κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

Your redemption is drawing near (v. 28). You know … most days blur together, one into another. But some days are simply unforgettable. They can be outstanding ... extraordinary ... like the day of your confirmation, the day of your graduation, the day of your marriage, the day your child was born ... the day we give new life to an old sanctuary. Or they can be devastating ... like the day of divorce, the day you discovered you had cancer, the day you were involved in a serious accident, the day death took a loved one from you. All of these days can be unforgettable days because of the overwhelming joy or sorrow they brought.  Our text speaks of a day that makes the most memorable day of our lives pale into insignificance. And we will never forget it.  In the Gospel according to Luke, days after arriving in Jerusalem to die and to rise, Jesus began talking about that day … the last day ... God’s great day, the greatest day of all. It’s the day of a great disturbance, the day o...

The Lord is shifting everything into reverse.  Jesus is taking things the way they are and making them the way they should be. He is making all things new, especially you. He is turning the corrupt into the incorruptible. The Lord is shifting everything into reverse. Jesus, the second Adam who made all things, has come to make you like the first Adam, only better. He will transform the earthly Jerusalem into a heavenly one. It will be like the Garden of Eden, only better. God in the flesh became the sacrifice to end all sacrifices ... like the Passover lamb, only better. Jesus ascended the mountain and now is preparing to come down for us once again. He is shifting everything into reverse. This is what Isaiah is preaching from his prophetic pulpit today.  Isaiah is telling us about a mountain that has been raised so high it makes Everest look like one of our rolling hills. Every other mountain and hill must salute its elevation. Like rivers, the nations will soon flow upward t...

Then the crowd, those going before him and those following, continued to cry out to the Son of David, saying, Save us, please! Blessed is the One Coming in the Name of the Lord! Save us, please, in the Highest Heavens! Yes, Come Lord Jesus! Save us now!  Today we begin a new year of looking forward to this Advent of our Lord, the day he will forever and finally come to save us!  BEHOLD, JESUS IS ALWAYS COMING TO FULFILL THE ADVENT OF HIS BLESSINGS 1. We generally are always eager to see the advents of our lives fully realized. There are many advents in our lives. The word advent literally means “coming” or “arrival.” Advent is generally a positive term. That’s because advents normally are filled with hope, peace, love, and joy. So, like expectant mothers, we look forward to their arrival.  To the world, perhaps no advent is bigger than the secular new year ... the day we put away the old and hope for something better in the new. Every year, the media makes a big spectac...

Whenever Christian people do something Christian, they are doing and telling the truth.  Contrary to everything and everybody else around them, they are ... in truth ... celebrating the fact that they are Christian and that being a Christian makes a difference. Being a Christian makes a difference not only in the life to come but also in this life and in this world. Zachary and Constance ... GOD PROCLAIMS THIS TRUTH THROUGH CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE  So, today you are doing and telling the truth before all these people ... your family ... your friends ... and, above all ... before the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I. What you two are doing and saying today is demonstrating to all of us ... not that you just love each other ... but that God loved you first and reconciled you by the blood of Jesus Christ.  And you are saying that he has already made a difference in both of your lives ... separately and that he will make a difference in your life together.  You ...

What are you thankful for? Anything at all? Maybe more things than you can count?  Did you immediately think of your body and soul; eyes, ears, and all your members; your reason and all your senses? Or clothing, shoes, food, drink, house, home, wife, children, land, and animals? Did you remember it is our duty to thank and praise God our Father, to serve and obey him, love and cherish him? Have you ever done a lot for someone who never showed any appreciation, never even saying thanks one time? Were you disappointed?  Luke records an experience just like that. In our Gospel reading tonight from chapter 17, we hear about Jesus healing ten lepers with just a word. But only one returned to give Jesus thanks and praise. And he was a Samaritan (v 16). Jesus asked him, Where are the other nine (v. 17)? Is this foreigner the only one finding time to return and to give glory to God (V 18)?  How often are we like the nine, forgetting to say thanks for the wonderful gifts we’ve ...

Dear David and Lori, along with friends and family gathered here for this special day that marks not just the 19th anniversary of your marriage but the divine blessing of it ...  Hear again the word of our Lord Jesus Christ from Matthew chapter 18:[18-20]: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you may have bound upon the earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you may have loosened upon earth will have been loosened in heaven. Again, Amen, I say to you, if two of you are in unison on earth concerning all matters for which may ask from my Father in heaven, it will be (done for) them. For wherever two or three are being gathered into my name, there am I in their midst.” This is why we are here today for a civil marriage blessing: You long for the Lord to always be with you in your home, to bless you and keep you. And indeed he is and has because ...  CHRIST HAS UNITED HIMSELF WITH BOTH OF YOU I. Christ’s desire to unite himself with you and to bless your marriage is a desir...