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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...

[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...

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...

[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...

[Introduction] Not every song has a tune or is even sung. But there’s a song fathers like to teach their sons these days ... a song they sing, if not literally, nevertheless loudly and clearly. The lyrics vary from man to man, but the substance remains the same. They sing ... Born to rise and own your flight / Dreams aren’t wishes — they’re your light. Build your own and lay it in stone / Then the world will be your throne. Yes, all too often these days, fathers invariably teach their sons to be strong but selfish ... successful but smug. And when they discover that their sons possess certain gifts or talents, they teach them to make these the focus of their lives, even at the expense of everyone and everything around them.  Sadly, too many Christians these days also find themselves singing something similar, teaching their sons that Jesus should be the center of their lives UNTIL he gets in the way of something they NEED to achieve. They sing ...  We build our altars out ...