We crave affirmation. A child obeys his father in an effort to receive it. An employee works hard for her boss to receive it. Do we live for the Lord for the same reason, or is there more to it? This is the fifth sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.
“Live for the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Knowing the Lord is key to loving him. What do we do for those we love? We live for them. In the second half of our series, our focus shifts to living for him who loves us most. This is the fourth sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.
“Live Good Lives” (1 Peter 2:9-12 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 9, 2020.
Living for God depends on knowing him better. In addition to knowing our Savior as the Lamb and the Light, we also rightly call him Lord. But… do we even know what that title means? Do we really know what we’re saying when we call him our Lord? This is the third sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.
“The LORD” (Micah 6:1-8 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, February 2, 2020.
Living for God depends on knowing him better. One of the more common names given to Jesus is the Light. If you want to live in the light, the key is greater focus on its source. This is the second sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.
“The Light” (Matthew 4:12-23 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, January 26, 2020.
How you live depends on who you know. To know and care only about yourself is to live a life of selfishness – one which will be empty of real joy and purpose. If you want more than that for your life, get to know the One who can make it possible – the Lamb. This is the first sermon of a six-week series, Knowing –> Loving –> Living.
Listen to the sermon audio here.
“The Lamb” (John 1:29-41 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, January 19, 2020.
Will you ever be good enough? What if you have all the right resolutions and actually keep them this year – will that be enough to find favor with God? The bad news? The answer is no. The good news? In Jesus Christ, the answer is a resounding yes! Relying on his righteousness is better than good enough.
Listen to the sermon audio here.
“The Righteous One is the Right One” (Isaiah 42:1-7 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, January 12, 2020.
Though some may frown on the practice of re-gifting, there is an appropriate place for it. When it comes to God’s gift of grace, each of us can say along with Paul, “God has given it to me, for you.” Grace in Christ Jesus is for everyone, and it was revealed to us in part so that we can then make it known to others. So then, grace is meant to be re-gifted.
Listen to the sermon audio here.
“Revealed to Be Made Known” (Ephesians 3:2-12 sermon), was preached at Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS) on Sunday, January 5, 2020.
The key to deeper friendships isn’t getting better at loving our friends, but rather loving the One who gave them to us. To know and be loved by him – and to love him best in return – enables us to love others rightly. When this happens, deep, rich, meaningful friendships with others will follow.
1 Samuel 20:12-17 was the text for this sermon, preached at Shepherd of the Hills / The Way LC (WELS) on Sunday, May 19, 2019.
Is it really that shocking that a book like the Bible would have what appear to be contradictions?
Have you considered its length? It is made up of 66 books, ranging anywhere from 1 to 150 chapters each.
Have you considered its depth of content? Everything from the account of how the world came to be to how the world will end and everything in-between is covered in a variety of styles and genres, including history, prophesy, prose & poetry, genealogies, letters, etc.
Have you considered the period of time over which it was written? A span of around 1,500 years passed between the writing of the first book and the writing of the last book.
Have you considered the number of different authors? While not every author of each book is identified by name, enough are to reasonably conclude that around 40 different authors penned the Scriptures.
Is it really that shocking that a book like the Bible would have what appear to be contradictions?
Here’s what I think is even more shocking than the alleged number of contradictions: the scale of content that is in agreement (like, all of it!).
Try to find the same scale of agreement today among a sample of tweets, blog posts, academic course books, etc. which claim to cover the same event or subject matter and see what you get.
Through and through, the theme of the Bible is echoed loud and clear:
The Holy Scriptures… are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”
(2 Timothy 3:15 NIV)
Jesus himself acknowledged,
These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”
(John 5:39 NIV)
Oh, and if you’re still wondering about those “contradictions,” you’re just as likely to come across as many plausible explanations for them in the same way you likely discovered the “contradictions” – a simple Google search. But if you’re interested in something that can provide you with even greater results than a Google search, I’d highly recommend a Scripture search.
There is nothing greater than forgiveness.
In and through Jesus Christ, forgiveness is free, it is full, and it is forever. One cannot tire of the practice of reflecting on forgiveness and rejoicing in it every morning and every night. To know and be mindful of forgiveness is to find contentment, freedom, peace, and security in this life that otherwise escape us when we look for them anywhere else.
The question is, do you view this precious and powerful gift of forgiveness in Jesus more like a shield or a security blanket? When we come across a difficult call to action in the Bible that challenges us in our faith (like this or this!), do we quickly crawl under our security blanket of forgiveness, diminishing Jesus’ guidance for our lives because we haven’t/couldn’t/won’t ever be able to do the hard things to which Jesus calls us? Or, is forgiveness a shield that allows us to forge ahead boldly, straining and striving, testing and trying our faith through those challenging calls to action, confident that forgiveness will shield me from my own failures?
Forgiveness is something special. It is something that ought to lead us to exercise our faith instead of excuse it. Why? Because forgiveness frees us from the fear of failure.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:1 (NIV)
Forgiveness doesn’t lead to questioning, but to confidence. I don’t have to ever question my status before God when I fail in trying to carry out the tough stuff, because I am confident of my status before God no matter what. That is the difference forgiveness makes.
To know forgiveness is to begin to grasp what Jesus had in mind when he said “I have come that they may have life…”; to live in that forgiveness is to experience what Jesus meant by adding “… and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Want to have life in Jesus to the full? Then see forgiveness less as a security blanket under which to hide and more as a shield behind which to forge ahead in faith.