I've had an Epiphany!

Funeral for Helen Kachichian Psalm 23:1 A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. There is a saying that goes, “Life is short. Eat dessert first.” I wonder if that was a motto that Helen liked to live by. She seemed to really like her sweets – cookies, doughnuts, ice cream that is available every day at Primrose. We have a 60-year-old member at Epiphany who is dying of mouth cancer. She can’t eat any solid food...

Husbands, perhaps your wife occasionally accuses you of not listening to her. You try to point out to her that she didn’t say what she thought she said, but she doesn’t go along. Wives, perhaps your husband accuses you of not hearing him. You insist that he didn’t say it. You may have a communication problem. The crowds that surrounded Jesus had a communication problem too. While they insisted that Jesus hadn’t told them who he was, in truth, they had not been listening.  As Jesus explained, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me.”  Jesus was not “keeping them in suspense.” The “suspense” was entirely their own invention because they rejected the evidence right before them. “You do not believe because you are not my sheep.” Sometimes preachers try to prove Jesus’ miracles, instead of simply proclaiming them. Especially on Easter, pastors may think they need to convince the skeptics out there. But “faith comes from hearing the message.” Look at ...

John 21:1-14 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:  2  Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.  3  “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4  Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5  He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6  He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7  Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped hi...

You can go to www.welsstainedglass.org to find the rest of Epiphany’s stained glass windows, plus dozens of other unique windows across the WELS . Worship Theme: Imagine if everyone on earth were a needle: there are well over six billion needles in a huge pile. How can God keep them all straight? How can God keep his eye on you in particular and hear your prayers? He has no trouble at all— and not only because he is Almighty. Jesus is your Good Shepherd. He knows you as well as he knows the Father, and as the Father knows you. That’s why he laid down his life for you. Old Testament: Ezekiel 34:25 "'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the pe...

Christ In Our Home Devotions 4th Sunday of Easter Jesus is the Good Shepherd 1. Make the sign of the cross over yourself and say: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 2. Pray Luther’s Morning or Evening Prayer: I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger. Keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please you. Into your hands I commend my body and soul and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have graciously kept me this day. Forgive me all my sins, and graciously keep me this night. Into your hands I commend my body and soul and all things. Let your holy angel be with me, that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen. 3. Pray the Lord’s Prayer: Our Father in he...

Why would Jesus repeat a miracle? He had given his disciples a great catch of fish years earlier (Luke 5). Didn’t they know he could push all the fish in the lake into their nets? But the disciples were weak men like us. They needed all the reminders of Jesus’ love and power that they could get. Especially after their fear and betrayals of Holy Week.  In this fishing account, not only would they recall the earlier catch of fish; the breakfast of bread and fish would have reminded them of a couple of other miracles. In this after-Easter miracle, God’s grace and power were evident. And when they sat down to eat with Jesus, they were assured once again of his friendship. Jesus repeats his miracles in our lives too. He performed the amazing miracle of washing our sins away at our Baptism. He repeats that miracle each time we repent and are forgiven. He does it again when he provides his body and blood as we gather at his altar. And he pours out that forgiveness every time...

John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." 24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the ho...