TO WHOM DO WE SHOW LOVE?
“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering…
FOLLOWING THE LORD—WHOLLY!
Saint Paul, Alexander the Great, Vince Lombardi, Ernest Shackleton. What did these men have in common? Was it not the focus, the whole-hearted effort they exercised to achieve their goals? While Saint Paul’s call to…
THE LEAVEN
Jesus’ parable of the leaven is recorded in both the Gospels of Matthew (13:33) and Luke (13:20-21). It is one of many parables dealing with the “kingdom of heaven,” God’s rule in the hearts of…
SANCTIFICATION: GOD’S GOOD WORK IN PROGRESS
This series offers an overview of the chief teachings of the Christian church. Is it a Lutheran reflex to hear the words “good works” with a little suspicion, even a wary concern about do-it-yourself thinking…
THE HALLELUJAH
Ever wonder why we Lutherans use the form of worship we do? In this series we examine the depth and meaning of the various elements of our Lutheran worship service. Martin Luther once wrote, “The…
FREEDOM TO SUBMIT
“Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and…
ANOTHER PERFECT DAY
“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Imagine yourself hiking in the Rocky Mountains under a sky astonishingly blue—the temperature is ideal as the breeze flutters aspen…
THE MUSTARD SEED
“Then He said, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew…
THE HOLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH
This series offers an overview of the chief teachings of the Christian church. People who are orphans, when they are adopted into a loving and secure home, will sometimes say that they have found their…
THE GRADUAL
Ever wonder why we Lutherans use the form of worship we do? In this series we examine the depth and meaning of the various elements of our Lutheran worship service. (Note to the reader: There…