In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. On Sunday, we reflected on the centrality of God’s Word both for conversion and for sustenance in the faith. We heard these words from father Abraham in the story of the rich man and Lazarus: “They have Moses and the prophets; let…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The story of the rich man and Lazarus is one of the fundamental biblical texts. It is not as well-known as many of the other Gospel stories, such as the parables and miracles of our Lord, which is a shame because this story teaches…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today, we observe the Church’s great feast of Corpus Christi. Among Lutherans, the feast of Corpus Christi often has a negative connotation, mostly because of the abominable papist practice of the Corpus Christi procession wherein…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. On the one hand, this day is the start of the ordinary “time of the Church.” Beginning next week we will observe the Sundays after Trinity—marked by their characteristic color…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. On Sunday, we celebrated the Day of Pentecost, when fifty days after Christ’s resurrection and ten days after His Ascension the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and anointed them to bring the Gospel to all nations, beginning at…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. There’s no place like home. Dorothy longed for it in the Wizard of Oz. We take it for granted in our childhood. We spend the better part of our adult lives trying to create it for ourselves. And we often spend the final years of lives…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the first part of John chapter 15, our Lord speaks of Himself as the vine. He says to the disciples: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1). This metaphor invites us to see Christ as our true life-source.…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This Sunday fills an interesting, strange void in the church year. On Thursday we celebrated one of the most important days of the church year—the Ascension of Our Lord. Our Lord had spent time with His disciples teaching and instructing…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The Ascension of Our Lord is one of the forgotten days of the church year. Because it always falls on a weekday it is sadly forgotten by many present-day Christians. But the church does not continue to celebrate Ascension Day simply…

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today is the Sunday of prayer. Most of the time, when a Sunday maintains an old Latin name, that name comes from the Introit, which are the traditional first words of the service. For example, the Introit for the Sunday after Easter…