Jesus spoke to His apostles saying, " These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). These are the concluding words that He spoke in His little sermon that begins by preaching, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the...
Jesus spoke to His apostles saying, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27). Now, when we hear the word peace we think of something like peace of mind, a calm...
One of the greatest things that brings me joy, and I pray it brings you joy as well, are the words of Holy Absolution. Luther speaks about this in the Small Catechism concerning the Office of the Keys saying, "What do you believe according to these words? I believe that when the called ministers...
No one likes being disciplined. No child wakes up wanting to get a spanking, nor does a teenager want cellphone privileges taken away. No young adult wants to get fired, and the veteran at work doesn't desire to get yelled at for making the same mistakes over and over again. In short, no one...
In the Words of Institution, our Lord Jesus The Christ says, "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). What does Jesus mean by this? Does He mean...
Every Sunday in the liturgy, we are blessed to have what is called a lectionary, or a set of readings for every Sunday and Feast Day in the Church Year. There are specific readings for certain days like Easter, Christmas Eve, Pentecost, Trinity VII, and Epiphany II. Why does the church do this?...
C.S. Lewis once mused about Christianity saying, "I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” This is a very popular quote from...
God helps those who help themselves. Benjamin Franklin said this in Poor Richards Almanac and there are a plethora of other places where we find this quote. People usually say it because it empowers man and holds him accountable. God doesn't help those who mess up, but rather He helps those who...
Today is the feast of the Ascension of our Lord Christ. Today, we celebrate the Man's Victory, for God became man and is now seated at the Right Hand of the Father, ruling over all as the victor over the grave. Jesus ascended into the heavens and by appearance, it looks like Jesus is gone for...
Jesus says in Luke, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13 NKJV). This is the constant struggle for we the baptized. What does it mean to serve...