Letters On The Page

Video of Divine Service Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany     Genesis 45:3-15            1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42              Luke 6:27-38 Love Your Enemies    Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.   Today is the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany. We do not often have a 7 th  Sunday after the Epiphany. We have even less often an eighth Sunday after the Epiphany.  The only reason I am concerned about this is because last Sunday, the gospel reading included the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Today’s gospel includes a second installment of the sermon. The 8 th  Sunday finishes up the sermon. So, I was saddened that we would not be able to enjoy the full sermon in this round of year C of the lectionary cycle.    Some of you are probably wonderin...

We found this remnant of a time past in the mailbox last week. I have not seen a newly printed Phone Book in more than a decade in the other place where we lived. All the information has supposedly migrated to the Internet. Not true! And, not everyone has easy access to the Internet at all times.  God bless whoever publishes this little gem of public information! This is indeed a treasure!!

Video of Divine Service   Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany          Jeremiah 17:5-8           1 Corinthians 15: (1-11) 12-20          Luke 6:17-26 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  One of the great gifts that is laid before those who live in a prosperous and free nation like ours is that we have choices. Many, many choices. We have choices in the grocery store. What variety of Apple do you like? What kind of milk? Whole, 2%, skim, Almond, Soy, or Oat? Do you need a car? What kind, color, and features do you seek? Don’t like your medical provider? You have choices. If the religious community you are affiliated with is not working out for you, you have choices. In just about every aspect of our life, we have choices to choose from. But, as far as God is concerned, we only have two choice...

 Last night we watched "The Letter Writer." It is about a rebellious adolescent who receives a letter in the mail from an unknown man named Sam Worthington. Sam Worthington is unknown to any of her family. Yet, Sam offers words of encouragement to her that she needs to hear at that moment in her life. It's as if Sam knows her very, very well. Maggie tracks down Sam and thus begins a series of conversations that are loaded with wisdom and compassion and a vision of life that encourages the best of human behavior toward others.  The movie is touching and morally transforming without being preachy.  The movie is also a testimony to the power of words, written and spoken, to shape and change lives.

Image address      Video of Divine Service The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany   Isaiah 6:1-13    1 Corinthians 14:12-20         Luke 5:1-11 Expectations Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.  When we go into a particular venue, we bring with us certain expectations about what will happen there. For example, when we go to a sit-down restaurant, we expect that the dishes be clean, that we be served by competent wait staff, and that our hot meal be presented to us hot; and that our cold meal be cold; and that it looks like the picture in the menu and tastes good.  While we have these perfectly reasonable expectations, we know that serendipitous events do happen. For example, when we go into said sit-down restaurant, we see people we have not seen in a while and have a good time visiting and catching up. Or, when we sit down w...

  A Letter from LCMS President Harrison about LIRS and LCMS RSOs    FEB. 6, 2025 LCMS.ORG A letter from President Harrison about LIRS and LCMS RSOs Dear Saints of the LCMS, Grace and peace in Jesus! For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above ev...

  This is from Martin Luther's Heidelberg Disputation (1518)  The following is Thesis 21 and explanation.  A theology of glory calls evil good and good evil. A theology of the cross calls the thing what it actually is. This is clear: He who does not know Christ does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil. These are the people whom the apostle calls "enemies of the cross of Christ" (Philippians 3:18), for they hate the cross and suffering and love works and the glory of works. Thus they call the good of the cross evil and the evil of a deed good. God can be found only in suffering and the cross, as has already been said. Therefore the friends of the cross say that the cross is good and works are evil, for through the cross works are dethroned and the old Adam, who is especially edified by works, is crucified. It is impossible for a person to to be pu...

Video of Divine Service The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany   Jeremiah 1:4-10 (17-19)        1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13         Luke 4:31-44                        A More Excellent Way Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. In chapter 12, the Apostle Paul instructs the church that each member’s spiritual gifts and talents are for the benefit of and the building up of the whole congregation. These gifts are not an opportunity to claim the spotlight or to elevate one congregation member over another. All gifts are a grace from God and are for the purpose of edifying and strengthening the community to which one belongs. While certain gifts may catch people’s attention or be valued more readily than others, none of the gifts used within th...