives? Well, today is a little exception to that rule, because today, June 24, is one of the more important of the minor festivals, and it happens to fall on a Sunday this year. Today is the day...