Festival of the Reformation – John 8:31-32 (NKJV) Almighty God, merciful Father, who made the light to shine out of the darkness, we thank You, that You have shown mercy unto us and our spiritual fathers, and by means of Your servant Lu- ther You have restored the pure light of Your Gospel: keep us,…
St. Bartholomew – John 1:43-51 “Seeing is believing.” “What you see is what you get.” These commonly-expressed sentiments illustrate how much value we tend to put on the ability to see things, with our eyes, in our determination of what is true and what is real. Today is the feast day of Nathanael Bartholomew, one…
John 16:23-33 Over the past several years, the phenomenon of Harry Potter has captured the imagination of a large number of America’s children. And I suppose not just children. Harry and his friends are likeable, up-and-coming sorcerers. As such, they always try to come up with the proper magical incantation for any situation, by which…
John 10:22-30 On Good Shepherd Sunday, we are reminded that Jesus is indeed our “Good Shepherd,” and that we are his sheep. Since we are his sheep, he watches over us and protects us. He leads us to green pastures and still waters. He guides us to places of peace and safety. These “pastoral” images…
John 19:31-37 The most common cause of death for a victim of a Roman crucifixion was not the effusion of blood, but was a form of suffocation. Because of the way in which the arms of the victim were outstretched, fluid would begin to build up in his lungs. After a while, then, in order…
John 2:1-11 It’s often the case that pretty much the only time you see certain distant relatives or old friends is at funerals and weddings. Usually, when you do have a chance to visit with these people at an event like this, you are glad that you had that chance. You both may also agree…
