κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

So departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to announce [this] to his disciples ... Stop being afraid! I know you seek Jesus, who was crucified. ... But he was raised, just as he said. We’ve seen the empty tomb! We’ve seen our risen Lord! Stop being afraid! He is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah! This is the message of Easter!  There is now nothing to fear!  You have been absolved of your sin on account of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. ... You who are baptized have been united in the death and resurrection of Jesus ... You who confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved. ... You who wait to celebrate his death and resurrection that brings the forgiveness of sins in the Lord’s Supper ... there is nothing to fear. Our Lord Jesus has broken the bonds of sin and death. He has risen to new life. He has fulfilled the promises of God. He has defeated t...

All these things you’ve heard are laid to rest because he who suffered and died on a cross has been laid to rest. All of this Scripture and so much more has been fulfilled. The Lord who rested after making the heavens and the earth, now rests from his work of redemption. The Lord has remembered his covenant. He has washed away the sin we brought upon creation. The Lord has blessed us all: Delivering his people ... you ... from the bondage of sin and death for the purpose of leading you into the Promised Land. He has accomplished salvation for you by being crucified on the Tree of Death, the cross, for the sins of the world. He has sprinkled clean water upon you, and given you a new heart and a new spirit, and now he is gathering us together to restore the fortunes he has prepared for you. Tonight we are seeing the end of death and the beginning of new life. For I know that my Redeemer lives. He has brought all of us through the fire and is granting us protection to boldly confess his h...

Virtually every word Jesus spoke from the cross was a Word on behalf of someone else. He thought of others first. He looked at his persecutors first and asked for their forgiveness first. He looked at the criminal to his right and gave him the promise of salvation. He looked at his mother and gave her a son. As he lived, so he died ... pleading, promising, giving. But there was one word in particular from the cross in which Jesus turned in upon himself. After hanging on the cross for hours, dripping in blood, gasping for air, he looked up into the blackened sky and uttered his bitter lament, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me (Mt 27:46)?  4. Who can describe this God-forsakenness? We like to think we know what it means to be God forsaken. We describe places like the Mojave Desert as such a place. But we can only imagine what it really means. We certainly can’t imagine what it must have been like for God’s only begotten son, the beloved one. We can only imagine the pain and...

Then while they were eating, Jesus, having taken bread and after blessing [it], he broke [it] and gave [it] to the disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And having taken the cup and given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink out of it all, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many into the forgiveness of sins. Now I say to you, I certainly will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now until that day when I drink with you anew in the kingdom of my father.  I don’t understand why more people don’t understand the word of our Lord on this matter. His words are so matter of fact. Jesus says, Take, eat; This is my body. Take, drink; This is my blood . It is the new covenant . It is ... now ... even tonight ... being poured out for many into the forgiveness of sins . Jesus doesn’t say this bread and wine represent his body and blood. He doesn’t say the bread and wine symbolize his body and blood. The words “represent” and “symbolize” are...