If you were put in charge of running the universe for a week, imagine the important concerns that would occupy your mind: Making sure that the heavenly bodies remained in their orbits, causing the water cycle to nurture the earth, painting an sunset that ran from the north pole to the south and traveled…

There are two kinds of righteousness that matter in the life of a Christian. First, there is the righteousness that avails before men. Are you known for being a good, kind, and compassionate person? Do you have a good reputation with your family, friends, and peers? Do people trust you and generally…

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets” ( Lk 5:5 ). We all know that Peter said a lot of dumb things. He often put his foot in his mouth. But these words, recorded in Luke 5 , are probably the second best thing Peter ever said. “At…

Our text this morning is taken from St. Paul’s Epistle to the church of Rome: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” ( Ro 8:18 ). Suffering is unavoidable. It’s the consequence of living in a broken and sinful world.…

If someone asked you to talk about the moment you became a Christian, how would you answer? Many people would say, “On such and such day, I committed my life to Christ. I remember the moment that I invited Jesus into my heart. When I was twelve, I made a decision to follow Jesus. I was lost in sin, but…

It is important to read the Scriptures, not as isolated verses, but within the context of the passages that come before and after. Our text this morning, from the second half of Luke chapter 14, is a good example of why understanding context is important. Jesus tells a parable about a king who gave a…

It could be easy to read a message into our gospel text that Jesus is not saying. He is not championing the values of the Marxist revolution that is currently sweeping our nation. Jesus is not teaching us that rich people go to hell and poor people automatically go to heaven. That may a popular teaching…

Holy Trinity is unique among the festivals of the church year. Every other occasion is based on a physical event in which our Lord was present in a particular time and place: His birth, His death, His resurrection and ascension. But the festival of the Holy Trinity is unlike any other. Today we are presented…

Pentecost means fifty. The feast of Pentecost was celebrated every year by the Jewish people, fifty days after the feast of Passover. Passover got its name when the Angel of Death passed through the land of Egypt during the final and greatest plague, killing the firstborn son in every home. But the Israelites…

Christians all across the country are asking, “Is it safe yet to go back to church? Has the governor given us permission to meet? What do the CDC and Dr. Fauci have to say about reopening our churches?” Way back in March, with the support of the elders and church councils, I made the decision to suspend…