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December 10, 2020 Second Week of Advent For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. - Galatians 5:13-15 Dear Lower Susquehanna Synod Rostered Ministers: Over the past few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to worsen. Yesterday 3,011 people died from...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From David to the Deportation” (Matthew 1:1, 6b-11) Last week we began looking at how Matthew begins his gospel. He begins with a genealogy, a genealogy that takes in much of Old Testament history. It is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. But Jesus was, first of all, the Savior of Israel. He is the promised Messiah, who fulfilled the promises given to Israel’s forefathers. Jesus came into the world as the culmination, the climax, of Israel’s history. And so Matthew writes: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the...

“Messengers Marking Out the Messiah” (Mark 1:1-8) In centuries past, in lands where there were kings, when the king was about to go visit various parts of his realm, messengers would be sent out, heralds, to go ahead to each town and announce the soon arrival of that mighty monarch. “The king is coming! Everybody get ready! The king is on his way!” And the people would know what to do. They would clean up any trash littering their town. If there were potholes in the roads, those would get filled in. Got to have everything in order for the...

“The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: From Abraham to David” (Matthew 1:1-6a) I am interested in family histories and genealogies. My own, for example. I am a direct descendant of Peter Gunnarsson Rambo, one of the first Swedish settlers in America back in 1640 and one of the founders of the colony New Sweden along the east coast. Peter Rambo’s name, by the way, was the inspiration for the movie character Rambo. My maternal grandmother was Grace Rambo Clark, and, through that Clark connection, I am related to William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and governor of Missouri. So...

“Reserved for a King” (Mark 11:1-10) Happy New Year! No, I’m not time-traveling ahead to January 1. But it is a new year today. A new church year, that is. Because today is the First Sunday in Advent, and thus the start of a new church year. And every year on the First Sunday in Advent, we have as the Gospel reading an account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Which seems a little odd, doesn’t it? Here we are in Advent, the season leading up to Christmas, and we get a reading for the start of Holy...

When we picture the classic, stereotypical Thanksgiving scene, what are we picturing? The glow of candles, the golden turkey, the large table laid out with the feast, the family gathered in their Sunday best on a Thursday, perhaps with a “kids’ table” in the background—it has always been more of a Norman Rockwell-esque idea than a reality for any particular family. The real pictures of what is going on in tens of millions of homes around the country on Thanksgiving Day would show tens of millions of distinct, unique variations on that theme. They would have a certain, central aspiration...

“Giving Thanks in--and for--2020” (Philippians 4:6-20) We have come together today to celebrate America’s Day of National Thanksgiving. This is the time every year when we gather in our churches to give thanks to God for his blessings on our country. However, this year is 2020. And if you listen to most folks, you would think there is nothing to be thankful for this year. But is that really the case? Today I want to tell you that it is possible to have a happy Thanksgiving this year, under the theme, “Giving Thanks in--and for--2020.” All of our readings today...

“The End Is Coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46) The end is coming. The end of the church year, I mean. In fact, today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. Next week we’ll begin a brand-new church year with the First Sunday in Advent. But the thing is, the church year mirrors the life of Christ and the course of history. That’s why, in these darkening days of November, our readings and hymns deal with the last things, the end times, and the return of Christ on the Last Day. Think of the hymns we’ve been singing this...

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31 Dear Siblings in Christ, On Monday, November 16, 2020, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine spoke about the increasing coronavirus case numbers, citing that “62 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties have a percent positivity rate of 5%. The state’s overall rate is 9.6%.” Our own counties are seeing high escalations in daily positive cases, five to ten-fold increases. This data confirms that we are now in the worst of the pandemic to date. For us as the church gathering for worship and meetings, digital congregating remains...

“Living as Children of the Day” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30; Zephaniah 1:7-16) “Christ has brought us out of darkness, made us children of the day.” The hymn we just sang was written to go with the three Scripture readings assigned for this day. Each stanza corresponds to one of the readings. The point of the lessons and of the hymn is this: The day of the Lord--that is, the return of Christ--the day of the Lord is drawing near, a day of both judgment and salvation. For us it will be a day of joy, because of what Christ...

“The Parable of the Ten Virgins” (Matthew 25:1-13) Today we are entering the last three Sundays of the church year. And, appropriately enough, the readings these weeks all have to do with the end times and the second coming of Christ. You see, the church year mirrors the life of our Lord, culminating in his return on the Last Day. And so the last things of this age are emphasized in the last days of the church’s calendar. But while we know exactly when the church year will end, we do not know when our Lord Jesus Christ will return....

“For All the Saints, With All the Saints” (Revelation 7:9-17) Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day, when we remember how Martin Luther had to break with the Roman Catholic Church. Luther made it clear that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and not in the slightest measure by our works. This teaching of justification is the central teaching of the Christian faith. It is the article by which the church stands or falls. And the Lutheran Church is still waiting for the Catholic Church to correct her errors, but she has yet to do so. So...

“Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis” (Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36) First, let me tell you my title for this message. It’s “Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis.” Now the next thing I want to tell you is this: Don’t let that title scare you off! Don’t worry, I’ll explain each of those terms: “Inculcating the Reformation through Catechesis.” So here we go. The first one I’ll explain is “the Reformation.” What is the Reformation? This term refers to the much-needed reforming of the church--straightening it out where it had gone wrong--the reforming movement undertaken by Martin Luther and his associates in the...

“Jesus Answers a Gotcha Question” (Matthew 22:15-22) If you’ve been following the news lately, and you watched the presidential debate, the vice-presidential debate, the Judiciary Committee hearings, or the dueling town halls, you heard a lot of “gotcha” questions. I’m guessing most of you have heard that term before, a “gotcha” question. But in case you haven’t, let me explain. A “gotcha” question is one in which the questioner asks someone a question designed to trap or embarrass the person being questioned. It’s designed to cast that person in a negative light, no matter how he might answer the question....

In a never-before-published letter to his family, American soldier Leon Morin reveals something that has been hidden in a dark corner of history: the Nazis, who committed the most gruesome atrocities against 6 million Jewish people, would simultaneously “receive God” on Sundays in beautiful churches built in the concentration camp Dachau. On July 9, 1945, about six weeks after the U.S. liberation of Dachau, Leon Morin penned a 10-page letter to his family describing his observations of the “worst” concentration camp, Dachau. “… [I]t will take 12 pages like this one to just give an idea about the best organized...

October 8, 2020 Season after Pentecost “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” – Luke 6:31 Dear Siblings in Christ, Thank you for your creative and dedicated leadership as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to hammer our nation and upend how we minister to God’s people. I am grateful that congregations are taking the threat of the virus seriously and doing all they can to minimize the chances of infection among their leaders and membership. Thank you! Our work is especially difficult because the pandemic’s course has proven unpredictable. Responding to what’s happening on the ground, public...

“Rejoice in the Lord Always--Even in 2020!” (Philippians 4:4-13) As you’ve probably noticed, many people have been saying that this year, 2020, is the worst year they can remember. Maybe you’ve said so yourself. I mean, think of it. The year 2020 has seen one disaster after another: The Coronavirus pandemic got everyone’s attention back in March. Then came the shutdown all across the country. The economy went south in a hurry. The whole thing stunk: People lost their lives. People lost their jobs. People lost their businesses. That was March and April. And then: “Who had murder hornets for...

“From Rubbish to Righteousness to Resurrection” (Philippians 3:4b-14) I’m sure many of you have heard of a “rags-to-riches story.” A rags-to-riches story is one in which the hero starts out poor and penniless, but then, through hard work and perseverance, overcomes all odds and hardships to become a great success. That’s a rags-to-riches story, and we all love to hear one. Well, today in our reading from Philippians 3, we hear a different kind of story. It’s the story Paul tells about his own life. Only in this case, Paul himself is not the hero. And it’s not a matter...

“Work Out Your Own Salvation?” (Philippians 2:1-18) Last Sunday we began a series of four straight weeks with readings from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Last week our theme from chapter 1 was “For Your Progress and Joy in the Faith.” Paul said that he was writing to the Philippians to help them make progress and find joy in the Christian faith. This week, we move into chapter 2, where Paul continues along those same lines. And we’ll begin our message today by looking at the part of our text where Paul tells the Philippians: “Work out your own salvation.”...

“For Your Progress and Joy in the Faith” (Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30) Today we begin four weeks in a row of readings from Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. Four chapters over four weeks, starting with much of chapter 1 today. The epistle as a whole is not very long--you can read it in less than 15 minutes--so you might want to consider reading Philippians a number of times over the coming weeks. You won’t regret it. Paul’s letter to the Philippians: What do we know about Philippi and Paul’s relationship with the congregation there? A little background is in order. Philippi...