κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

Grace to you and peace ...  [Jesus said,] In that day, you will not ask anything of me. Amen, amen, I say to you whatever you might ask the Father, he will give to you in my name. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive that your joy may be full (vv 23-24). Brothers and sisters in Christ, a minute or so ago, we all confessed that 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.  What does this mean? 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 with his gifts, sanctified and kept in the one True Faith . This is the truth. And together, we confess this truth. We are able to do this because God has given you faith, and has poured out his Holy Spirit upon you in baptism. In your baptism, your pastor spoke your name, poured water upon you, and s...

Amen, Amen, whatever you ask the Father, he will give it to you in my name.  Let us pray: Open my heart, O Lord, to the joy and worship of your house. Attend your people as they rejoice in your presence around Word and Sacrament. Hear me, O Lord and Savior, because of your grace and in your name. Amen. I wonder how many people have given up on prayer. A growing number of people think prayer is a waste of time. They say every hour spent in prayer is an hour that could have been spent reading, or visiting friends and family, or going out into the world to help people. They say they have more important things to do than to pray. Are you one of those people?  Would you even admit it?  There are people who think that ... since God’s will is always done, even without our prayer ... there is no point in praying. So they give up. Or they say, I don’t need to pray because the Holy Spirit will do it for me . ... I don’t need to say the Lord’s prayer, even if Jesus taught me to pray...