I've had an Epiphany!

Artwork: Crucifixion Artist: Tintoretto Date: 1565   Worship Theme: Murderous criminals usually do not relax in lush gardens with kings. But King Jesus told the suddenly repentant man on the cross next to him: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” What royalty! What grace!   Old Testament: Genesis 49:8-12 " Judah , your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. 9 You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness-- who dares to rouse him? 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. 11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes...

Time May Be Running Out For those over 70.5 years of age the opportunity to make tax-free distributions from traditional Individual Retirements Accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes will expire at year’s end unless Congress takes further action. ·         These distributions are not counted as taxable income. ·         Required minimum distributions (RMD) won’t be taxed, even if you do not itemize deductions. ·         Each IRA owner can give up to $100,000. This type of gift is especially appropriate for those who: ·         do not itemize deductions. ·         would not be able to deduct all charitable deductions because of deduction limitations. ·         are required to take RMDs but do not need them for living expenses. Consult your tax and/or fi...

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God , for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. One of the most popular hymns in recent years is “In Christ Alone.” Here at Epiphany, we sing the hymn at the end of every Reformation service – as we did last week – because ...

Artwork: Worthy is the Lamb Artist: Jonathan Mayer Location: Scapegoat Studio, Seward , Nebraska   Jonathan Mayer is a WELS member and artist. Check out his artwork: Scapegoat Studio on Facebook  or Jonathan Meyer's blog.   Worship Theme: The relationship between God and his saints will last into eternity.   Old Testament: Isaiah 65:17-25 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a ...

“In Christ Alone” is one of our congregation’s favorite hymns. It is a powerful and poignant hymn that we have sung regularly at the end of our Reformation and Easter services, for graduation services and Training Camp Sundays, and even for Christian funerals in our church. But did you know that not everybody likes this new hymn? There is a church body in America that has recently rejected this hymn from its new hymnal. Find out this Sunday why the wrath of this particular church body was raised by the wording in this hymn.   This Sunday we celebrate The Last Judgment. We focus on the wrath of God poured out on unbelievers who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior. But we also focus on the salvation of God poured out on believers who have received Jesus Christ as Savior. We examine what kind of God does the Bible present to Christians. Is He a just God? Or is He a forgiving God? The answer to both questions is … YES.       The 2 nd Sunday in the c...

October 19, 1989 , 5:04 PM in San Francisco . When the Loma Prieta earthquake rumbled, Dan was on the 32 nd floor of a swaying high rise. Of course the phones went dead, so he couldn’t call to make sure his daughter was safe. The elevators didn’t work, so when the swaying building stood straight once again, he hiked down the stairwell to his car. Out on the street, the stoplights were not functioning—whereupon he witnessed a rather amazing thing. People were not jamming the intersections with panic. Even though many were probably going home to make sure everybody was safe and to see what the damage was, the drivers were politely and courteously taking their turn, waiting, stopping, going; waiting, stopping, going. Nobody was cutting through. Nobody was leaning on their horn. At every intersection, it was as if everybody knew there was a crisis at hand, and they behaved very differently from an ordinary weekday after work.   We as Christians walk through the world differ...