Pastor Scamman

In the weeks leading up to Election Day, I’m sure you saw plenty of political ads on TV, lawn signs scattered across town, and even a politician or two going door to door campaigning for your vote. Perhaps the only place you did not encounter any politicking was here at church, and rightly so. This pulpit…

St. Paul tells us that “the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” ( 1 Cor. 2:14 ). The natural man, that is, the sinful nature, cannot understand anything that belongs to God, and what…

The fact that we baptize infants in a great offense to much of the Protestant church. “We are saved by faith alone,” they cry, “and not by works. Therefore, baptism, which is a work, cannot save.” How do we answer this? Yes, baptism is a work, but it is not a work of man. It is the work of God. The infant…

When you see the word, “behold,” in a biblical text, it means that something important or something unusual is taking place. The Holy Spirit is telling you to take note. We find this word once in our Gospel text. Without looking, I’d like you to try to remember which part of the story is prefaced by…

The pagans of old understood that all worship requires sacrifice. Worship must be costly, or else it is not true worship. And so they willingly sacrificed their grain and wine, their sheep and oxen, and even their own children upon the altars of their demon gods. If anything good can be said about the…

As Jesus prepares to enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he looks out upon that great city of the nation of Israel, the first-born son of God whom He led out of Egypt with signs and wonders, the nation that grumbled and backslid in the wilderness, the wayward children that stoned the prophets of God and…

“First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye” ( Lk 6:42 ). This is a command from Jesus, but a command that many Christians are likely to ignore. Why? “Because,” we might say, “obviously Jesus must be talking to someone else,…

Our text this morning is taken from the final chapter of Micah, particularly the last three verses: “Who is a God like you, taking away guilt and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love. He will return…

Jesus’ parable of the Great Supper teaches us of the doctrine of election. Salvation originates not within the heart of man, but within the heart of our merciful God. Consider how urgently the Lord extends His invitation to the banquet. Again and again He sends His servants out—to three different groups…

In the Apostles’ Creed we confess, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” Each statement of faith is one link in the chain of salvation that begins with the Holy Spirit and ends…