I've had an Epiphany!

What a series of marvels (literal miracles, but still matters of wonder) is contained in the Genesis account of the origin of marriage.  Man is created from a clod of earth.  Man’s helper is created from a rib, “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.”  Luther points out that if the stars only came out once in a lifetime, we would all stand outdoors at night to stare at them, but because we can see them almost every night, no one even looks out the window at them.  It’s just as easy to take man and woman for granted because we see them all the time, but Genesis shows us how different they are, how miraculous is the creation of their differences. Wouldn’t it seem logical that two human beings who are going to be united for life would be as similar as possible?  After all, don’t men feel best understood by other men, and aren’t women generally convinced that men cannot understand them (a sentiment many men share)?  Yet God brought these two very dif...

Mark 9:38-50 "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." 39 "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. 42 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 44  45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 46  47 And if your eye c...

Artwork: The Paradise Artist: Roelandt Savery Date: 1626 Worship Theme: God’s plan for man was perfect. He created woman for man. They were to “become one flesh”. Sin entered the world and separation replaced union—separation from God and from one another. Bitter marriages and divorces are two examples.  But thanks be to God, Jesus even suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone and create new life and new promise of union. Old Testament: Genesis 2:18-24 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was ...

The fact that the Old Testament and the Gospel lessons  for this Sunday show a similar sin in Joshua and among Christ’s disciples and a similar response from Moses and Jesus should make us pay close attention, because the things that were written in the past were written to teach us (Romans 15:4).  Joshua and the disciples exhibit the same fallen human nature that lives in us, and Moses and Jesus show us godly appreciation and love for others.   Both Moses (Psalm 106:16) and Jesus (Mark 15:10) were the victims of envy.  Envy and jealousy negate the Spirit’s work.  It is healthy for us to look into our own hearts and see where we allow envy or jealousy to divide God’s people and keep us from serving Jesus.  It is Jesus, after all, that we serve and not the glory of our congregation or our personal recognition.  Envy takes our eyes off Jesus.  It takes the joy out of service.  We could understand Joshua’s concern if Medad and Eldad wer...

Mark 9:30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum . When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." 36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me." ...

Worship Theme: Sinners sin. We all sin. But we cannot excuse our sin because we act like others. Sin requires radical surgery. Jesus says: “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off” (Mark 9:43 ). The good news is that Jesus was “cut off” from his own Father through his death on the cross, in order to reunite us with God and with one another. As his servants we are the “salt” of the earth, standing out as we show allegiance to Jesus and the gospel. Old Testament: Numbers 11:16 , 24-29 The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel 's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. … 24 So Moses went out and told the people what the LORD had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took of the Spirit that was on him and put the Spirit on the seventy el...

A great deal has been written about the subject of “servant leadership.”  Jesus said that His followers will not pattern themselves after the world’s forms of leadership, which too often involve domineering and the reliance on compulsion to get their way.  Dictators rise to power because the world respects their ability to get things done, without questioning the leader’s methods.  Successful executives climb the corporate ladder, they say, on the backs of others, and are applauded for their effectiveness. In these verses, Jesus describes servant discipleship – not only in matters of leadership but every way in which we follow Christ, including taking time for children in His name.  It’s true that these words shape Christian leadership, but we can also rejoice that they shape Christian parenting, Christian education, Christian fellowship, Christian charity, Christian worship and every other facet of following Christ. We need this gentle instruction from ...