κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

[Introduction] It was Saint Paul’s goodwill and prayer that all Israel would be saved. He said that plainly just before our epistle reading. While giving Israel credit for being zealous to know God, their zeal ... he laments ... was not based on the Gospel. It was rooted in the Law ... in dotting Is and crossing Ts, minding Ps and Qs ... trying to get right with God in accordance with one’s own thought, word, and deed.  And almost 2,000 years later, the world has the same problem. People are still ignoring the truth that Jesus is Lord ... that he alone saves. They are still pursuing their own righteousness apart from Jesus ... saying they don’t need to receive the forgiveness of sins from him. They are still declaring for themselves who’s going to heaven and who’s going to hell.  So today, Paul sets the record straight. He leads us to a much simpler word we should all believe, teach, and confess. He says, [this] word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the ...

[Prayer] Almighty God, because of your tender mercy toward us sinners, you have given us grace through your Son that, believing in his atonement, we would have eternal life. Continue to grant us your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in your righteousness ... In Jesus’ name. [Introduction] When Jesus saw that [some people] had persuaded themselves and continued to persuade themselves that they were righteous ... thinking they had need for forgiveness ... and that they were ridiculing others ... withholding fellowship and forgiveness ... he told them a parable about the prayers of a Pharisee and tax collector (vv 9-10).  I can hardly imagine how loud of a gasp everyone in the room gave when Jesus said the righteous man was the tax collector. The Pharisees were known to be outstanding citizens, good neighbors. They weren’t ravenous wolves or unjust or adulterous. They were generous givers ... pious men who went to church every day.  Tax collectors, on the other hand, we...

[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for calling Bartholomew into humble service, so that through the proclamation of Your Word and the administration of Your Sacraments, people all over the world have come to know Your saving name through Your means of grace. Lead us now to receive your service. In Jesus’ name. [Introduction] Saint Luke reminds us today of an incident in our Church history that is NOT something to be proud of. The Apostles were disputing among themselves: Which of them does [Jesus] think is the greatest [at the table]? (v 24). After three years of following Jesus, you’d think they would’ve known better. Jesus had already rebuked them at least twice for similar incidents (Lk 9:46, 18:17). But after watching Jesus serve God’s people for three years ... teaching, preaching, healing, praying, and breaking bread ... the founding members of the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church began acting like children playing games, disputing among themselves: Which of t...