κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we love because you loved us first. Grant us your faith in Christ, a cheerful hope in your mercy, and a sincere love for you and one another, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.  We read: But the greatest of these is love (v. 13b). This is the word for our meditation. 1. Our text this morning is a familiar verse to many people, including many who have no real connection to Christianity. This is from the “love chapter” of the Bible. Whenever you want to understand what love looks like, this is the chapter we all default to. When I was a child, this is the first extended passage I ever memorized. But I thought like a child then, and didn't understand it. So today I will read to you from the PSV ... the Pastor Smith Version. Here, we will hear the greatest of these.  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have ἀγάπη, I am a noisy brass or clangin...

Let us pray: Lord God, bless your word wherever and whenever it is proclaimed. Make it a word of power and peace to convert those not yet your own and to confirm those who have come to Saving Faith in Christ. May your word pass from ear to heart and heart to lip and lip to life that it may achieve the purpose for which you send it, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen . From Isaiah chapter 55 we read: Just as the rain and the snow falls from heaven and it will not return there until it waters the earth and causes it to give birth and sprout, giving seed for sowing and bread for eating, thus will be my word as it goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty. Rather, it will do what I please and it will accomplish that for which I send it (vv 10-11). This is the Word for our meditation ... In the name of Jesus, Amen The Word of Yahweh works. It doesn’t work some of the time: the Word of the Lord works all of the time. God’s Word has a purpose. It accomplishes His gracious plan....

And YHWH said to Moses, pass over in front of the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And in your hand (take) your staff which you used to strike the Nile, and go. Behold, I will be standing before you there upon the rock on Horeb. You will strike the rock and water will come out of it, and the people will drink. So Moses did this in the eyes of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah on account of the strife of the sons of Israel, and because they tested YHWH by saying, “Is YHWH in our midst or not?” (vv 5-7) That’s the question before us. Is the Lord in our midst or not? This is an all too familiar question for us. Today, we’ve entered a new period in the church year ... the season we could call Pre-Lent. New eras often bring with uncertainty to our lives. Over the past month or so, we had gained confidence in God’s word. We saw the light of the world so to speak. It gave us comfort. We heard a Word of God that was transforming...

And we have a more sure prophetic word to which you do well holding fast to (v 19).   During this Epiphany season, we have been discussing the power of God’s Word. First, we saw how the Word fulfilled all righteousness in baptism and continues to give us his finest feast so that we could seek him (Mt 3:13-17, 2:1-12; Jn 2:1-11). Then we heard how Jesus used his holy Word to cleanse us and to go the distance sight unseen making us whole (Mt 8:1-13). The surety and certainty in every Word we’ve heard and seen has brought peace to a world filled with chaos (Mt 8:23-27). It has truly been a season of great signs and wonders.  Not to be outdone, but today, something even bigger is happening. As if you had any reason to wonder what sort of man this Jesus really is ... today, you should have none. When Peter, James, and John followed Christ up the Holy Mountain of God, there they witnessed the Transfiguration of our Lord. Jesus was changed. He underwent a metamorphosis. He showed hi...