κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

The word guy our meditation today comes from our epistle reading where we read ... For who has known the mind of the Lord? (v 34) ... In other words ... WHO KNEW? I. Who knew that, after driving Adam and Eve out of the Garden on account of their sin and placing cherubim and a flaming sword in front of the gate, that God would actually give us an easier path to return to paradise ... salvation by grace through faith (Gen 3:24)?  Who knew?  Who knew that, after dispersing mankind over the face of the earth and confusing all of our languages at Babel, thereby creating division among us, that the Lord would give us one Gospel that we all could understand in our own language to unite us (Gen 11:9, Acts 2:6)?  Who knew?  Who knew that God would use a conniving liar and deceiver to demonstrate that the Gospel promise is not given by obligation, rights, or works. Jacob had no claim to grace, but God gave it to him to preserve for himself the faithful one (Gen 25:19-28)...

Not long after God had delivered the sons of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt, the people of God became unhappy with the way the Lord was taking care of them. Despite all the miracles they had seen ... despite the heavenly food called manna that was given each day ... despite the abundance of quail and water flowing from the rock ... the people wanted more. They wanted their old way of life. The promise of milk and honey wasn’t good enough (Ex 3:8).  So they began grumbling. Their complaints grew in such proportions that Moses became so troubled. He felt overwhelmed by the tremendous responsibility of leading so many people.  In response, the Lord told Moses to select 70 elders from among the people to assist him. I will come down and speak with you , YHWH said. I will set apart [some] of the Spirit that is upon you, and set it upon [those elders], and they will bear with you the burden of the people (Num 11:17).  When the time came to commission them, the Lord pou...

The word for our meditation comes to us from the confirmation verse for Courtney Niemann:  Trust in Yahweh with all your heart; Do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways know him; He will make straight your paths. 5. There was a time in our lives when our society taught us to trust our elders, our leaders, our media, our tradition.  Tradition, some say, can be a valuable source of knowledge and cultural heritage. When we hold the Bible in our hands and hold to the truths of Jesus Christ in our lives, we stand firmly in a long tradition we can trust.  Today, our society teaches us that it’s a virtue to trust only yourself ... that it’s a virtue to chart your own course ... to pursue what we think is good ... to do it for ourselves. Society thinks this is innovative.  As we heard in our Old Testament reading this morning, after the waters of the great flood had dried up, God commanded Noah and his sons to disperse and repopulate the earth (Gen 9:1...

All through the season of Easter, we have been meditating on God’s Word from our introits ... so today, we take up our verses from Psalm 27. You should remember that introit literally means entrance. Paired with the Psalms, an introit is an entrance hymn. We have entered the Divine Service thanking the Lord and singing his praise that he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it in the one true faith.   Because these are hymns, it is quite fitting to sing ... not just speak ... these verses. They’re incredible expressions of faith. Through these words, God opens our eyes to the joy of new birth. He enables us to recognize our Risen Shepherd coming to us, calling us, leading us back to the green pasture where we feast beside still water. Here, he teaches us to rejoice, and sing, and pray. He gives us confidence ... that is, faith in the promises of God ... not because of the things we are doing ... but because of what he has done and...