Easter 7 – Acts 11:1-18 Please listen with me to a reading from the 11th chapter of the Book of Acts, beginning at the 1st verse: Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the…
John 16:23-33 In today’s Gospel from St. John, Jesus says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” This is one of many passages in…
James 1:16-21 If you want to spend the whole day outside, but if you also want to be in the shade all day long, you will probably not be able to stay in one place. Throughout the day, as the sun continually moves across the sky, the shadow that it casts is also going to…
1 John 3:1-3 “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” With these words, the apostle John, in today’s lesson from his First Epistle, describes the situation in which Christians find themselves in this world. Now, when John speaks of the “world” in this sense, he’s not talking…
Easter 2 – John 20:19-31 Many people today believe in life after death and in ghosts. The increasing number of popular ghost-story and ghost-hunting shows on television testifies to this – as does the common notion that the souls of dead loved ones remain with their family members, and watch over them. Many people find…
John 15 A few minutes ago, we sang a well-known Lutheran hymn about the ascension of our Lord that begins with a prayer of thanksgiving that might – at first thought – seem to be expressing an odd and unexpected sentiment: “We thank Thee, Jesus, dearest Friend, That Thou didst into heaven ascend.” If a…
James 1:16-21 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a…
Sermon Text: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Please hear with me a reading from the 13th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, beginning at the 24th verse. Another parable [Jesus] put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his…