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Pay Attention to God's Word, and Look for the Beautiful Fruit :: Matthew 7:15-23

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[Introduction] If you were intent on forging a hundred dollar bill, you wouldn’t print it on pink construction paper with purple ink, now would you? No one would be fooled by that fake. Instead, to pass off a counterfeit as true, you’d make the bill look like the original. You’d copy the paper and the ink, the image and the watermark. And you’d rely on SOME truth to mask the lie. In our Gospel reading, Jesus warned us about this problem of counterfeits ... that is, those who rely on some truth to mask a lie. In the closing words of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Beware of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep but inwardly are ravenous wolves (v 15). Sometimes, false prophets mask the truth of God’s Word with evil fruit (vv 17-18) ... a counterfeit. Sometimes, false prophets hedge the truth to convince you that there is another way, another truth, and another life. They often claim divine inspiration, but they always deliver messages contrary to God’s true natur...
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Incarnation Reveals That We Belong Here :: Genesis 2:7-17

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And YHWH (Our) God formed the man of dust from the earth and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. And YHWH (Our) God planted a Garden in Eden in [the rising sun], and he set there the man whom he had formed. ... And YHWH (Our) God took the man whom he formed, and settled him in the Garden to serve it and to treasure it (vv 7-8a, 15). [Introduction] Our Old Testament reading from Genesis 2 provides us with a beautiful image of the sixth day of creation ... you know, the day God formed Man into a flesh and blood living being. Unlike the heavens and the earth, God did not make Man out of nothing. He did not simply speak him into existence like he did with the rest of creation, saying ... let there be light and sky, and sea and land, and fish and birds, and sun and moon and stars ... plants and animals.  Our God came down and formed Man. He made him incarnate ... in the flesh.  He intimately ... carefully ... purposefully ... fashioned Man...
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Set Free to Preach the Gospel We Need to Hear :: Romans 6:1-11

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[Introduction] Dear brothers in Christ, what I’m about to say is nothing new, but it needs to be said.  It is unanimously confessed in our churches, in accordance with the Word of God, that we poor sinners are justified before God and saved only by him through faith in Christ. We cannot by our own reason or strength save ourselves. We cannot by our own reason or strength create faith. There is nothing that we can do … there is nothing we can say … to cause or merit our justification before God.  Jesus alone saves. He alone is our righteousness. He alone lived in perfect obedience to the Father, fulfilling all righteousness in baptism. He alone suffered and died on a cross for sins. He alone has made atonement for all sin … your sin and mine … yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s … on account of the blood he shed. And he was raised from the dead on the third day for your justification. Death has no more dominion over him. He forgives. He justifies. And He saves … YOU. 3. I am...
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The Perfect Substitute :: Matthew 5:17-26

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[Jesus said:] Do not think that I came to invalidate the Law or the Prophets. I came not to invalidate but to fulfill (v 17). [Introduction] When we talk about the Gospel, it is good, right, and salutary that we focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means for you. Why ... you may ask ... is it so important for me to remind you some 70 times a year that there is no other Gospel than this ... Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and he was buried, and he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and he was seen ... (1 Cor 15:3-5a)?  Brothers and sisters in Christ, the answer is quite simple. This is the centerpiece of the Gospel that the Law and the Prophets foretold and Christ fulfilled. The fact that Jesus was pierced for your transgressions and bruised for your iniquities means you won’t be. Because Jesus shed his blood in accord with the Law, you are forgiven. Because Jesus was forsaken by our Heavenly Father in ac...
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Don’t Be Afraid to Drop Your Nets :: Luke 5:1-11

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And when they brought their boats upon the land and left all things, they followed [Jesus] (v 11). [Introduction] Our Gospel reading for this Fifth Sunday after Trinity is more than an account of fishermen hearing the call of Jesus, abandoning their boats and nets ... in fact, their livelihood ... and following Jesus. Our Gospel reading provides a picture of how ... THE CALL OF JESUS CAPTURES THE HEARTS OF ALL MEN AND CREATION I. In the beginning, the disciples had their hearts on a different kind of fishing. Simon and Andrew, James and John knew their vocations well. They put all of their heart into fishing. Sometimes they went fishing during the heat of the day, like in John 21[:3], when they didn’t know what else to do. Sometimes they did it all night long, like in our Gospel reading. They loved fishing so much that they made it their livelihood (v 5). They loved it even when they were exhausted and frustrated, poor and hungry (v 5a).  But then it happened one morning ... Jesu...
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Shattering the Darkness with Glorious Light :: Romans 8:18-23

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[Introduction] The world is groaning.  Do you hear it?  Creation is creaking.  Do you feel it?  Relationships have been broken. Families have been divided. Brothers have become jealous of one another. Sickness has ravaged our bodies. Anxiety, addiction, depression, and fear has disrupted our peace. Society has been marred by corruption. Poverty abounds. Men and women murder one another with words to their friends. And death hangs over us all like a dark cloud. Creation is groaning and creaking under the strain of sin. But life everlasting awaits us when Jesus returns in glory!  That's what Saint Paul is reminding us of today in our epistle reading.  THE DARKNESS OF DESPAIR IS SHATTERED WITH THE GLORY OF THE GOSPEL I. Paul writes, For I count that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed in us (v 18). This is not sugarcoating our reality. We are sinful beyond measure. That is the cause of su...
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