Jesus prophesied that before the End of All Things, “The love of most will grow cold.” Only the love of Jesus can turn calloused and indifferent hearts into hearts of love. Believers are called to excel in love. We love—family, friends, neighbors and...

“And lead us not into temptation”, Jesus taught us to pray. Luther reminds us that in the Lord’s Prayer “we ask that God would guard us against the devil, the world, and our sinful nature.” So confident is Satan in his own power that he confronts even...

Just days ago we experienced the transfigured Christ, shining in all his glory. Like his disciples we would prefer lingering in mountaintop experiences. But our Savior leads us down from the mountain to the valleys where we encounter the trials, the...

Today’s festival is a bridge as the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle comes to a close and the Lent-Easter cycle is about to begin. On the mount of transfiguration Jesus is revealed as God’s beloved Son, echoing the words heard at his baptism. What a...

God's Word calls us to holiness, but our human attempts to love both our neighbors and our enemies fall short of what God desires for us. In baptism, however, we are made holy and called to follow Jesus, loving as we have been loved. Paul's...

In today's reading from Deuteronomy 30:15-20, we are called to choose life by loving and obeying God. Much of today's Gospel reading echoes portions of the Ten Commandments. Jesus' instructions to the crowd reveal a pattern of behavior...

The light of Christ shines in and through his people. The world sees Jesus through the lens of his church. Here in this place, we bask in the light of Christ. Outside these walls, we shine for him. Word and sacrament shape, nurture, and equip us to be...

Who are the blessed ones of God? For the prophet Micah, they are those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For St. Paul, they are the ones who “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” For...

Jesus began his public ministry by calling fishermen to leave their nets and follow him. In Jesus the kingdom of God has come near to us. We who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. We see this light most profoundly in the cross—as God...

Baptism is always the beginning of a new story. It was for Jesus; it is for us. It should not surprise us that the Author of Life, in his great love for us, provides in water and his Word a gift, a divine means for renewing each day of our life as his...