Treasures New and Old

(Text: 1 Kings 19:1-18) When Queen Jezebel threatens Elijah's life, he runs into the wilderness and gives up hope. To his surprise, God sends an angel (or messenger) to him with food and water to sustain him on his journey. In our deserts, too, God sends messengers to sustain us. We give thanks to God for the ordinary saints God uses to sustain us.

(Text: 1 Kings 5:1-5, 8:1-13) Again and again, God's people create for themselves idolatries of glory, and put their trust in impressive structures rather than God's eternal word. And again and again, God's people need prophets to call them back to the center. Whether 3,000 years ago, 500 years ago, or today, the need for reformation stays the same.

(Text: 1 Samuel 16:1-13) When Saul is no longer fit to rule over Israel, God chooses a David, the youngest of his brothers, to be king. God's choice is surprising, because God doesn't choose according to human reckoning, but according to God's own judgment.

(Text: 1 Samuel 3) At a key moment in Israel's history, God's call comes to Samuel, the servant of Eli the priest. At first, Samuel assumes it is Eli calling and goes to him. Finally, after some wise counsel from Eli, God calls Samuel a fourth time, and Samuel receives his call to be a prophet. Like with Samuel, God's call in our lives often comes at times and by means we don't expect. Are you listening for God's call in your life?

(Text: Exodus 2:23--3:15, 4:10-17) Wandering in the wilderness with little to eat, the Israelites wish they had never been set free from Egypt. In our wilderness times of chaos and uncertainty, we also often long for "the good old days" when things were simpler or more comfortable. However, in looking backwards we can easily miss how God provides for us now in the present.

(Text: Exodus 2:23--3:15, 4:10-17) When God reveals the divine name 'Yahweh' to Moses at the burning bush, it isn't some mystery to be solved, but the handle God's people can use to be in relationship with the God of their ancestors. God desires to be in relationship with us, and to do this, God has given us a name we can use to "call on, pray to, praise, and give thanks to God."

(Text: Psalm 32, 1 John 1:8-2:2) While not technically a sacrament, Confession and Absolution is certainly a means of grace. In the practice of confession our sins and hearing God's forgiveness, we are no longer excusers, but forgivers. Rather than making excuses to justify ourselves and others, we rely on the forgiveness of Jesus, who takes away the sin of the world. (Part 4 of a four-part series on sacraments)

(Text: Psalm 46, Acts 2:37-42) In Holy Baptism, we receive the fullness of God in the promise of salvation, love, and the forgiveness of sins. In this self-giving, God becomes for us a refuge in a world of trouble, delivering us from fears of every sort. Though our planet, our nation, and our selves are in an uproar, God’s word of promise holds ever true. (Part 3 of a four-part series on sacraments)

(Text: 1 Samuel 21:1-9, Matthew 12:1-8) One of the things we, as Lutheran Christians, take seriously is our liturgy, or pattern of worship. But for all the beauty and importance of the rules and guides surrounding our worship, it exists only to show forth one jewel: the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. (Part 2 of a four-part series on sacraments)

(Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34) In 1 Corinthians, Paul is writing to a church troubled by divisions, and in our reading, he lays out for them the seriousness of Holy Communion. How should we approach this sacrament properly? Who is really worthy to receive it? (Part 1 of a four-part series on sacraments)