κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

[Jesus said,] All to me has been handed down by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and to whom the Son might desire to reveal [himself]. Then when he had turned to his own disciples, he said: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to witness what you see and did not witness it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it (vv 22-24). [Prayer] O Lord, open our eyes to see your mercy in action and open our ears to hear and answer your call to be merciful. Give us courage always to rejoice in your mercy, and then through your means of mercy, rescue us from the trauma of our sin and carry us into your perpetual care, through Jesus, our merciful savior. Amen. [Introduction] Today’s Gospel reading from Luke 10 is all about the mercy of Christ in his Divine Service. Jesus is reminding us that we all need this mercy ... that we all need to see more mercy ... to hear more ab...

[It is clear that] you are an epistle of Christ, written not in ink but in the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of heart of flesh. Therefore we have confidence such as this through Christ before God (2 Cor 3:3-4). [Prayer] Lord God, bless your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those who have not come to saving faith, and to confirm those who have. 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. [Introduction] Today we take up two primary teachings of the Christian religion: the Law and the Gospel. The difference between the Law and the Gospel is the difference between Do and Done. The Law says what you must do, and the Gospel proclaims what God has done. Do and done. Until we can properly distinguish the difference between the Law and the Gospel, between Do and Done: We won’t have confidence in the ...

Now I make known to you, brothers, the Gospel which I [preached] to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you — unless you believed for no reason (vv 1-2). [Prayer] Heavenly Father, we gratefully remember the sufferings and death of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, for our salvation. You have given us the forgiveness of sins on account of his blood. Rejoicing in his vicarious resurrection from the dead, we draw strength from his ascension to your right hand, where he intercedes for us. Gather us now from the ends of the earth, drawing us near through baptism, to hear your word absolution and to receive your marriage feast of the Lamb, which has no end, graciously delivering and preserving us, in Jesus’ name. Amen. [Introduction] What is the Gospel? If you have attended more than one Bible study class of mine, you know I ask this question all the time ... What is the Gospel? You should k...

Now to each [of you], the enlightenment of the Spirit is being given toward mutual benefit (v 7). 1. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, you provide for all the blessings that bring peace: most especially the blessed Word of forgiveness, the blessed washing of water and your Word, and the blessed feast of body and blood in your Supper. Grant us unity in the Spirit through these Means of Grace, so that we are enabled always to proclaim Jesus is Lord forever, in his precious name. Amen.  2. [Catechism] Please turn now to page 323 in you [Lutheran Service Book] and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed. ... What is the Third Article? ... What does this mean?  3. [Introduction] Last week we heard Saint Paul warning the Church at Corinth that there is a serious danger in being complacent Christians. Complacency is a self-satisfaction that is accompanied by an unawareness of actual danger. Complacency is a lukewarm feeling that opposes c...