Peculiar People: A Lenten Study of 1 Peter (Part 1)

Taught by Pastor Matt Doebler---Pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Norfolk, VA.

tlcnorfolk.com

Summary

What does it mean to be a “peculiar people”? In this opening message of our Lenten study of 1 Peter, we explore how the Church is called “peculiar” not because we are strange, but because we are God’s treasured possession — chosen, set apart, and marked as his own.

Peter writes to believers as elect exiles, people who live in the world but belong to another kingdom. Through Christ’s resurrection and the work of the Holy Spirit, we are born again into a living hope and an inheritance that cannot fade. Even in trials, God refines our faith and fills us with a joy rooted in the salvation already at work among us.

As living stones built upon Christ the cornerstone, we are formed into a holy household — a royal priesthood called to offer spiritual sacrifices of prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and lives shaped by mercy. Our calling is not merely to be different, but to proclaim the excellencies of the One who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This sermon invites us to remember who we are, whose we are, and how that identity shapes the way we live as God’s peculiar people in the world.

"In the Shattered Bliss of Eden"

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent

Sermon Text: Genesis 3:1-21 (mankind's fall into sin)

In the beginning, God created Eden as a paradise of communion, blessing, and life with Him—but through Adam’s sin humanity lost that home and became exiles marked by shame, fear, and death. This sermon traces the fall from paradise and shows how Christ, the faithful second Adam, enters our wilderness, resists the serpent, and ultimately restores what was lost through His cross. At Calvary, the tree of death becomes the tree of life, where Christ bears exile, curse, and forsakenness so that sinners may be brought back into God’s presence. The Church is proclaimed as this new Paradise—where God’s Word is heard, where baptism clothes us in righteousness, and where Christ feeds His people from the tree of life in the Lord’s Supper. Though we still walk by faith amid temptation, believers are no longer exiles but restored children of God, living in the promise of the new creation already begun in Christ.

Preacher: Rev. Matt Doebler, pastor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norfolk, VA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (LCMS)⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TLCnorfolk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our mission is to make disciples and make them stronger through Word and Sacrament. (Mt. 28: 18-20)

One Body: The Person of Jesus Christ, Part 5

Lesson 19 in our series (series began September 7, 2025)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to view the lesson slides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Lesson Highlights

This One Body lesson continues the study of Christ’s two natures by reviewing the communication of attributes and introducing the third genus (genus apotelesmaticum), which emphasizes that both Christ’s divine and human natures work together in His saving mission. The discussion connects Christology directly to the Lord’s Supper, explaining how Jesus can truly give His body and blood according to His word, not human reason, and why Lutheran teaching rejects purely symbolic views. The class also explores Christ’s humiliation and revelation of glory through signs and miracles, clarifies how Old Testament sacrifices pointed forward to Christ’s perfect sacrifice, and shows that redemption required a Savior who is fully God and fully man. The lesson concludes by emphasizing that these theological distinctions are not abstract speculation but essential for rightly confessing Christ, receiving comfort from the sacraments, and understanding the Gospel with maturity and confidence.

Scriptures Referenced

Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; John 2:1–11; John 6:51–58; John 20:19–29; Galatians 4:4–5; 1 John 1:7; Hebrews 2:14–15; Genesis 3:15; Romans 3:21–26; Revelation 21:1–5

One Body: The Person of Jesus Christ, Part 4

Lesson 18 in our series (series began September 7, 2025)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to view the lesson slides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Lesson Highlights

In this One Body lesson, we continue exploring the two natures of Christ and how they communicate within the one person of Jesus. Building on the genus idiomaticum, this session focuses on the genus maiestaticum—how Christ’s divine majesty is communicated to His human nature. Scripture teaches that in Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” meaning the eternal Son truly took on human flesh without ceasing to be fully God.

This has profound implications for Christ’s exaltation and for the Lord’s Supper, where the risen and ascended Christ gives His true body and blood according to His promise. Rather than subjecting Christ to the limits of human reason, we submit our understanding to Scripture’s revelation: the God-man is present with His Church, reigning in glory, and still giving Himself for us.

Scriptures Referenced

John 1:1, 14; Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38; Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3; 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Colossians 2:9; Matthew 28:18–20; 1 Corinthians 2:8; Galatians 3:28; Revelation 7:9

"Fake Plastic Righteousness"

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany

Sermon Text: Isaiah 58:3-9 (not the fast I have chosen); Matthew 5: 13-20 (you are salt and light)

Jesus calls His people “salt” and “light,” but the Ten Commandments quickly reveal how easily that calling collapses under the weight of our sin and our tendency toward a fake, performative righteousness. Instead of relaxing God’s law, the sermon points to Christ, who keeps it perfectly in our place and becomes the faithful neighbor we have failed to be. His righteousness is given to us as a gift, restoring our saltiness and making our light shine. From that mercy flows real, imperfect but genuine good works—lived not to earn the kingdom, but because we already belong to it through repentance, forgiveness, and life in Christ.

Preacher: Rev. Matt Doebler, pastor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norfolk, VA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (LCMS)⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TLCnorfolk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our mission is to make disciples and make them stronger through Word and Sacrament. (Mt. 28: 18-20)

One Body: The Person of Jesus Christ, Part 3

Lesson 17 in our series (series began September 7, 2025)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to view the lesson slides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Lesson Highlights

The focus returns to the central question: what do the Scriptures teach us to confess about Jesus Christ, and why is that confession comforting. The class begins exploring how Jesus can be fully God and fully man at the same time, and why that unique reality matters for salvation, worship, and the Lord’s Supper.

The starting point is the incarnation. The eternal Son of God—the Word (Logos)—does not change or become “less God,” but truly takes on human flesh. From that point forward, the one person Jesus Christ is the God-Man: one Christ with two complete natures, divine and human, united in what the Church calls the personal union.

Historic Christian teaching is introduced through the Council of Chalcedon and the Athanasian Creed. Jesus is confessed as equal to the Father with respect to His divinity, and less than the Father with respect to His humanity. This helps Christians speak carefully and faithfully when Scripture says things like “the Father is greater than I,” without splitting Jesus into two separate persons.

A key principle is emphasized: Christians talk about the person, not the natures as if they act independently. The one Christ does miracles, suffers, dies, and saves. The class also explains why the Church often describes the personal union “by negation,” guarding the mystery by saying what it is not: the natures are united without confusion, without change, without division, and without separation.

The lesson introduces Martin Chemnitz and his helpful categories for describing how the two natures relate within the one person of Christ. The first category, the genus idiomaticum, explains why it is faithful to say things that sound paradoxical—such as “God died” or “Mary is the mother of God”—because the subject is always the one person Jesus Christ, who is both God and man.

Finally, the discussion highlights how genealogies and biblical promises show God faithfully preserving the promised line of the Messiah. Once Christ has come, the goal of those genealogies is fulfilled, and the Church becomes one people in Christ drawn from every nation, tribe, and tongue.

Scriptures Referenced

John 1:1–14Matthew 28:18John 14:28Genesis 3:15Romans 9:51 Corinthians 2:81 Timothy 2:5Galatians 3:28
Revelation 7:9 (allusion)

"The Light of Christ for the Land of Death"

Sermon for the Third Sunday After the Epiphany

Sermon Text: Isaiah 9:1-4 (a light for those in darkness); Matthew 4: 12-25 (Jesus preaches and calls disciples)

The lands of Zebulun and Naphtali are types of the spiritual darkness that results from man's desire to have "freedom" apart from God. We see this same darkness in our time, namely in the movement to enshrine abortion rights in the name of freedom and autonomy. Yet into places marked by death and despair, the Lord sends light. Jesus Christ, the eternal Word made flesh, comes preaching repentance and waging war against the devil’s domain through His healing, teaching, and saving work. His light does not affirm sin but scatters it, calling sinners out of darkness into forgiveness, life, and salvation through His cross. Those who have been enlightened by His Word, washed in Baptism, and fed at His table are now called to reflect that same light in the world—speaking truth with courage, showing mercy to the broken, defending life, and proclaiming that no one is beyond the reach of Christ’s forgiveness.

Preacher: Rev. Matt Doebler, pastor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norfolk, VA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (LCMS)⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TLCnorfolk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our mission is to make disciples and make them stronger through Word and Sacrament. (Mt. 28: 18-20)

"Come and See"

Sermon for the Second Sunday After the Epiphany

Sermon Text: John 1:29-42 (Jesus invites disciples to "come and see")

When Jesus invites Andrew and the others to “Come and see,” he calls them not only to witness where he dwells, but to behold who he is and what he has come to do. He is the Lamb of God who reconciles sinners to the Father by serving, suffering, and dying in their place—accomplishing forgiveness entirely apart from human effort. This reconciliation is freely given and continually delivered as God serves his people through Word and Sacrament in the Divine Service. Yet the invitation does not end with forgiveness; those who have been reconciled are called to live in imitation of Christ, walking together as one body united in confession, obedience, and love. Shared faith and shared teaching shape the Church’s worship, life, and unity, patiently drawing believers deeper into Christ’s truth. The call remains open: come and see what Christ has done, receive his gifts, and walk together as his disciples in light and faith.

Preacher: Rev. Matt Doebler, pastor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norfolk, VA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (LCMS)⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TLCnorfolk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our mission is to make disciples and make them stronger through Word and Sacrament. (Mt. 28: 18-20)

One Body: The Person of Jesus Christ, Part 2

Lesson 16 in our series (series began September 7, 2025)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to view the lesson slides⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Lesson Highlights

This lesson continues our study of the person of Jesus Christ by focusing on what it means to confess that he is true man. This confession stands alongside the truth that Jesus is also true God and is essential to understanding salvation itself.

Scripture reveals Christ’s true humanity through God’s promises in the Old Testament. From the seed of the woman in Genesis, to the blessing promised through Abraham, to the everlasting king from David’s line, the Messiah is consistently revealed as one who would be fully human. Daniel’s vision of the “Son of Man” points to a figure who is both human and divine.

The New Testament confirms this witness through Jesus’ genealogies, his baptism, temptation, suffering, death, burial, and bodily resurrection. Jesus lives a fully human life and rises bodily from the grave, showing that human bodies matter to God and will be restored in the resurrection.

Jesus becomes man for one purpose: redemption. As the Son of Man, he takes humanity’s place under the law, bears sin, and pays the debt owed by human beings. Only a true man can redeem mankind, and only one who is also true God can accomplish that redemption fully.

Early church errors that denied or diminished Christ’s humanity threatened the Gospel itself. If Christ is not fully human, he cannot be humanity’s kinsman-redeemer. Scripture teaches that what Christ does not assume, he does not redeem.

Jesus’ humanity is unique in that he is conceived by the Holy Spirit and without sin. In this way, he reveals true humanity as God intended it to be—faithful, obedient, and restored—pointing forward to the resurrection life promised to all who are in him.

Scriptures Referenced

Genesis 3:15; 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Daniel 7:13–14; Matthew 1:21; Matthew 20:28; Luke 3:21–38; Galatians 4:4–5; Hebrews 2:14–17

"Backwards Baptism"

Sermon for The Baptism of Our Lord, Year A

Sermon Text: Matt. 3:17-17 (Jesus is baptized); Rom. 6:1-11 (baptized into Christ)

Jesus’ baptism reveals the shocking heart of God’s salvation, as the sinless Son steps into the waters meant for repentant sinners and allows himself to be counted among the guilty. John the Baptist’s protest highlights the great reversal taking place: Jesus, the faithful Son and true Israel, comes to stand in the place of faithless Israel and bear the sins of the world. In this moment, the great exchange begins—Christ takes upon himself sin, guilt, and death so that sinners may receive his righteousness, innocence, and life. As the Father declares Jesus his beloved Son and the Spirit descends upon him, the Holy Trinity is revealed acting together for the salvation of all nations. What begins at the Jordan is completed at the cross and now delivered to believers through baptism, where sinners are washed clean, united to Christ, and given a new identity as God’s beloved children.

Preacher: Rev. Matt Doebler, pastor of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Norfolk, VA⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (LCMS)⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TLCnorfolk.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Our mission is to make disciples and make them stronger through Word and Sacrament. (Mt. 28: 18-20)