Nothing is Impossible for God

Quite in contrast to us, God has no limitation. He can walk on water. He can create a splendid world out of nothing. He can even declare us holy and set apart simply because He wants to. We are not alone if we struggle with understanding the nature of God. We join Peter and Job, and Paul who all were amazed to see that indeed, God has no limitation. In God’s unlimited strength, care and love we can have courage.

The first and second hymn is LSB 804, “O Worship the King”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 807, “When Morning Gilds the Skies ”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Jesus Gives Nourishing Strength

A crowd follows Jesus out of town. As long as they can see Him they feel like they can go anywhere. He takes them to a remote place. Somehow it was easier to listen and absorb the strength of His spirit here. Jesus had everything they need for body and soul. We too can rejoice in this: Our God is leading us and provides all that we need.

The first and second hymn is LSB 907, “God Himself is Present”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 733, “O God, Our Help in Ages Past ”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

The Greatest Treasure of God's Love

God’s Word gives us an amazing array of statements about the love of God. “Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”  God is “keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations.” Jesus tells us several parables trying to convey that this love is the greatest of treasures in all the world. He wants us to embrace the idea that God’s love is the most vital thing for each of us. It makes an eternal and infinite difference in every way and in everything.

The first and second hymn is LSB 686, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 802, “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Faith in God's Good Harvest, July 19 Worship

Jesus saw the farm fields around him as a place of drama. In many of his parables Jesus would point to those fields to illustrate the essence of God’s relationship to His Creation. As Jesus looked at those fields he could see the whole of God’s plan, from beginning to end. But how to communicate that plan to us? In the parable Jesus tells about Weeds we hear that despite every challenge God is still bringing in the harvest of what he wanted from the beginning. Even though there are weeds, God is growing wheat and He will bring it to harvest. Jesus is telling us that we can trust that God is carrying us toward His triumphant and amazing harvest.

The first and second hymn is LSB 794, “The Lord My God Be Praised”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 549, “All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Growing Under the Father's Care

What does it take to keep something growing in your backyard? Typically the battle is with the heat, insects, hungry animals, and weeds. We have such things to battle to keep our souls growing as well. Especially now our Spirit must be carefully tended if we want them to grow and mature in this challenging time. The ground of our hearts and minds might be hard-packed, rock-infested, and thorn-choked. But God’s merciful Spirit creates fertile, receptive soil in which small, new life finds purchase, takes root, and bears much fruit. Today we celebrate God’s attentive care and His ever nurturing Spirit.

The first and second hymn is LSB 790, “Praise to the Lord Almighty”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 806, “Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Real Rest and Refuge in Jesus

This summer is different. Many of the blissful things that make summer great are out of reach. Jesus’ promise to be our real and nurturing rest is perhaps more valuable to us now than ever before. His invitation to take our rest in him is a call to humility and gratitude. May God’s Spirit show you the abundance of God’s provision. In Jesus’ victory we have real and eternal things to rest in, even this very day.

The first and second hymn is LSB 743, “Jesus Priceless Treasure”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 684, “Come to Me You Weary”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Our God is Strong to Save

Maybe you have spent a lifetime holding onto this most compelling piece of news: the battle has been fought and the price has been paid by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has been triumphant over sin and all that is broken in all the world. Now we listen attentively as Jesus spoke to his disciples about the reality of facing the challenges of living in a broken world while holding onto the faith that God has been triumphant. As Jesus says, even as things we cherish are lost, our real and ever blessed life is found in Him.

The first and second hymn is LSB 687, “Thine Forever, God of Love”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 861, “Christ be my Leader”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Set Free in the Triumph of Jesus

Jeremiah has been called the weeping or reluctant prophet. He felt like God had thrown too much at him. But again and again God inspired Jeremiah to be a man of integrity and conviction. “The Lord is with me like a mighty warrior,” he wrote. Jeremiah longed to see God bring justice. Along with the prophet each of us longs for these ultimate things that only God can provide. Our faith is that in Christ Jesus we have seen the person of God: goodness, and justice, grace and love, triumphs in His name.

The first and second hymn is LSB 475, “Good Christian Friends Rejoice and Sing”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 483, “With High Delight Let Us Unite”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

Treasured by Our Heavenly Father

 While they were camping under a mountain God tells his people on their Exodus they are His treasured children. Though they were on a hard journey that would take longer than any of them could imagine, God tells them He will carry them as on eagle’s wings. Much later, Jesus spoke this same sort of promise to Peter, Andrew, James, John, and the other disciples who would need to be brave and confident in the challenges they would face. “The Kingdom of Heaven is near,” Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give.”   

The first and second hymn is LSB 729, “I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 744, “Amazing Grace”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.

The Holy Trinity, Our Great God, Three and One

We wonder at the mystery and majesty of the Trinity- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we can start with the basics: the Father creates, the Son redeems, the Spirit sanctifies. God’s Word gives us the endless implications of this. Today, in the Old Testament Reading from Genesis, we see all three persons are present and active in the creation of the world. In our Reading from Acts, we see all three persons active in the salvation of the world. And in the Holy Gospel from Matthew, we see that all three persons are active in the new life we have as children of God. We have much to celebrate in our Great God, three and one.

The first and second hymn is LSB 507, “Holy Holy Holy”. The third and fourth hymn is LSB 506, “Glory Be to God the Father”. If you have a Lutheran Service Book Hymnal at home, please sing along.