WORSHIP
Is It Possible? Worship: February 23, 2025
Forgiving is not beyond the realm of possibility for us. Although, as children of Adam, we are part of the earthly world, by the grace of God we are also His children, in the family through Baptism. We can extend God’s love and forgiveness to those who hate us, take from us, and are our enemies. Anyone who is in Christ, while still dealing with this Adamic world, can expect undeserved favor—grace—from our heavenly Father for Jesus’ sake. Today our worship helps to strengthen us for the task. Fear not! Those who oppose us are part of this fallen world; Christ has destroyed even death for us. And we are in Christ.
Planted by the Grace of God. Worship: February 16, 2025
Blessing abound in today’s readings! Jeremiah laments the one who “trusts in man,” but sees the one who “trusts in the Lord,” to be like a tree planted with abundant water that “does not cease to bear fruit”
(Jeremiah 17:5, 7, 8). Note that we are “Planted,”—a passive verb, grace! Luke records another time Jesus preached using beatitudes. He concluded that we, his hearers, should rejoice and leap for joy, for
our reward is great in heaven. Such grace! No wonder that Paul, in the Epistle, warns against those who doubt Christ’s resurrection. Our Lord is only “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Today, our worship is full of rejoicing in the grace of God. It also gives us strength to produce fruit every day.
Hook, Line, and Risen. Worship: February 9, 2025
Today we hear the “hook” God used to attract Isaiah as His prophet. With him, we are moved to respond, “Here am I! Send me.” Like Paul, we have a “line” to reel in people who might otherwise stray; we are called to speak clearly to be about the task of “building up the church.” But we are not called to introduce them to a sinker who will weigh them down, for Jesus has risen! Now He sets us up to “fish” for others, replacing their empty lives with God’s overflowing, eternal bounty. Today we let the Word move us into action, to use the hook and line God provides to follow our Lord and catch others for the One who has risen above our every weighty sin and empty life and calls us to follow.
My Eyes Have Seen Your Salvation. Worship: February 2, 2025
Although this day is about the purification of Mary according to the law and the presentation of Jesus as the firstborn of her womb, these are saving acts done on behalf of all of us. This is what Simeon acknowledges when he sings the Nunc Dimittis. Here is the promise of God kept in Christ for his salvation and for the redemption of the Gentiles. Here we see the face of God, the display of His mercy, and the glory long promised. We sing with Simeon in praise of our Savior, while acknowledging that in the Holy Sacrament we see our salvation every bit as much as Simeon saw it in the baby in his arms.
Marvel at His Words. Worship: January 26, 2025
When Jesus unrolled the scroll, the people might have been expecting words from His mouth, but what they got was the Word made flesh, the Word that endures forever. It did not take long before they found reason to wonder. “Is this not Joseph’s son?” The reality is that there are always those who look for reason to doubt or to reject but the Word is given to bring forth faith. The Word is given that by hearing we might believe, but wherever God’s Word is spoken it is also a scandal and offense to the way we see ourselves and our salvation. Jesus has come to address us with the Word of Life so that by hearing we may believe and by believing we may see that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The best appreciation for God’s Word is faith.
The First of Many. Worship: January 19, 2025
The miracle of water turned into wine is a surprising one. It is marked by the fact that this is the choicest of wines, that the sheer amount of wine was embarrassingly extravagant, and that the full benefit of this miracle was limited to the servants who did what Jesus said, Mary, and the disciples who were with Jesus. It is the mark of what is to come. Jesus’ whole ministry is one of goodness beyond compare, of extravagant mercy beyond what we deserve or even dare ask, and of grace hidden in ordinary things like words, water, bread, and wine. This is then a precursor of what is to come, the first of many manifestations of His mercy and the rich and overflowing provision of His grace to supply salvation to a world that otherwise knows no joy.
THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD Soaked and Bloody: Our Lord and You. Worship: January 6, 2025
Have you ever received a surprise present, one that was out of your own price range to get? That, in a nutshell, describes Epiphany. The Wise Men came to give presents, and instead received one their wealth could not have bought. We are included in this. We are baptized for the forgiveness of sins by His blood on the cross that covers our sins, once for all. That water and blood give us the greatest—and most expensive—gift in the world. Here we see Jesus revealed, manifested, in a star, in the coming of the Magi and the gifts they bring.
Remember. Worship: December 29, 2024
Did you already forget Christmas? The department stores have begun selling the leftovers for a discount because “Christmas is over.” For the same reason, formerly decorated Christmas trees already line the streets as refuse for disposal. Even though Christmas songs speak joyously of “the twelve days of Christmas,” many, if not most, people seem to think of them as a countdown rather than an extended celebration. Remember? Today, December 29, is but the fifth day of the twelve! We are not done yet. Or did you forget?
To “forget” is the opposite of the biblical word we hear today: “remember.” But in Scripture, to remember means much more than merely recalling a past event as something that has no real, lasting effect on today; rather, the opposite is true. For instance, God remembers His promises by acting to fulfill them in each believer. For us, to remember means to bring a past promise or act to take effect in the present. Today we hear how the newborn Jesus, as the firstborn of Mary, was presented in the temple according to God’s law, a command to remember the Lord’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt. Every firstborn was to be a reminder that the Lord still delivers His people from the slavery of sin and death. So to remember that it is still Christmas is to believe that the Christ Child who came to free us comes now to each believer. Remember, that is, believe that Christ was born for you to save you. Remember, that is, believe that the forgiveness He won for us on the cross is actually given to us in the Sacrament of the Altar when, as He commanded, we do in remembrance of Him.
The Song of the Angels. Christmas Eve Worship: December 24, 2024
One of the great pleasures of the Advent and Christmas season is the singing of hymns and carols associated with the nativity of our Lord. Many of the texts of these well-loved songs were written specifically for services in the Christmas season; others were not. “Silent Night, Holy Night” (LSB 363) was written to be first sung at a Christmas Eve service in Austria in 1818, and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (LSB 361) was initially included as part of a children’s Christmas program at Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia in 1868. But another well-loved hymn associated with Christmas was not originally a Christmas song. “Joy to the World” (LSB 387) was written as a paraphrase of the second half of Psalm 98 by the English hymnwriter Isaac Watts in 1719. When the text was printed as part of a collection of Psalms in English verse, he gave the song the heading “The Messiah’s Coming and Kingdom.” Our celebration of the coming to earth of Jesus as our Messiah and Lord gives us a great “resounding joy” that lasts all through our years as we await the fullness of His kingdom yet to come!
Preparing for the Promise Fulfilled. Worship: December 22, 2024
The Advent season of preparing for the promised Savior to be born as one of us soon reaches its climax. Though in our homes and lives we may be wondering if we have done all we have needed to get ready for our own celebrations, we give thanks that at the center of our coming Christmas observations the Lord has prepared all we need. In this last Sunday of Advent and in the days ahead of anticipated Christmas joy, may we find peace in the preparations done freely for us out of grace, mercy, and perfect love centered on the Savior we soon welcome, who was born for us and all the world.