Imagine a beautiful guitar, carefully crafted out of the finest mahogany and steel strings. Now imagine that fine instrument is never played. It is placed atop a bookshelf and never touched. It just collects dust. Tragic, right? What a thing is finds fulfillment when that thing does what it was made to do. Of what use is a guitar that makes no music? What would be the point of turning on a lamp and then throwing a heavy blanket over it. It might still be a lamp, but it provides no light. (It only serves as a fire hazard!) Form and function are intimately connected. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches that the same is true of discipleship. He wants us to see that being a disciple and acting as a disciple are intimately connected. When God called us to faith, he declared that we were something new: light, salt, his children. Jesus now encourages us to be what God says we are, so that God might bless the world through us. As Jesus speaks to us, he means to mold our will to his own.

The Bible reading for this message is Matthew 5:13-20.

Video of this message is available here.

This message is Part 2 in our series: The Savior's Sermon.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a series of blessings. “Blessed are…” Jesus says, again and again. In the Latin translation of the Bible, these all begin with the word beati which translates as “blessed” or “happy.” Thus, this portion of the sermon is often called “The Beatitudes.” We often think of them as the doorway to the Sermon on the Mount, but these statements of blessing had to have given Jesus’s listeners pause.

For what Jesus calls blessed, the world never would. The world praises the strong and the self-sufficient. Jesus calls blessed what others would see as weak or stupid. But, like any good preacher, Jesus is trying to drive home one crucial point. The weaker you are, the more ready you are to rely on God’s strength. The more difficult your present circumstances, the likelier you are to yearn for future reward.

All the readings for today teach this truth. We have no real strength or wisdom of our own, but before God, we don’t need it. Because God’s strength is enough to give the kingdom of heaven to the humble and poor in spirit.

The Bible reading for this message is Matthew 5:1-12.

This message is Part 1 in our series: The Savior's Sermon.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

“Christ” is not Jesus’ last name, of course. It is a title. The Greek word “Christ” and the Hebrew word “Messiah” both mean the same thing—“The Anointed One.” Anointing was the practice of pouring liquid (typically oil) over the head of someone to signify selection for some special task. However, when the Lord anointed heroes to do his saving work, what he poured over them was his Spirit. 

For centuries people of faith had patiently waited for the promised Messiah, the servant of God who would bring the salvation we so desperately need. The time had come for Jesus to be revealed as the fulfillment of that divine promise. So, Christ our Lord came to the Jordan River to be baptized, that he might be recognized by John and revealed to Israel. At his baptism Jesus was anointed—marked as God's special servant and empowered by the Spirit of the Lord. 

The Bible reading for this message is Matthew 3:13-17.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

As the Christmas season comes to a close, we see that the child born in Bethlehem is the Savior who brings light to the nations. This weekend we hear the full account from Matthew 2 as wisemen from afar visit the Christ Child with precious gifts to worship him as the Light of the nations. Yet the darkness of Herod’s hatred threatens to snuff out that Light. The Savior has to flee, but tragedy will follow as Herod commands that all boys around Bethlehem two years old and younger are to be put to death. Yet Herod was not able to cut down the Christ Child, and horror gives way to hope, as one hymnwriter wrote, “O Rachel, Rachel, weep no more, your sons shall dry your tears. For flowers bloom where darkness loomed, since Christ our Light appears.”

The Bible reading for this message is three separate portions of Matthew 2 - Matthew 2:1-12; Matthew 2:13-18; Matthew 2:19-23.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 4 in our series: A Savior Is Born.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

We find ourselves in a unique place this weekend. On the one hand, our celebrations of the Child born to the Virgin Mary on that first Christmas continue. On the other hand, this weekend bridges our journey from the close of 2022 to the opening of 2023. This weekend we look back at the joys and sorrows, the blessings and the challenges, the additions and the losses, the consequences of sin and the outpourings of God’s grace. At the same time, we see all that through the saving work of the Child of Bethlehem, born to be rescue us from sin and death. That Child first came to bless us through his saving work. That Child has come to bless us now as he provides for us through the vocations of others and the Gospel in Word and Sacraments. That Child has also come to bless us not just now, but forever as has promised. This Savior is born to bless us as we look back to the past year and look ahead to the future. Glory to God in the highest!

The Bible reading for this message is Psalm 121.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 3 in our series: A Savior Is Born.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

For centuries on Christmas Day, the Church has read chapter one of St. John’s Gospel. There, in just a few simple words, Scripture describes the indescribable: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). The word God had spoken in the Garden, promising to send a Savior who was part of mankind, came true. God himself became flesh and blood—to be born under law, to suffer, and to die that he might redeem us. God came into our broken world to dwell for a time, so that one day we might go to God’s perfect home and dwell for all eternity. 

Unlike the Christmas Eve shepherds, we cannot see Christ with our eyes. Yet still he dwells among us, because he is the Word made flesh. As we listen to the Word today, we truly are hearing the voice of Christ. As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we partake of his true body and blood. In Word and sacrament, still today, our Savior dwells among us, feeding our faith, preparing us for our true home. 

The Bible reading for this message is Hebrews 1:1-9.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 2 in our series: A Savior Is Born.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Families cherish their Christmas traditions. When it comes to family Christmases, people generally don’t like things to change. Christmas traditions are wonderful, but make no mistake about it. Christmas is all about change. Jesus came to change the world by becoming part of the world. Because we are part of the world, that means Christmas changes us too. This Christmas Eve, see how! 

The Bible reading for this message is Luke 2:6-14.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 1 in our series: A Savior Is Born.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

During this time of year, it is so easy to get caught up in the beautiful trappings of Christmas and forget why this birth had to take place. Mankind fell into sin. Sin brings an awful burden. Hatred and oppression. Suffering and pain. Guilt and shame. The devastation of death. These are all natural consequences of sin, but what can we do about any of it? Nothing of substance. We can numb ourselves to pain, but we cannot avoid it. We can fill our life with distractions in an attempt to forget about our guilt. Yet our conscience is always nagging. And death… no one avoids that. 

None of us can do anything to shake off the burden of sin. Therefore, the Church prays that God would come in power to remove that burden for us. Since the Garden, there has been only one plan to do that: God would take on flesh and blood. To do what mankind could not do—remove all the burdens of sin—God became man. When you look into the manger, what do you see? A baby? Yes. But, more. That is Immanuel, “God-with-us.” The Son of God became Mary’s son, so that he could do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

The Bible reading for this message is Matthew 1:18-25.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 4 in our series: Come, Lord Jesus.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Humanity wants a made-to-order Messiah. We want the Savior we want. The Jews wanted a political Messiah who would remove Roman oppression and reestablish the kingdom of Israel. The generic Christian of today wants a Messiah who is a good teacher and an inspiration for brotherly love. 

Even faithful Christians face the temptation of a made-to-order Messiah. We want a Messiah who isn’t bothered by the sin that keeps cropping up in our life, who doesn’t call for total dedication but is fine if we only want a relaxed association with him. We want a Messiah who dispenses blessings liberally, to ensure that our life is blessed, as we would like to define it. 

That is not the Messiah who came. Jesus defies the expectations of Israel, the world, and us. Jesus reminds us that “blessed” is a term that he defines, and it begins with not rejecting the Messiah because he fails to meet our expectations. One proof that Jesus is the Messiah is that he fulfilled every prophecy. Therefore, blessed people respond to adverse circumstances with patient waiting and confidence that, at just the right time, their Messiah will fix all that is broken in their lives. 

The Bible reading for this message is Matthew 11:2-11.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 3 in our series: Come, Lord Jesus.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

When Jesus comes back as judge, all people will either be judged righteous and experience the peace and joys of Paradise or they will be judged wicked and suffer unquenchable fire (Matthew 3).

John the Baptizer’s job was to point to the only way to prepare for a judgment, one where the stakes are that high. Repent! And look to the Lord Jesus. For when Jesus came into our world the first time, it was not as judge, but as Savior. All those whose faith is in Christ have already been judged righteous.

Please, take these words to heart: the reign of God draws near, and his judgment is inevitable. As John the Baptizer once said, “All people will see God’s salvation.” The only question is if one sees Christ’s second coming with joy or regret. For those who fail to repent, the coming of the Judge brings certain doom. Yet his people will see that Judge like a banner on the hilltop, rallying us to his glorious side.

The Bible reading for this message is Isaiah 11:1-10.

Video of this worship service and message can be found here.

This message is Part 2 in our series: Come, Lord Jesus.

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Messages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.

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Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!