In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The apostle Paul begins today’s Epistle with an exhortation to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1). He goes on to explain that lowliness, gentleness, patience (or literally, “longsuffering”), and…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The so-called Rich Young Ruler of today’s Gospel text illustrates an important lesson, namely that we are all plagued by self-righteousness. The difference is that this man was honest about his self-righteousness. The young man approaches…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The widow of Nain had experienced the worst of life in this world. First, she was widowed—her husband had died and left her alone to raise their one and only son. And then the unthinkable happened. Her one and only son also died.…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today is the Ember Wednesday in September. In the church calendar, Ember days occur four times per year, on a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in early Lent, in the week following Pentecost, in the middle of September, and in the middle…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. There are but two ways of living in this world. There is the way of man. And there is the way of God. Many in our world today believe that there are any numerous paths one can follow. But the Scriptures constantly exhort us to reject…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If you are willing, You can make me clean.” Then Jesus said to him, “I am not willing; you are not cleansed.” Of course, this is not what happened in…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Faith is a unique thing. It’s like nothing else in the world. With most things, we either have control or we don’t. Faith, however, is purely a gift of God, and yet, we can mess it up. Now, we know that there is nothing we can do…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. At the beginning of our Gospel Reading on Sunday, our Lord said to His disciples: “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The man who comes to our Lord at the beginning of today’s Gospel text has it all wrong. He, like so many in our world today, is overly focused on himself and his own actions. And so, he asks the Lord: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. When we think about the life and ministry of our Lord, as good Lutherans, our minds immediately go to Holy Week—the cross, the empty tomb, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper. These are the chief and defining works of Christ’s…