κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

[Prayer] Almighty God, because of your tender mercy toward us sinners, you have given us grace through your Son that, believing in his atonement, we would have eternal life. Continue to grant us your Holy Spirit that we may remain steadfast in your righteousness ... In Jesus’ name. [Introduction] When Jesus saw that [some people] had persuaded themselves and continued to persuade themselves that they were righteous ... thinking they had need for forgiveness ... and that they were ridiculing others ... withholding fellowship and forgiveness ... he told them a parable about the prayers of a Pharisee and tax collector (vv 9-10).  I can hardly imagine how loud of a gasp everyone in the room gave when Jesus said the righteous man was the tax collector. The Pharisees were known to be outstanding citizens, good neighbors. They weren’t ravenous wolves or unjust or adulterous. They were generous givers ... pious men who went to church every day.  Tax collectors, on the other hand, we...

[Prayer] Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for calling Bartholomew into humble service, so that through the proclamation of Your Word and the administration of Your Sacraments, people all over the world have come to know Your saving name through Your means of grace. Lead us now to receive your service. In Jesus’ name. [Introduction] Saint Luke reminds us today of an incident in our Church history that is NOT something to be proud of. The Apostles were disputing among themselves: Which of them does [Jesus] think is the greatest [at the table]? (v 24). After three years of following Jesus, you’d think they would’ve known better. Jesus had already rebuked them at least twice for similar incidents (Lk 9:46, 18:17). But after watching Jesus serve God’s people for three years ... teaching, preaching, healing, praying, and breaking bread ... the founding members of the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church began acting like children playing games, disputing among themselves: Which of t...

[Prayer] Almighty and Most Generous Lord, forgive us for our unrighteous use of Your gifts. Grant us repentance that we receive from You the True Wealth of Your Son, Jesus, who took our  unrighteousness to the cross and grave, and granted us everlasting life in Your heavenly dwelling. Sanctify us with Your Spirit, that we use your riches rightly and enable us to cling alone to the faithfulness of Your Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen. [Introduction] Our reading from Luke 16 ... the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward ... is widely considered the most difficult reading of the lectionary to understand. It’s riddled with problems of interpretation, not the least of which are, Is Jesus commending a man for being dishonest? And Where’s the Gospel?  So I will start today by telling you what this parable is not about. It is ... NOT ... encouraging you to be dishonest. It’s NOT about what WE NEED TO DO to pay off our debt to the Lord. And it’s NOT about what WE need to do to gain access to ou...

[Introduction] We have a very clear theme in our readings today.  From our Old Testament reading in Jeremiah, Thus says יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת ... Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak of visions from the heart, not from the mouth of YHWH (Jer 23:16). From the second reading in Acts, Saint Paul says, Beware ... out of you yourselves, men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:28, 30). And from our Gospel reading in Matthew: Jesus says, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing. You will recognize them by their fruits (Mt 7:15-16a). Brothers and sisters in Christ, these words of God underscore the importance of what we believe, teach, and confess: There is nothing we can say and nothing we can do to bring reconciliation between us and God. Instead, Jesus Christ our God and Lord died for our sins and was raised for our justification (SA II I.1). God has reconcil...