I've had an Epiphany!

Psalm 46:1-3, 11 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2  Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3  though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. … 11  The  Lord  Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Growing up on our farm, as the oldest child, I would often have to go out late at night to feed the animals. With only a single light pole by the barn, it was pretty dark and kind of spooky. Plus, I always had to keep my head on a swivel. We had a mean, white rooster with long spurs on his legs. He liked to hide in the rafters of the barn and dive-bomb at my head. If that wasn’t bad enough, we also had an angry mother sheep who didn’t like people. Whenever your back was turned, she would run up behind you to headbutt you in the behind. Even without the kamikaze chick...

Art: Martin Luther (1529) Artist: Lucas Cranach the Elder Worship Theme: Lord, keep us faithful to your Word! The Festival of the Lutheran Reformation of the Church emphasizes the true Church’s unfailing reliance on the Word of God and unflinching testimony to it in the face of persecution. Jesus promised to pour out his Spirit on the Church that we might be God’s mouthpiece even before kings. Today the Church prays that the Lord give us to strength to be faithful and the peace of knowing our lives are safe in his hands. Old Testament: Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23 Daniel in the lions’ den 10 Now, when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. It had windows on its upper story that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times each day he would get on his knees and pray and offer praise before his God. He continued to do that just as he had been doing before this. 11 Then these men came as a group and found Daniel praying and seeking favor from his G...

Roman 8:18-25 18  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.  19  For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.  20  For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it—in the hope  21  that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God’s children.  22  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.  23  And not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24  Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?  25  But if we hope ...

Wedding sermon for Peter & Stephanie Hayes Ephesians 5:21-33 21  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.   24  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her   26  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,   27  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.   28  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.   29  After all, no one ever hated their own body, ...

Romans 14:5-9 5  One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.  6  Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God.  7  For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.  8  If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  9  Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over both the dead and the living. Some of you may remember exclusively using the King James Version of the Bible and pages 5 and 15 in The Lutheran Hymnal for worship. Now, we typically use a rotation of four different worship services and have been using three different Bible ...