κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

I had never realized just how profoundly wonderful our hymn of the day was until I got to know Linda Lou Kennedy. Now I know we just got done singing it, but today, I want you to hear it one more time. Please join me one more time in singing that first stanza a capella. Jesus loves me, this I know / for the Bible tells me so. / Little ones to him belong / they are weak but he is strong. / Yes, Jesus loves me. / Yes, Jesus loves me. / Yes, Jesus loves me. / The Bible tells me so.  Dear Doug ... Mike and Tina ... Elsie ... dear friends and extended family of Linda Lou Kennedy ... Blessed be God the Father. Blessed be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessed be God in the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. ... Grace to you and peace be multiplied . If you hear nothing else today, then hear that Jesus loves you.  It’s what Linda would want for you. We sometimes think of “Jesus Loves Me” as a trite or simple children’s song. It didn’t appear in our synodically approved service boo...

I had us sing Abide With Me (LSB 878) as the hymn of the day before the sermon today (instead of after it) because ... death ... coming into the midst of our lives ... is what we see today. And oh, how we need to see our Lord coming to us, to serve us, always in every way.  Luke writes: And it came to pass soon afterward, [Jesus] journeyed into a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd were journeying with him. As he drew near to the gate of the city ... behold, the only son born to his mother had died and was being carried out. And she was a widow and a great crowd was with her (vv 11-12).  Please now turn to page 324 of your (Lutheran Service Book) and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on the seventh petition of the Lord’s Prayer.  What is the seventh petition? But deliver us from evil. What does this mean? We pray in this petition, in summary, that our Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation...

Therefore, do not worry into the morrow, for the morrow will worry for itself. Sufficient for the day is the difficulty itself (v 34).  For the past 10 weeks we have been seeing just how faithful our doctrine outlined in  Luther’s Small Catechism really is ... particularly with respect to the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer, as well as the Sacraments of Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper, all in relation to our Gospel readings. We can never know our doctrine well enough. So we need to remind ourselves of it all the time.  CONFIDENT TRUST IN JESUS AND HIS GOSPEL DRIVES OUT WORRY FROM OUR HEARTS AND BECOMES THE SOURCE OF ENDLESS JOY. This is our theme at the root of our Gospel reading. I  Please now turn to Page 327 in your (Lutheran Service Book) and allow me to draw your attention to our faithful prayers. Like with the Lord’s Prayer, we should have confident trust that the prayers Luther gave us also will drive out worry from our ...

Please turn to Page 323 in your service book and join me in confessing our faithful Christian doctrine on the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed.  What is the Third Article? I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.  What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified, and kept me in the true faith. In the same way, he calls, gathers, and enlightens the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church, he daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the last day, he will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. 5. Imagine having a disease th...