We are so blessed to live in this great country. God has blessed our nation throughout its history, and has blessed us with its freedoms. But he gives the greatest freedom, the liberty that lasts forever, only through his Son.

Last Sunday we heard that faith trusts God’s power completely. This Sunday’s lessons sound the depth of that faith. Can our faith trust completely, even when faced with death itself? Facing our own mortality, or that of our loved ones, brings out the weakest parts of our character. And so, today the Church prays: Be gracious to us in our weakness and give us strength.

Jesus’ words can cure and heal and forgive. Jesus’ words have amazing power — even when they’re not coming from Jesus’ mouth. He puts his words on our lips. He calls us in our various vocations to be witnesses, telling and showing what great things God has done for us.

The mystery of the Holy Trinity is beyond our comprehension. Yet it is proclaimed in Scripture and believed by Spirit-wrought hearts of faith. We believe in the one true God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Triune God is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Lose this doctrine, and you lose it all.

The fifty days have passed and the promised Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Bride of Christ. The once-hidden gospel is no longer the possession of a chosen few. For the Spirit enables the message of salvation to inflame hearts for bearing witness to the ends of the earth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to the Father's right hand to rule over all creation for the good of all who believe in him, and now calls us to be his witnesses to everyone.

The infinite love of God is our motivation and power to love him and each other. Such love shows itself in listening to what God says in his Word, defending it from falsehood, and reaching out with it to others.

The risen Lord prepares his followers for his visible departure by giving a “new” command: Love one another.

On “Good Shepherd Sunday” our attention is fixed on Jesus the Good Shepherd of the sheep. His care and concern are recognized by those whom he has called as his sheep. Even in suffering, his sheep know his care for them and follow him.

With his perfect life, innocent death and glorious resurrection, Christ paid for all our sins and won for us eternal life. Therefore, it is our privilege to share this good news with the rest of the world.

The fact of Jesus’ resurrection is our assurance that we have eternal life. Our faith, based on our risen Savior, gives us what we need for this life and for the life to come. Through his Word we receive our faith and the strength it needs. In our risen Savior, we have the victory and want to live like people who know that.

On this holiest of days, we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. Connected by grace, through faith, to our risen Lord, we rejoice in the victory of the resurrection and in full confidence of our own resurrection from the dead.

Tonight the church remembers the crucifixion of our Lord. Our remembrance, while solemn, is not a message of gloom, but the awe-filled adoration of the Son of God as he offers up his life as the Lamb of God. Good Friday is part of the larger celebration of the mystery of salvation begun yesterday (Maundy Thursday) and culminating at the celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord (Easter). Worship on Good Friday is not a funeral service for Jesus, but an austere time of reflection, intercession, adoration of the Lamb of God, and quiet meditation. We gather to celebrate the sacrifice of the cross.

Maundy Thursday ushers the believer into the “Three Holy Days” of Christendom. But something more than history is celebrated today: The holy sacrament that extends to the believer the very body and blood of the Savior and declares reconciliation through this most personal communion with Jesus. In him, with him, through him, believers are reconciled to God and to one another.

Lutherans have a long history of remembering the Savior’s Passion in midweek services during the season of Lent. The more common practice, in history and in the experience of the wider church, is to read the Passion history on the first Sunday of Holy Week, as we are doing today...

On our journey to the cross and tomb: we have seen our Savior’s battle waged against temptation; we have found confidence in his resolution to carry out the Father’s plan; we have turned to him at his invitation to draw near with repentant hearts; we have rejoiced in his loving and forgiving embrace. In these last hours before Holy Week, we put our past ways behind us and strive for that for which Christ has laid hold of us.

The repentant sinner rejoices at being found in the loving embrace of the Father’s full, free, and “foolish” forgiveness.

At its heart, our Lenten journey must be one of Spirit-wrought repentance. Here is the Lenten invitation: turn from sin fully confident of the Lord’s deliverance.

The Son of God, full of grace and truth, came into our world to rescue us from slavery to sin and the devil. Through his life, sufferings, and death, he has set us free. Now we live in the freedom and light of the truth — the truth of salvation only by God’s grace and only through the work of Jesus Christ.

Each of us battles with temptations every day, and the results are too obvious to mention. Christ was no stranger to temptation, either. He battled, yet was without sin… for us and for our eternal righteousness. This message of victory gives us confidence as we journey through the wilderness of sin in true repentance.

Jesus Christ, who humbled himself to come into this world to save us, never lost the glory he has as the Son of God. We see his glory shining in his saving message of salvation, and that glory reflects off us and shines to others as we share the Good News.

Jesus asks us to befriend our enemies, to love those who hate us, and to repay evil with good. Logic would say that is a recipe for being walked all over. Yet, have we not seen this tactic work? When we were Christ’s enemies, he loved us to the point of death. He repays our daily evil with the daily goodness of his mercy. In doing so, he has won us for himself. Following the strategy Jesus lays out is not a capitulation to evil. It is a means of conquering it.

In Jesus’ kingdom, everything seems upside down. But when we see life from the perspective Jesus’ kingdom affords, we are seeing life as it really is. As Martin Luther wrote, “A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross calls a thing what it actually is.”

Jesus reveals himself as the Lord’s Anointed with the power and authority to call us to serve as his messengers.

Many feel that the more people like a church, the more successful that church is (maybe similar to a Facebook “like”). But here is an important epiphany: Popularity is not proof of success. If a church makes personal improvement or social justice its central focus, it may draw a crowd, but it will be failing to carry out the true agenda Christ has given his Church. The Gospel of forgiveness must be the center of all our teaching and preaching to be truly successful.

Jesus reveals himself as the Anointed One with the Father’s authority to proclaim himself as fulfillment of prophecy. The Word made flesh points to the Word and boldly proclaims, “Fulfillment.” This bold proclamation carries joy to the very heart of the body of Christ and emboldens its members to proclaim the same.

Jesus comes as the invited guest to reveal the splendor of his glory. As we behold his glory, we delight in our bridegroom. For he delights in us, bringing to us his righteous deliverance, the strength of his Spirit, and the divine dimensions of his immeasurable love.

The long-expected Christ has arrived; the waiting is over as the Son of David is anointed. The Father’s approval sounds from heaven and book-ends the season of Epiphany, when with the Holy Spirit and with power it thunders again on the Mount of Transfiguration as the Son is revealed in glory.

The Eastern Church celebrates January 6th as the Nativity of our Lord. For the West, the Epiphany of our Lord is the continued celebration of the birth of the Savior of Nations. So bright is the dawning of the Son, so great is the fullness of his glory, that his light not only fills the dark streets of Bethlehem, but the ends of the earth. Jew and Gentile alike gather to worship him who is born ruler of Judah and Shepherd of all Israel.

The Son of God came into this world to serve as our Substitute under the law of God. As our brother in humanity, Christ did what we cannot — he perfectly kept that law of God, and he freed us from the guilt and power of sin.

“But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” Just as Mary, on the very first Christmas, we too meditate on the mystery of Christmas. Christ was born in order to live, die and rise from the grave for us! The Word became flesh and through faith we see his glory! Glory to God in the highest!

This last Sunday of Advent, we celebrate together the promise and fulfillment of the One born Immanuel, “God with us.” As we get closer and closer to Christmas, we ask God to prepare our hearts to receive the baby born in Bethlehem as his wonderful gift of salvation.

In this season of Advent (Coming) we focus on the three “comings” of Christ: his coming into this world as a baby to put himself in our place and to pay for our sins, his coming in glory at the last day to take us into the full enjoyment of our salvation, and his coming into our hearts through the power of his Word which gives us faith and makes that salvation our own. All three of these comings lead us to REJOICE....

Since Jesus’ coming is sure and so important, he sends out forerunners in the footsteps of John the Baptist who help us to make proper preparation for his coming. They do that with a message not their own. They do it with the message that he himself has given. Pay close attention to those heralds of the coming Lord, the prophets and apostles, and to the pastors and teachers in our midst who have succeeded them to get us ready for his coming.

Eagerly looking forward to Jesus’ second advent, we join in the excitement of the Palm Sunday crowd, making the preparations God instructs and joining our voices to shout: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” This Sunday, we clearly proclaim the purpose for Jesus’ coming. His coming brings salvation.