Jesus is risen! This simple truth has changed everything. It means that this world is not what most people think it is. It means that death and the power of death are illusions. It also means that the gospel is true. Jesus says, "Whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out." Instead of counting our sins against us, our Lord Jesus counts our sins as His own and "bears them in His body on the tree." He is risen to be Pastor and Bishop of our souls, to forgive our sins, to create in us clean hearts and renew in us right spirits through His almighty word and holy sacraments.

A series of homilies on the seven words of Christ from the cross.

The first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, who was also a Jewish priest, gives us an idea of what the Passover would have been like at the time of Jesus. According to Josephus' calculations there would have been around 2.7 million Jews celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem, and over 256,000 Passover lambs slain. The blood of the Passover lambs was poured over the altar in the Temple. The amount of blood is hard to fathom. As the author of Hebrews says, "without blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins." The Jewish Mishnah and the second-century church father, Justin Martyr, both report that the Passover lambs were then roasted on sticks, one vertical and the other horizontal, giving the appearance that the Passover lambs were "crucified" while roasted over the fire. All of these things help us better understand what Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed."

As is the custom at Faith Lutheran Church, Pastor Rhode has written a letter to the confirmands. "Confirmands" are young students, usually 8th-graders, who have finished a two-year course on Luther's Small Catechism that is taught by the pastor. This year, pastor's letter (and sermon) is based on Philippians chapter 2. What does it mean to "count equality with God a thing to be grasped"? What is likely the greatest threat to the faith of our youth? How can a young person find his way?

"My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue sticks to My jaws; You lay Me down in the dust of death." On the cross, our Lord Jesus experienced unspeakable thirst. Find out why. Find out what this means for us.

After weeping over Jerusalem and after cleansing the Temple, Jesus spent His last days before the cross teaching the people and preaching the gospel. Not everyone liked what He had to say. The chief priests, scribes, and elders of Jerusalem sought to silence Jesus and His message of God's grace and forgiveness for all. So Jesus preached a sermon against them: the parable of the wicked tenants. While the parable was indeed against them, Jesus was telling them precisely what they needed to hear. In rejecting Jesus, they were choosing destruction. Jesus did not want this for them. He desired that they too would come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. The most astonishing thing about Jesus' sermon, however, was neither the wickedness of the tenants nor the fact that they finally get what they deserve. The most astonishing thing is the "foolish" grace and mercy of the vineyard owner and our God.

Lutherans have always insisted that "Mother of God" is an appropriate title for Mary. This sermon explains why, and gives insight into the important role that Mary played in the life and death of her Son and our Savior. We see, too, that even when Jesus was on the cross, He cared not for Himself but for others - His mother included. As Jesus gives Mary as a mother to John, and John as a son to Mary, we see also a picture of the new family that Jesus gives to each one of us.

The parable of the lost sheep, isn't about the lost sheep. The parable of the lost coin, isn't about the lost coin. So, too, the parable of the lost son, isn't really about the lost son. What are these parables about? In one sense, they're all about Jesus. But how so? And how is the parable of the lost son often misinterpreted in our own context? Take a listen and rediscover the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents!

The self-consciousness, embarrassment, and shame connected with nakedness are reminders of our direct connection to Adam and Eve. When they sinned against God they realized, for the first time, that they were naked. They were ashamed and sewed fig-leaves together, but God clothed them instead with the skins of an animal. The same God now clothes us in Christ. On the cross, Christ was stripped naked, that we who are naked in our sins might be covered by the seamless robe of His righteousness.

What did Jesus have to say about the headlines of His own time? And what does that mean for the headlines of our own? Does the imminent threat of violence or disaster merely fill us with anxiety, or is there something more?