I've had an Epiphany!

Many vocations receive specialized training in crisis management.  It’s critically important for 911 operators to keep calm as they handle one crisis after another.  It takes quite a bit of skill for a counselor to speak to someone contemplating suicide.  Firefighters, policemen and EMTs are highly trained to handle a variety of crises. Not every crisis has a happy ending.  It is estimated that over the course of their careers, oncologists will break bad news to patients more than 20,000 times.  When you meet with the boss, sometimes you don’t receive a raise; you receive a pink slip.  Oftentimes the police must notify the coroner and the next of kin at the scene of a crime.  Christians are well aware that when you live in a veil of tears, there will be sorrow. You can’t help but be struck that Jesus was a man of the people.  He didn’t hide in an office and produce excellent looking service folders and newsletters.  He walked and ...

Mark 4:35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" 41 They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" The sun is shining. It is a peaceful day. A few friends and family members are getting together inside the church for Bible study. A new visitor has even joined them on this day. ...

Daughter of Jairus Joseph Brickey Worship Theme: What are we to think when a baby dies? Or a 12 year-old girl? Or we, at any age, see death looming? ‘Believe only’ Jesus said. Is that ‘just believe’ as if believing is something easy, or minor? No. He means no fear!  Believe only. God calls us away from all trust in ourselves or anyone else to rely only in him and his promises in Christ, our Risen Savior. Old Testament: 2 Samuel 12:11 "This is what the LORD says: 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel .'" 13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have mad...

There is a hubris about our world today.  Everyone is smarter than God.  Just ask them.  Science has uncovered God’s mysteries.  Who would bother to yield to the wisdom of a book?  It’s dehumanizing and insulting - can’t you think for yourself?  Haven’t you heard?  The world has evolved past narrow minded concepts of morality - we’re more enlightened now. There is nothing new under the sun.  The world has always been smarter than God.  Long before irreligious people were given a pulpit via social media, irreligious people were unafraid to opine on the mysteries of the supernatural, the realities of creation, and the wonders of the universe.  Sometimes they were called philosophers.  God calls them fools (Psalm 14:1). A couple of times in Scripture God becomes exasperated enough with the stupidity of human “wisdom” that he inserts himself.  After suffering through 37 chapters of Job’s stupidity, who can forget God’s ...

Mark 4:26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain-- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." 30 Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explain...

Christ in the Storm Rembrandt 1633 Worship Theme: The world is a confusing place. We often feel it does not deal fairly with us. We go through anger, even terror, when we don’t understand the turmoil around us. But in Word and sacrament Jesus reminds us of his presence. He forgives our foolish self-centeredness because of his holy book. He opens our eyes to the rescue he has won for us. Thus he gives life in this trouble-filled world new hope and new purpose. Old Testament: Proverbs 30:4 Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know! 5 "Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. 1. Compared to God, how smart and strong are you? 2. If every word of God is flawless, what should you believe? Epistle: Acts 27:13...

We continue this week with our sermon and Bible class series on Counterfeit Christianity. We examine the false teaching of mysticism. Mysticism at its root – is paganism. It is not satisfied with a God who has already laid everything out for us in His Word. It doesn’t want a God that we can trust. It wants a God that we can manipulate, and contact, and control, and kind of barter and bargain with. It doesn’t want a God that says, “This is the way it is, believe it.” It wants a God that gives you the authority to find and divine the way that your world acts and connects with you. All of us – even as Christians – desire to be mystics. We want to be like Jonah, hearing God’s voice speaking to us clearly. Or like Moses, who got to see God on the mountain. Or like Paul who knew God’s will. But that’s not the way God works today. He speaks to us in His Word. He comes to us in the waters of Baptism. He enters our mouths in the Lord’s Supper. We hear His voice in the words of ...