κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

Heavenly Father, in spite of our sin that has corrupted all of creation, you still send Your Son to be among us to hear our prayers and grant great calm. As we have come to know Him and His almighty power that conquers fear, death, and the grave, lead us to call upon Your Son in true faith, that we might not panic, but instead be overcome with awe at all you do. In Jesus’ name.   We read: And the men marveled, saying, What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him (v 27). This is the text for our meditation. Our readings these past few weeks have been leading to this verse. I’m not so sure it should be presented as a question. I think it might actually be a statement of faith. Either way, it’s a wonderful verse for us to ponder during this season of Epiphany. It summarizes our amazement about all that Jesus says and does for us.  If you’ve been paying attention to our Gospel readings the past three weeks, you should have noticed there hasn’t been any hoopla a...

2. Dear Loynel, Jane, Kurt, Bret; dear brothers and sisters in Christ; dear family and friends of Harold Eugene Loman: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Sometimes the world around us will say about a man who died that He had a good life . It’s a good saying, with good meaning. But you should know the world doesn’t understand “ the good life .” Most often the world says a man has lived a good life when he’s been blessed with nearly 64 years of marriage to a loving and caring spouse, like Loynel; three loving and respectful children, like Jane, Kurt, and Bret ... six grandchildren, five great-grandchildren ... 58 years on his farm ... and peaceful hobbies such as crappie fishing. By those definitions, I think that Harold had a good life. ... No, I take that back ... Harold had a great life. And he loved life and never complained.  But from God’s perspective, there are even more important ingredients that make a life good and pleas...

When the centurion answered [Jesus], he said, Lord, I’m not [worthy enough] for you to come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed (v 8). Just say the word. That’s enough. Just say the word. That’s all Jesus ever has to do. That’s how it was in the beginning. And that’s how it’ll be in the end. When the Word made flesh speaks, marvelous things happen. He creates. He opens ears. He opens eyes. He takes our ills. He takes our pain. He takes our sin. He cleanses us and makes us whole. He gives us eternal life. Just say the word, Lord. I know it will be done .  And so it was ... And so it is ... with just a word. That’s what’s happening in our readings today. That’s what happened in our readings last week. And it will happen again next week. You’ll hear it. Wherever Jesus goes, he changes everything with just A Word, The Word, His Word, God’s Word, the Word made flesh, the Word of Life given to you, for you.  GREAT FAITH FINDS ITS REST IN THE WORD ALO...

We read: This [was] the beginning of the signs (v. 11). Yes, it was just the beginning ... It was the beginning sign ... the sign of a perfect marriage and a perfect ministry and a perfect life. It was just the beginning ... the first sign of all the best things that reveal who Jesus really is. There are many other good signs that Jesus has done that weren’t written down (Jn 20:30). But if they had been, Saint John surmised, the world itself couldn’t contain the books (Jn 21:29). This one, however, was written. And it is still a marvelous sign in our sight.  We love hearing about the sign of changing water into wine from John chapter 2. In it we see that ... THE BEST COMES FIRST AND LASTS INTO ETERNITY AS JESUS BLESSES OUR DAILY LIVES This is our theme today. Jesus blesses us in his presence; He blesses us with his power; He blesses us with his purpose; and in the end he is still doing it every Lord’s day, always bringing us the best he has to offer. Talk about a marvelous sign! ...

Behold, all of them are evil; their works are nothingness. Their breath and images are formless (Isa 41:29).   1. The darkness of our world is real.  Did you know in 2019, there were 656,243 cases of child abuse in the US? That’s enough children to fill Arrowhead Stadium eight and a half times. There were another 3.5 million cases of abuse referred to child protection agencies. How many of those ended up getting lost in the darkness of the system? The trauma of child abuse affects us all ... every day. Fourteen percent of all men in prison and 36 percent of all women were abused as children. Five children die at the hands of an abuser every day; three of those were younger than 3.  The darkness of our world is real.  Abuse isn’t limited to children. It is just as dark and tragic when it happens to adults. It comes in all forms: physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological. Too many people are trapped in that darkness. Many suffer for the rest of their lives. One...