κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

How many of you have heard someone you know say something like “the Old Testament is law and the New Testament is gospel.” ... Or maybe that “Jesus did a new thing, and that by doing the new, he replaced the old; therefore the old is null and void”? I’ve been hearing people say things like these all my life. But you need to know, none of them are true. I’m not exactly sure where those ideas came from. Maybe it’s because some think the Old Testament contains the most concise and explicit summary of the Law, the Ten Commandments, and the New Testament reveals with such clarity and simplicity the Gospel: that Jesus lived, died, and rose again.  To be honest, there is more Gospel woven through the Old Testament ... and the Law is just as prominent in the New Testament. The first Gospel promise is in Genesis 3, and the final Law is in two of the final four verses of the Revelation of Saint John. Some of the richest Gospel in the Bible comes to us in Leviticus, and one of the longest dis...

What goes up must come down. You know this famous line, don’t you? It was made famous by Sir Isaac Newton, the mathematician, astronomer, and physicist. They say an apple fell on his head, giving him the idea that led to the law of gravity: What goes up must come down.  I wonder if he wasn’t actually reading scripture. Listen again to Luke’s opening description of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus in Acts Chapter 1... As they were gazing into heaven when he went, Behold, two men stood by them in white clothing. And they said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was lifted up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven (vv. 10-11).  What goes up will come down. So now we confess: Our Lord Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God to prepare a place for us in paradise before he comes again to judge the living and the dead and give eternal life to all who believe in him. Do you believe this? Come, Lord Jesus. 5. Th...

You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Cor 6:20). And ... Now release your servant, O Master, according to your word in peace because my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light into [the] revelation of the nations, and [the] glory of your people Israel (Lk 2:29-32). Dear friends in Christ ... especially you, Kim, Bryan, and Carla: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, who has brought salvation to light in your lives, through your dear mother, and our dear sister, Ruby Marie Stotmeister.  The words of our text were often sung by Ruby. They are part of the extraordinary liturgy of the Divine Service we use here at Zion. Ruby and I sang these words every time we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. Even as tired as she was last Friday, she still found a way to sing. Even with all these beautiful hymns she chose for this day, I’d say Simeon’s Song was her song.  Simeon first spoke these...

So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. There’s a fable about a farmer who, while working his field early in spring, came across a snake. He raised his hoe to kill it, but the snake spoke to him and begged for mercy. Please, sir, don’t you see that I’m too cold to do you any harm . Please help me before I freeze to death. Freezing is a terrible way to die , the man thought. So he took pity upon the snake, picked it up, and placed it inside his shirt to warm up. The warmth of the man’s body brought the snake back to life. Then suddenly, the snake bit him. As the man began to die, he asked the snake, Why’d you bite me? Don’t you see how I befriended you and took care of you? I saved your life!   Excuse me , the snake replied: But why blame me? You knew I was a snake when you picked me up! 1. Can you recognize a snake? The people of Israel in our Old Testament text for this Sixth Sunday of Easter ...

And you will say in that day ... Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! Amen! 4. For as long as our church has been alive ... 152 years now here in Appleton City ... we’ve been known as the “singing church.” I can hear why ... because you will say in that day ...  Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples.  This congregation sings like few Lutheran churches I’ve ever attended. You sing with heavenly joy ... most of the time ... at least when you recognize the tune. You sing with gusto. You sing from your heart. And you do it well. And that’s a good thing. Through the hymns we sing, we learn about our sin and our need for a Savior. ... We learn about Jesus’ work for us in His incarnation, his birth, his perfect life, his death on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into heaven. ... We learn about the Holy Spirit’s work to keep us in the faith through the Word and Sacraments. ... We learn how to pray....