“To know them is to love them.” So we speak of people who are near and dear to our hearts. The same is true of our relationship with God. As the Holy Spirit leads us to know better God’s love in Jesus, our love for him grows deeper. Expression of that...

Scripture understands the Word of God to be more than just ink on paper. Jesus is God’s ultimate Word to us. We come to know God when we know his Son, the Christ, and we meet Jesus in the Bible. In both the Old and New Testaments we find our Lord...

The Bible says that we are to pray constantly. But what about when we don’t have the words, when we don’t know what to say? In his gracious way, God the Holy Spirit stands in for us. He offers the thoughts of our hearts and the words we would say...

“Jesus replied, ‘This is the kind of demon that can be driven out only by prayer.’” (Mark 9:29) Although Satan gets little attention today in our secular world and even in the church, he remains real, constantly looking for ways to use our weakness...

When we speak to God “with all boldness and confidence, we may ask him as dear children ask their dear father.” (Luther’s Small Catechism) But for what do we ask? And what does our asking show about our priorities in faith and life? Believers seek in...

Almighty God invites us to speak to him in prayer. He welcomes our thoughts and concerns and praises. Prayer is his idea! As faithful disciples, we can pray boldly and often, anticipating God’s response and intervention in our lives.

As God rested on the seventh day, he gifted his people with a command to observe a day of rest. Although that constraint is all but lost in our society, the human need which the command addresses remains. Jesus, in his grace-filled life and ministry...

As we gather, we conclude our summer Ephesians sermon series with an emphasis on the church. The Apostle Paul reminds us that under the Holy Spirit, we are constructed upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the...

In his letters to the churches, St. Paul’s writing often erupts in what we call “doxology”—vigorous and emotional praise to God, centered on the work of Jesus. Our preaching text for today concludes with one of the most glorious of those biblical...

One of the great mysteries revealed by the coming of Jesus Christ was that the extravagant love of God was not only for Israel, his chosen nation, but for all people everywhere. The Father unites everyone into one body—his holy Church. This truth is a...