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The Reason for the Season

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The word Epiphany means to show forth or make known.

The Epiphany season of the church year affords us an opportunity to see Jesus as He truly is: “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13), the One “in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).

We see Jesus’ glory as the only begotten Son of God. We see it in His miracles and His teaching. We see it even in His wondrous grace
in willingly coming into the world for the likes of us. Jesus came to make the complete payment for the sins of all who had lived or ever would live.

The Value of Life

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One doesn’t have to search far to find examples of human life being devalued. The periodic acts of violence in our nation’s schools and streets are regular reminders. So too are the statistics of abuse—physical and chemical—whether self-inflicted or by others. Statistics tell a similar tale in the running record of suicides, assisted suicides, abortions, and what borders on euthanasia.

These sad and sobering realities cut a wide swath with many and varied contributing factors, but they can all be traced back to a fundamental devaluing of life.

Stilling the Storm (in our lives also)

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“…The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” (John 10:25) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other… 

JUST ASK

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MEDITATIONS ON JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT: MATTHEW’S GOSPEL, CHAPTERS FIVE THROUGH SEVEN “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone… 

The Eighth Commandment: Not a big problem?

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“As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to those of his household.”  (Martin Luther) The Eighth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour What does this mean?… 

GOD’S OBSCURE SAINTS

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(Fourth in a Series) This edifying series of chapel talks comes from the archives of our Spokesman Assistant Editor, Prof. Em. Paul R. Koch • Eau Claire, Wis. At Joppa there was a certain disciple… 

How Can Christians Help Those Struggling with Addiction?

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Editor’s Note: After hearing Dr. Sumey’s presentation at our District Delegate Conference, we invited him to share a condensed version with our readers. We thank him for doing so. We would encourage (as Dr. Sumey does… 

“The Fellowship of Kindred Minds”

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An essay titled “What place does the church (small “c”) have in a Christian’s faith-life?” was presented to a CLC Pastoral Conference at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Cheyenne, Wyoming, in September, 2013. This is the second of… 

God’s Gift Giving

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Years ago in my hometown an elderly woman crafted new pairs of mittens for my brother, my sister, and me every Christmas. It wasn’t that this lady had forgotten what she had given us the year before. But she knew that the mittens she had made the previous year would likely wear out over the winter. She also knew that we children were still growing and would need larger sizes. So out of the goodness of her heart she dedicated her time and effort to keep our hands warm.

But our family friend isn’t the only one who has given us the same Christmas gift every year. Our heavenly Father has too—for countless years! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”
(John 3:16).

Of course, we know that Jesus is not born as a Bethlehem Baby each and every year. Our annual Christmas celebration is a remembering of the first time God’s Gift was given, when Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

That one-time, God-given Gift should remind each of us every year of what changes…and of what doesn’t change!

The Voice

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The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5)

In a current television talent show celebrity judges are facing away from the stage when the contestant begins to sing. When they are impressed by the voice they hear, the judges hit the button that turns them around to face the other direction.