Isaiah 64:1-9 | Verses one to five recount the many ways in which God has shown Himself to be faithful and righteous. As Isaiah talks about the goodness of God the sinfulness of man becomes more and more apparent. Isaiah confesses this sin starting at the end of verse five. In verses eight and nine he then pleads for mercy and forgiveness from the Lord.

Matthew 25:31-46 | The day of judgement will come. It will come sooner than we think. But we rejoice and do not fear because the result is already know. Jesus died for our sins. We will go to heaven.

Psalm 136:1-26 | Psalm 136 reminds us of all the things we have to give thanks for

Matthew 25:14-30 | A Heart Of Faith, Not Fear

A Salvation Of Faith, Not Works

The lazy servant gives a convincing speech, but the Lord knows the truth that his heart is a heart of fear instead of faith. He knew that his master doesn’t make mistakes; therefore he should have known that he was capable of making use of his talent. He condemned not because of his works but because of his lack of faith.

Matthew 25:1-12 | The parable of the ten virgins is a warning that we need to be prepared for His coming. Unfortunately we all to often are the foolish one who are not prepared. In His grace Jesus prepares us through His word and sacraments.

1 john 3:1-3 | The heros of faith, which we call saints, do not disappoint us because we already know that they are sinners like us. Despite their sin the Lord chose them to be His children, as He chose us in our sin. Because we are His children, we will never “fit in” in this world. As His children we want to be just like our Father, righteous and holy.

John 8:31-36 | The Jews thought that they had received the inheritance of Abraham. But they didn't understand the true heritage was the promises of God. We also received this heritage, from Abraham, from the apostles, from Luther. Not through our genetic ancestry, but through our baptism which makes us the children of God.

Acts 7:51-60; Joshua 2:1-21; Matthew 14:22-32 | We are all born sinners, condemned under the law because of our sin. But Jesus died for our sins, forgives us and makes us the sons of God. This is the new song the Luther learned to sing. This is the new song that we learn to sing. That we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Matthew 22:15-22 |   Background The Pharisees were the ultimate nationalists. And they thought this was the correct understanding of the Old Testament. Israel was God’s Kingdom. To promote and support a free Jewish nation was the will of God. To support a foreign ruler over Israel was contrary to the will of God. It was blasphemy. The

John 6:40; Romans 12:1-2 | It is a common lie of Satan especially in our day that because God loves you, therefore you should do whatever makes you happy and God will be ok with that. God does want you to be happy, but it exactly for this reason that he wants what is best for you.