There are great benefits to using our wonderful Lutheran chorales in worship. They do not entertain us, and are not intended to entertain us. But, they do edify us and build us up spiritually. The classic chorales are of a high devotional quality, in view of their Christ-centered biblical content and their good literary form.…
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…
Psalm 98 The traditional Latin name for this Sunday of the church year is “Cantate.” It means “Sing,” and is taken from Psalm 98, which for many centuries has been associated with this Sunday. We chanted a portion of this Psalm a few minutes ago. But it would be beneficial for us to consider the…
Hebrews 12:1-3 After describing the struggles, the triumphs, and especially the enduring faith of many saints of God from the days of the Old Testament, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, at the beginning of chapter 12 of that epistle, gives us this encouragement: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so…
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…
EXORDIUM Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! It was said by a certain president of our country many years ago, that the landing of astronauts on the moon in 1969 was the greatest event in human history. He was wrong. What we celebrate today was the greatest event in human history. The sad reality…
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! We believe that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross for our sins, that he was buried, and that, on the third day, he rose bodily from the grave. This is a part of what we confess in the Nicene Creed, almost in these exact words. But why…
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…
The institution of the Lord’s Supper by our Savior Jesus Christ, on the night in which he was betrayed, is recorded in three of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – and in St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. But in these four inspired accounts, the descriptions of exactly what Jesus said are…
Matthew 27:15-26 Barabbas is described in today’s text from St. Matthew, as a “notorious” criminal. St. Mark’s Gospel adds the detail that he was an insurrectionist and a murderer. And St. John’s Gospel tells us that he was a robber. It’s easy to see why he was notorious. As an insurrectionist, he was a flagrant…