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Cantate – Sunday 28 April A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 98:1b, 3-4, 1a, 2b;118:16, Romans 6:9 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 12:1–6;James 1:17–21;St. John 16:5–15    Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Within salvation and sanctification in the life of a sinner, blindness gives way to sight as a redeemed believer comes to see the unseen. This does not mean that once faith is granted to a person that he or she is then able to see demons hiding behind bushes or angels standing at the foot of the bed.Read More →

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Jubilate – Sunday 21 April A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 66:1–2; 3, 5, 8–9;111:9a, St. Luke 24:46b, 26b ✠ Lection: Isaiah 40:25–31;1 Peter 2:11–20;St. John 16:16–22 Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jubilate; make a joyful noise unto God, have jubilation unto God, rejoice! Advent and Lent aren’t the sole benefactors of Sundays dedicated to jubilation and rejoicing in the Lord. This one most definitely and appropriately falls here right about halfway through the Easter season, but we shall leave the pink paraments and vestments stored andRead More →

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Misericordias Domini – Sunday 14 April A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 33: 5b, 6a, 1, 18–20;St. Luke 24:35b;St. John 10:14 ✠ Lection: Ezekiel 34:11–16;1 Peter 2:21b–25;St. John 10:11–16  Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, and the earth is full of the misericordias Domini, the goodness of the Lord. It is full of His mercy, for by His merciful works, our eyes have seen and our ears have heard His goodness toward us. Though we have not seen like Thomas, Peter, James,Read More →

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Quasimodo Geniti – Sunday 7 April A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: 1 Peter 2:2a; Psalm 81:1, 7, 10, 16b;St. Matthew 28:7b; St. John 20:26a, c ✠ Lection: Ezekiel 37:1-14;1 John 5:4-10a;St. John 20:19-31  Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Nearly all fear is unwarranted, regardless of the threats of this world, and regardless of our misconstrued fears of God Himself. Nearly all fear is unwarranted, especially for the Christian heart, especially in the fresh news of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. His victory over the grave is notRead More →

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Easter Day – Sunday 31 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: St. Luke 24:5b-6b; Psalm 118:24, 1;1 Corinthians 5:7, 8 ✠ Lection: Job 19:23-27;1 Corinthians 5:7-8;St. Mark 16:1-8 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hopefully you’ve come to God’s Divine Service on Easter Day to hear of victory in a world where you’re constantly being bombarded with and conditioned to believe in a life of loss. If you’ve come looking for how there is victory in a world of so much apparent defeat, then the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is it, singularly, as in, thereRead More →

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Sermon: The reading of the Passion: Good Friday – Friday 29 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 22, 2, 27, 51 ✠ Lection: St. John 18:1—19:42 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We stand peering in darkness at the pinnacle of salvation’s story. If we had been there, on Golgotha, on the day our Lord hung from the cross, then the three hours of darkness would be a sign far greater than any rush to spectacle in a three-minute solar eclipse, for even the smaller event heeds a call to repent and to diligently seek theRead More →

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Maundy Thursday – Thursday 28 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Galatians 6:14b; Psalm 67:1–3, 6b–7;Philippians 2:8b-9;Psalm 111:4–5; John 6:55–56 ✠ Lection: Exodus 24:3–11;1 Corinthians 11:20–32;John 13:1–15 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Oh, how rich and delightful is the family meal at the Table of our Lord when more are able to join in. This night, on which we remember the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ and His institution of Holy Communion, we at Our Savior shall welcome two young children from among us to receive their Savior’s Body and Blood for the first time.Read More →

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Sermon: The reading of the Passion: Palmarum – Sunday 24 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 22:19, 21;22:1, 7-8, 11;73:23b-24, 1-3;22: 1, 6, 19, 22, 31 ✠ Lection: Exodus 15:27—16:7a; Luke 19:29–40;Philippians 2:5-11;Matthew 26:1-27:66 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. By your mouths this morning, you spoke harrowing words about the Lord Jesus, saying, “Let Him be crucified!…Let Him be crucified!” We not only consider this Palm Sunday, but The Sunday of the Passion, because by entering into Holy Week, the Church has historically used this Sunday to begin reading in its gatherings the Passion accountsRead More →

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Judica Mid-Week – Wednesday 20 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 43:1-2a;43:3-5;143:9a, 10a;18:48a, c;129:1-4 ✠ Lection: Leviticus 19:1-2a, 10b-19a, 25b; St. John 10:22-38 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Those who believe Jesus, follow Jesus. They say rightly that He is a king. For this cause He was born, and for this cause He has come into the world, that He should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears the voice of Jesus. As He taught truth, He was confronted, He was surrounded by those who question Who He is, thusRead More →

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Judica – Sunday 17 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 43:1-2a;43:3-5;143:9a, 10a;18:48a, c;129:1-4 ✠ Lection: Genesis 22:1-19;Hebrews 9:11-15;St. John 8:46-59a In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is truly meet, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places venerate the crucifix, which depicts the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is also truly meet, right, and salutary to consider and repeatedly consider the beautiful symbolism that we employ in our worship and in our daily lives as Christians. We often adorn our own bodies with small crucifixes hung from ourRead More →

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Laetare Mid-Week – Wednesday 13 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Isaiah 66:10a, 11a;Psalm 122:1-2, 6, 8;122:1, 7;125:1-2 ✠ Lection: Ezekiel 36:23a, 23c–28; Isaiah 1:16-19; St. John 9:1-38   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations. Children receive the satisfying nourishment from their mother, and, as we heard on Laetare, we are fed and sustained by the Food that comes down to us from above. The Jerusalem above is free, which isRead More →

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Laetare – Sunday 10 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Isaiah 66:10a, 11a;Psalm 122:1-2, 6, 8;122:1, 7;125:1-2 ✠ Lection: Exodus 16:2-21;Galatians 4:22—5:1a;St. John 6:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Rejoice and be glad in Jesus, priceless treasure, fount of purest pleasure, for He pours down enduring abundance from heaven for you in His good gifts of Word and Sacrament. In a world where you need more than bread alone, He feeds you with every word that proceeds out of His mouth. He feeds you with what you need to endure, to thrive, to build one anotherRead More →

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Oculi Mid-week – Wednesday 6 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:15-16;25:1-2, 17-18, 20;9:19, 3;123:1-3 ✠ Lection: Exodus 20:12–24a;St. Matthew 15:1–20 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. To eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man, yet our modern minds kind of half agree with the scribes and Pharisees that it’s a bad idea not to wash our hands before we eat. After all, haven’t we been enlightened to know that there are microscopic dangers lurking about waiting for us to forgetfully not wash our hands so that they can get us and make usRead More →

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Oculi – Sunday 3 March A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:15-16;25:1-2, 17-18, 20;9:19, 3;123:1-3 ✠ Lection: Exodus 8:16-24;Ephesians 5:1-9;St. Luke 11:14-28 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; Look upon mine affliction and my pain; And forgive all my sins. We beseech You, almighty God, to look upon the hearty desires of Your humble servants; Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, And as the eyes of a maiden untoRead More →

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Reminiscere Mid-week – Wednesday 28 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:1–2a, 7–8, 11; antiphon: vv. 6, 2b, 22;Psalm 25:17–18;Psalm 106:1–4 ✠ Lection: Esther 13:8-11, 15-17 (Apocryphal); St. Matthew 20:17-28    In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Faith not only peers into the unseen with hope, but it endures, yea, it embraces the seen as part of Christ’s work; not the wickedness of this evil age, but the Lord’s use of it, especially in service to one another. Only He can take what is meant for evil and make it for good. He makes it for goodRead More →

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Reminiscere – Sunday 25 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:6, 2b, 22;25:1-2a, 7-8, 11;25:17-18;106:1-4 ✠ Lection: Genesis 32:22-32;1 Thessalonians 4:1-7;St. Matthew 15:21-28 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In contrast to last Sunday, when we praised Jesus as our Champion, as our Victor, as He was led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and overcame him by the word that proceeds from His mouth, today we see Jesus conquered. Twice. It was His will in both instances that this happened. It was His will that Jacob prevailed over Him, even after inflictingRead More →

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Invocavit Mid-week – Wednesday 21 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 91:15a, c, 16;91:1-2, 9-10, 13;91:11–12;91:1, 2 4a ✠ Lection: Exodus 24:12–18;1 Kings 19:3b–8;St. Matthew 12:38–50 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. When we gather around the Table of Christ to taste forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, to receive into our own person eternity, let us not take even a singular moment for granted. Repent for any moment that you take God and His gifts for granted as He brings heaven to earth in His Divine Service. Turn and ever lift up your hearts toRead More →

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Invocavit – Sunday 18 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 91:15a, c, 16;91:1-2, 9-10, 13;91:11–12;91:1, 2, 4a ✠ Lection: Genesis 3:1-21;2 Corinthians 6:1-10;St. Matthew 4:1-11 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. This is what happened in the Garden when the serpent of old deceived our first parents. The devil is a created being, so taking on the Creator head-to-head in a battle of opposing strength or might is obviously, even in a fallen angel’s eyes, foolish with no possibility of success. In order toRead More →

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Ash Wednesday – Wednesday 14 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 69:16,1;31:2b–3;1, 5, 9, 16;57:1a, 3a;103:10;79:8, 9 ✠ Lection: Joel 2:12–19;2 Peter 1:2–11;St. Matthew 6:16-21 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hypocrisy is very rewarding, especially if you’re good at it. To be a hypocrite is to be aware, to acknowledge, to desire something that is good and to do what is necessary to obtain it. In and of itself, such a tactic in life isn’t necessarily bad. If we see godly virtue as that which is good, then it is wise to pursue it, toRead More →

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Quinquagesima – Sunday 11 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 18:5-6a, 49;18:1-2a, 27, 32;77:14-15;100:1-3 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 35:3-7;1 Corinthians 13:1-13;St. Luke 18:31-43 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. By this day’s end, you will have had but a mere 11 Sundays in which to prepare for your coming King, to celebrate His Holy Nativity, to follow the Magi by faith, to ascend to the Mount of Transfiguration with the disciples, and to prepare for the journey of Lent that will bring us to Jerusalem with Jesus. A late start to Advent followed by an early EasterRead More →

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Sexagesima – Sunday 4 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 44:23, 25a, 26a;1–2, 7–8;83:18, 13;60:1–2, 5 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 55:10–13;2 Corinthians 11:19—12:9;St. Luke 8:4–15 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our dear Lord Jesus graciously tells His disciples and us that the seed that is sown in the parable is the Word of God. His parables do have meanings in them that are for our understanding, by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual things, but the same meanings are hidden from those who do not believe. This means that the parables are forRead More →

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Candlemas – Friday 2 February A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 48:9;Psalm 48:1–3, 8;Psalm 48:1, 8a, 9;St. Luke 2:34b ✠ Lection: Malachi 3:1–4;Hebrews 2:14–18;St. Luke 2:22–32 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. One thing I have desired of the LORD,That will I seek:That I may dwell in the house of the LORDAll the days of my life,To behold the beauty of the LORD,And to inquire in His temple. On this Friday evening, we are here inquiring in His temple, seeking and desiring the LORD; this is good. Fridays can be holy, too, as we learn in theRead More →

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Septuagesima – Sunday 28 January A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 18:5-6a;1–2a, 27, 32, 49;9:9–10, 18–19a;130:1–4 ✠ Lection: Daniel 9:2-10;1 Corinthians 9:24—10:4;St. Matthew 20:1–16 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. How is it that you might come down from the Transfiguration mount with and in your Lord Jesus, and traverse life’s valleys of cross and suffering? These three Sundays of Pre-Lent teach you foundational truths about the Christian faith that are meant to strengthen and encourage you in body and soul so that you may endure. My opening question assumes much. It was only God and HisRead More →

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The Transfiguration of Our Lord – Sunday 21 January A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 77:18b;84:1–2a, 4, 10–11;45:2a;110:1;96:2–3 ✠ Lection: Exodus 34:29–35;2 Peter 1:16–21;St. Matthew 17:1–9 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As with Saints Peter, James, and John, the Lord has been showing and teaching us much as He’s brought us to His Transfiguration. Our flight up to the top of this mountain of remembrance has been swift, being that it was still but a month ago that we were preparing to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord. And here we are today closing out EpiphanyRead More →

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The Baptism of Our Lord – Sunday 14 January A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 89:20;89:1, 26-28;72:18–19;143:10 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 42:1-7;1 Corinthians 1:26-31;St. Matthew 3:13-17 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. The psalmist David spoke these prophetic words that became the prayer of our dear Lord as He neared His death upon the cross. Likewise, the Holy Spirit inspired them that they may be our own, too. Do you ever pray asking God to not be far from you, but nearRead More →

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The Epiphany of Our Lord – Sunday 7 January A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 72:1, 2, 10-11;Isaiah 60:6b, 1;St. Matthew 2:2b ✠ Lection: Isaiah 60:1–6;Ephesians 3:2-12;St. Matthew 2:1–12 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Behold, the LORD and the Ruler is come: and the kingdom is in His hand, and power, and dominion. Now, for more than a month, we have begun this new Church Year by the preparation of Advent leading into the joys of Christmastide, praising our coming King Jesus at His birth, wrestling with the signs that He brings, especially within our ownRead More →

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The First Sunday after Christmas – Sunday 31 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 93:5, 2; 1, 3–4;45:2a, 1b;93:1 ✠ Lection: Jeremiah 31:31-34;Galatians 4:1–7;St. Luke 2:33-40 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christmastime is not immune to controversy nor to conflict. Overall, most people tend to be nicer, more giving, jollier than at other times of the year, yet we know, some by very close and personal experience, that controversy and conflict can happen anywhere and anytime people are involved. As we have heard, so have we seen that we have the most certain Reason, theRead More →

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The Nativity of Our Lord – Monday 25 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Isaiah 9:6;Psalm 98:1-4;118:26a, 27a, 23 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 52:6–10;Hebrews 1:1-12;St. John 1:1–14 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. To what shall we compare this generation? It is like a guest invited to and seated at a great banquet feast and yet proceeds to ignore the Table and eat from the gruel in the dog’s bowl. We shall not completely disparage the gruel, for is it not also provision from the Lord’s hand? Likewise, we shall not disparage the gift of family and presentsRead More →

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Vigil of the nativity – Sunday 24 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 2:6-7;24:1, 3-5;98:3b–4a, 2;2:7 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 62:1–4a;Romans 1:1–6;St. Matthew 1:18b–21 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Blessed Advent and Merry Christmas! What we experience today is a liturgical oddity that is infrequently seen, but oddity may convey a shred of negativity. Let us not at all be negative on this Eve of the Holy Nativity of Our Lord that is also the fourth and final Sunday in Advent. When that fourth Sunday falls on December 24th, the Church has historically observed an interestingRead More →

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Gaudete Midweek – Wednesday 20 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Philippians 4:4-5;Psalm 85:1, 2, 6, 8;80:1–2;80:2b ✠ Lection: Isaiah 2:2-5;Isaiah 7:10-15;St. Luke 1:26-28a In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We like to give up. Not only in easy, permissible times, such as Advent midweek meals, but in important matters, especially if suffering is involved or if we don’t see any reward or payoff coming from us sucking it up and putting in honest effort. Some of us give up more quickly than others, but for each one of us, there is something or somethings that canRead More →

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Gaudete – Sunday 17 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Philippians 4:4-5;Psalm 85:1, 2, 6, 8;80:1–2;80:2b ✠ Lection: Isaiah 40:1-8;1 Corinthians 4:1-5;St. Matthew 11:2-10 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Do you rejoice in the Lord always? It’s quite a steep and startling admonition by St. Paul, is it not? Always is as often as often can get. So, how about ever? Do you ever rejoice in the Lord? Do you ever find yourself optimistic about what He has done in you and has in store for you ahead? Do you see your remaining time in thisRead More →

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Populus Zion Midweek – Wednesday 13 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Isaiah 62:11;30:30, 29;Psalm 80: 1, 3, 14, 17;50:2-3, 5;St. Luke 21:26b-27 ✠ Lection: Malachi 3:1-5;4:5-6a; St. Matthew 11:11-15            In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As this Adventide is already half-over, we prepare for our coming Lord further by examining our life, our very existence, in the kingdom, in the reign, of heaven, for, indeed, He draws near. We hear what our dear Lord tells us about the Day that has come and in which we now live. Many in the Church like the words fromRead More →

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Populus Zion – Sunday 10 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Isaiah 62:11;30:30, 29;Psalm 80: 1, 3, 14, 17;50:2-3, 5;St. Luke 21:26b-27 ✠ Lection: Song of Songs 2:8b-14;Romans 15:4-13;St. Luke 21:25-33 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Behold, your King is coming to you and He brings with Him the Kingdom of Heaven. He has come to draw near to us who have distanced ourselves from Him, but He has yet brought the Kingdom in its full measure or else it would have been of no use for us to confess our sins this morning. When theRead More →

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Wednesday of Ad Te Levavi – 6 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:1-3a;25:4–5, 21–22;25:3-4;85:7 ✠ Lection: James 5:7–10; St. Matthew 3:1–6 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! Don’t be scared. Don’t shrink back from this stern warning coupled with its awful, awesome reason. Remember that your King comes to you not to condemn you but to save you; not to break you or quench you like a bruised reed or a smoldering wick, but to lift you up from the darkness of this world; to satisfyRead More →

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Ad Te Levavi – Sunday 3 December A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:1-3a;25:4–5, 21–22;25:3-4;85:7 ✠ Lection: Jeremiah 23:5–8;Romans 13:11-14;St. Matthew 21:1–9 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Behold, your King is coming to you! Two weeks ago on the Second Last Sunday in the Church Year, we were reminded of how terrifying the truth of the King coming on the Last Day will be for the goats, the unbelievers, who will be cast away from the glorious presence of God into everlasting punishment. But the righteous, the sheep, the blessed of the Father, will be welcomedRead More →

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Thanksgiving – Wednesday 22 November A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 150:6;150:2, 1;145:15-16;103:1-2 ✠ Lection: Deuteronomy 8:1-10;1 Timothy 2:1-8;St. Luke 17:11-19 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is good to give thanks to the LORD; to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High; to herald Your love in the morning, Your truth at the close of the day. Thus here we are on this eve of our national day of Thanksgiving. Though we would contend with the Pilgrims on multiple points of doctrine, we would not deny them to be Christian brothers and sisters. ThereforeRead More →

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The Second Last Sunday – Sunday 19 November A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 54:1–2;3–5, 7;50:4, 6;Isaiah 35:10a ✠ Lection: Daniel 7:9-14;2 Peter 3:3-14;St. Matthew 25:31-46 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Son of Man, the Son of God, will come again in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, and He will sit on the throne of His glory. Much like our preparation when a guest is coming to our home, especially an honored guest, so may the Final Day bring about both excitement and anxious fear. Is everything in order? Have IRead More →

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The Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 12 November A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Jeremiah 29:11a, 12; Psalm 85:1, 7, 9, 11;44:7–8;115:11 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 8:11–22;Philippians 3:17–21;St. Matthew 22:15–21 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. There is a distinction, a division between Church and State, one that is based on God’s design. There are three hierarchies, three stations, three estates of the order of life as we, as people, live in reality. Those estates are the family, the state, and the Church. The first two are distinct, yet also closely related, for it is God Who hasRead More →

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Reformation – Sunday 29 October A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 119:46;34:1-2, 11, 22;48:1, 12-13;48:14 ✠ Lection: Revelation 14:6-7;Romans 3:19-28;St. Matthew 11:12-19 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Hear what? Hear how? For do not all with functioning ear lobes and drums hear when things are spoken? Do not all with ears that work hear it when the truth of God is proclaimed? Yes, they do. Yes, you do. But there’s a big cliff just inside the ear, a chasm between ear and heart into which our fleshRead More →

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The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 22 October A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 48:1, 9–11;145:15–16;130:1–2a ✠ Lection: Isaiah 54:17b—55:11;Ephesians 5:15–21;Matthew 22:1–14 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Lord Jesus spoke a parable about the kingdom of heaven to the chief priests and Pharisees. In it, He teaches about how this marvelous kingdom comes and how it will come in its full, unbridled measure on the Last Day. Tucked into the parable are truths hidden from eyes that cannot see, but revealed for the comfort and assurance to those of us whom the Holy SpiritRead More →

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The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 15 October A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 35:3b;34:17a, 6b;48:14a;78:1–3, 4b;141:1–2;98:1a ✠ Lection: Isaiah 44:21–23;Ephesians 4:22–28;Matthew 9:1–8 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Which is easier when crossing a small sea: to get into a boat powered only by wind in its sail and human muscle thrusting it forward by the use of paddles and oars as it fights the imbalance of waves, the heat of the sun, opposing headwinds, and whatever else comes in Creation’s demand for submission to its might; or, to walk at a leisurely pace acrossRead More →

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The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 8 October A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Ecclesiasticus 36:21-22a; Psalm 122:1, 6, 8-9;122:1, 7;130:1-2a ✠ Lection: Deut. 10:12-21;1 Cor. 1:4-8;St. Matthew 22:34-46 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The will of God is always best and He has revealed His will to us in His Holy Word in both Law and Gospel. We are not to pit these two against one another as if they are opposed or as if there is any variation or shadow of turning with God and with what He says. He has given us bothRead More →

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The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 1 October A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 119:137, 124; 1–2, 5–6;33:12, 6;116:1 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 25:6–14;Ephesians 4:1–6;Luke 14:1–11 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We all want the world to be a better place, or at least a good place by what we each understand as good, which would mean a betterment of it if we’re not there yet by our individual measures. If we say that we desire unity among all peoples, then here it is: we all want something better. We’re at least unified in that desire.Read More →

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St. Michael and All Angels – Friday 29 September A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 103:20;103:1, 21-22; 91:11;103:1; Revelation 12:11 ✠ Lection: Daniel 12:1–3; Revelation 12:7–12a; St. Matthew 18:1-11 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. When we consider the might of St. Michael and all angels to keep charge over us and to keep us in all our ways, we consider the source of their power and ours: God Himself. For without Him all created beings would claw and scrape only by their own strength and power. Therefore, we must consider what war is fought in RevelationRead More →

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The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 24 September A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 86:3, 5;86:1, 7, 12–13;102:15-16;114:1-2 ✠ Lection: 1 Kings 17:17-24;Ephesians 3:13–21;St. Luke 7:11-16 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. He has created each person with his and her own unique stations in life, capable to be fulfilled at times only by, and at other times definitely better by, each of the individual two sexes. The grunt work, the physical labor, the headshipRead More →

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The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 17 September A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 86:1a, 2b, 3;86:4, 6, 15a, 16;118:8-9;57:7 ✠ Lection: 1 Kings 17:8–16;Galatians 5:25—6:10;Matt. 6:24–34 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” The Lord Jesus makes it explicitly clear what two masters we sinners commonly try to have and serve simultaneously: God and mammon, that is, money. What does it mean to serve mammon? NoneRead More →

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The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 10 September A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 84:9-10a;84:1-2a, 4, 10-11b;92:1-2;65:1 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 4:10-23;Galatians 5:16-24;St. Luke 17:11-19 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. None of us enjoys mundane or lackluster worship, hymns, or sermons. Neither do or should any of us desire a hum-drum, boring God. Who among us is actually okay or content with the feeling of not being excited to go to church or content with valuing it so little to think that it doesn’t really matter whether we gather regularly or not? Who actually wants suchRead More →

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The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 27 August A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 74:20a, 21a, 22a, 23a;88:1 ✠ Lection: Leviticus 19:9-18;Galatians 3:16–22;St. Luke 10:23–37 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Consider Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Elijah, and Elisha; big names, maybe lofty names in your minds, renowned prophets of old that received word from the LORD and faithfully delivered it to the people often causing the prophets honorable suffering of harm, ridicule, and persecution. Consider David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah: more great and lofty names; magnificent kings among the other wretches of the Old Testament,Read More →

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The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 27 August A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 70:1-2a;70:2b, 4a, 5b;34:1-2;81:1 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 29:17–24;2 Corinthians 3:4-11;Mark 7:31-37 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Disabilities that plague the human body and mind are not uncommon among us. In quite humbling ways, they become scenarios through which God teaches us to love one another, for it is He Who has first loved us as He looked upon us all who are burdened with the corrupting disability of sin. By the new heart that He gives, what were once only thoughts ofRead More →

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The Tenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 13 August A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 55:16a, 17b, 18a, 22a;55:1, 4-5, 16;17:8, 2;88:1 ✠ Lection: Jeremiah 7:1-11;1 Corinthians 12:2-11;Luke 19:41-48 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, speaking words of lament and woe that ended with, “because you did not know τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς σου (because you did not know the time of your visitation).” I bring up the Greek because that next to last word ἐπισκοπῆς, or visitation, is the same root from whichRead More →

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The Ninth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 6 August A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 54:4-5; 54:1-3, 7;8:1;112:1 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 16:1-9;1 Corinthians 10:6b-13;Luke 16:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The unjust steward is a marvelous parable, just as are all those given to us from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our annual encounter with it, as with all parables, we must continue to remember to seek first what is being taught to us about God, and, only then, secondly what a godly response from us would look like. Without the prior, theRead More →

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The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 23 July A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 47:1, 47:3, 6-8;34:11, 5;59:1 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 62:6-12;Romans 6:19-23;St. Mark 8:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Following Jesus in this life brings about many challenges. Those challenges wouldn’t exist if there were no devil, world, or sinful nature, but since those three are at constant work against God and the new creations into which He has made us, everyday struggles abound. This is sure to be true when we consider the places from which we have come, that is, being conceivedRead More →

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The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 16 July A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 28:8-9; 28:1-2a, 7;90:13, 1-2b;31:1 ✠ Lection: Exodus 20:1-17;Romans 6:3-11;St. Matthew 5:20-26 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. There is no drudgery on any Sunday with which our dear Lord has blessed us, even if it occurs during the long, green, often times quite hot and humid, season of Trinity. Rather what we are given in our propers this morning is a rich dose of the Catechism. We, as Lutherans, worship neither Luther nor his most beneficial little book of Christian teaching, butRead More →

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The Fifth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 9 July A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 27:7a, 9b;27:1a, 11-12, 14;84:9, 8;21:1 ✠ Lection: 1 Kings 19:11-21;1 Peter 3:8-15;St. Luke 5:1-11 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christians, even the pious ones who read the Scriptures while outside the walls of the church, who pray in bad times and in good, who honestly seek to live by the Holy Word handed down from the prophets and apostles, even those Christians need constant reminding of the teachings of the one true faith. And what does that say about us all?Read More →

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The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – Sunday 2 July A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: St. Luke 1:46b–47;1 Samuel 2:1–2, 7–8;Psalm 103:2; 105:5;100:4;St. Luke 1:45 ✠ Lection: Song of Solomon 2:8b–14;Romans 12:9-16;St. Luke 1:39-56 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Remember our dear sister Elizabeth’s situation leading up to six months prior to the Blessed Virgin visiting her home in the hill country of Judea. She was far beyond any feasible child-bearing years; an obvious many number of them married to Zechariah, which normally would’ve been plenty of opportunity for childbearing, but not only was sheRead More →

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The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession – Sunday 25 June A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 119:46;34:1–2, 11, 22;48:1a, 12–14a;Luke 12:32 ✠ Lection: Nehemiah 8:1–10;1 Timothy 6:11–16;St. Matthew 10:26b–33 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Many Christians celebrate, remember, and give thanks for the event that took place on October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. They consider it the genesis of what came to be whatever doctrinal belief system to which they belong. Arminians, Calvinists, Baptists, Presbyterians: they all have no qualm with sayingRead More →

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The Second Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 18 June A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 18:18b-19;18:1-2a, 27, 30a;120:1-2;7:11 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 9:1-10;1 John 3:13-18;St. Luke 14:16-24 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The sense of urgency is a feeling that comes about in all people, even if it’s something small and simple as hurrying to straighten out the living room right before guests arrive, unloading the final bags of groceries as rain clouds loom and thunder rolls, or finally pulling the weeds when we notice that they now tower higher than our vegetable plants or flowers. ButRead More →

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Holy Trinity – Sunday 4 June A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 8:1-2a, 3-5;Daniel 3:26 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 6:1-7;Romans 11:33-36;St. John 3:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. How can these things be? Nicodemus asked this after the Lord Jesus told him one of the very basics of the Christian faith. At first, the man had played dumb, but by this point in the conversation, maybe he truly was dumbfounded by how both profound and how simple it was what Jesus was saying. It’s not all that hard to be overwhelmed by the infinite truths about AlmightyRead More →

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Whitsunday – Sunday 28 May A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Wisdom 1:7a, Psalm 68:3;1 ,4a, c, 11a, 33b, 35a;104:30 ✠ Lection: Genesis 11:1-9;Acts 2:1-11;St. John 14:23-31a In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We are not to be confused about the work of the Holy Spirit. Too many have come to either deny that He is truly the Third Person of the Blessed Holy Trinity or that His work among us is one divine life coach, crystal-ball-ish revealer, or frenzy-causing motivator. St. John is clear, by the revelation of the Holy Spirit, of what the Third Person comesRead More →

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Exaudi – Sunday 21 May A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 27:7a, 8, 9a;27:1, 11a, 12;47:8;St. John 14:18a, 28b, 16:22b ✠ Lection: Ezekiel 36:23a, 23c-28;1 Peter 4:7b-11;St. John 15:26—16:4a Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I hope that the joy of the Lord has been with you in this glorious Eastertide that has been full of renewed celebration, singing, praying, and rejoicing as you’ve been constantly reminded that and how the Lord God is your strength and your song, and He has become your salvation. To draw thisRead More →

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Ascension – Thursday 18 May A✠D 2023 ✠ Psalmody: Acts 1:11;Psalm 47:1-2, 5;Psalm 47:5;68:18a ✠ Lection: 2 Kings 2:8–15;Acts 1:1–11;St. Mark 16:14–20  Alleluia, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!   In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. To remember our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord is to remember the blessed Holy Baptism with which He has instituted and gifted to us. The end of St. Mark’s gospel urges our hearts to have faith in that which Christ has done and has given. Our trek through this joyous season had us in the first part of MarkRead More →