κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

[Introduction] Did you know we are both dead and alive?  That seems to be a weird thought, doesn’t it ... that we are dying, yet living ... dead and alive? But that is what our reading from Saint Paul’s epistle to the Ephesian church is declaring today. And this is not the first time Peter, Paul, or our Lord Jesus has said this.  In John 5, Jesus said, an hour comes and now is here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. Paul tells us in Romans 6 that you must consider yourselves to be dead to sin, on the one hand, but living to God in Christ Jesus, on the other. ... And again in Romans 8 that although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Peter preaches this same word in his first epistle, saying ... this is why the Gospel was preached even to those who are dead, so that in being judged according to human flesh, they might live according to God in the Spirit (4:6).  Which leads us into t...

The Apostle Paul writes: Therefore, I encourage you — I, the prisoner in the Lord — to walk worthy of the calling in which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with long-suffering, bearing with one another in Godly love, being eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: one body and one spirit, just as you were also called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, the one over all and through all and in all. [Prayer] Heavenly Father, You have called us to be one in the Spirit, united in the victory of your Son. Grant us the humility and gentleness, patience and love of your calling, that we may share the forgiveness you have given to us, enabling us to maintain the unity of the Spirit, in Jesus’ name. [Introduction] I don’t feel I fit in any more. ... I feel like this place has changed. I don’t feel welcome any more. ... I feel we are too divided. There’s no doubt about it: It sure feels comfortable ...

Therefore, I say this and testify in [the] Lord: No longer are you to walk as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds, being darkened in their imagination, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that [exists] in them. [And] because of the hardness of their hearts, which have become callous, they gave themselves to debauchery, into the practice of impurity, all in greediness. But you did not, in this way, learn Christ, if indeed you heard him and were taught in him — as the truth is in Jesus — to set aside your former behavior, the old man which is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new man, which has been created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth (vv 17-24). [Prayer] Heavenly Father, through Holy Baptism, You called us to be one of your very own. Grant us your wisdom that comes from above, that your Word may not be bound, but have free course to guide and direct our liv...

Paul writes, I, therefore, encourage you ... I, the prisoner in the Lord ... to walk worthily of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, enduring with one another in love, being eager to treasure the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit, just as y’all were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (vv 1-6). [Prayer] Heavenly Father, you have called us through the work of Your Son to be your beloved children. In his humility, gentleness, and patience, he endured the cross and rose from the dead, and now he unites us to himself and each other in Holy Baptism and the Holy Sacrament. Grant us the mind of Christ, that we endure together, trusting in Your mercy that abides in all things, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [Introduction] And it came to pass one Saturday long ago that Jesus was invi...