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**?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> feed xmlns:yt="http://www.youtube.com/xml/schemas/2015" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> link rel="self" href="http://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg"/> id>yt:channel:ya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/id> yt:channelId>ya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2020-09-05T21:48:32+00:00/published> entry> id>yt:video:NUzoIrD9wdY/id> yt:videoId>NUzoIrD9wdY/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>I AM the True Vine (Jn 15:1-3; John study 112)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUzoIrD9wdY"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-25T19:41:16+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-25T19:55:57+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>I AM the True Vine (Jn 15:1-3; John study 112)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/NUzoIrD9wdY?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/NUzoIrD9wdY/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Jesus declares he is the true Vine using the emphatic "I AM" signaling that this is characteristic of his divinity. Jesus is the God who gives us life and salvation by joining us to him in faith. Agricultural metaphors are common in the Bible but there is some uniqueness in this text. Christ is the Vine, rather than the world or Israel being the vineyard. The Father is the Vinedresser who both cleanses/prunes those who are fruitful and takes away from the Vine those who seek sin. The fruit is not exactly our works but those who come to faith to be claimed by the Father in the harvest at the end of the age. The implication of this is that if we are not trying to spread the word of Christ so others may live in Christ like we do, then we are cutting ourselves off from Christ and his salvation./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="5"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:YKD30wOBJSc/id> yt:videoId>YKD30wOBJSc/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Duties to Pastors and the Gospel of Luke as Scripture (1 Timothy 5:17-25)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKD30wOBJSc"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-24T20:43:19+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-27T19:00:16+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Duties to Pastors and the Gospel of Luke as Scripture (1 Timothy 5:17-25)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/YKD30wOBJSc?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/YKD30wOBJSc/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Pastors should receive double honour because they are not just responsible for their own lives in faith but the faith of those in their spiritual care. Good examples must be set, grace must be administered, and encouragement given for parishioners. People are not to show partiality in judgment to pastors but should respect them. Pastors themselves should fill the office honourably for both good and wicked deeds will affect the people around them. Paul references Luke 10:7 as scripture. The best explanation of this is that Luke was written at this point (early 60s AD) and it was already approved as a scriptural text, showing how the New Testament was starting to come together./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="0"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:oS2O-6wMez8/id> yt:videoId>oS2O-6wMez8/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (23 June 2024)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS2O-6wMez8"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-23T22:45:12+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-27T06:16:29+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (23 June 2024)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/oS2O-6wMez8?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i4.ytimg.com/vi/oS2O-6wMez8/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Sermon Text: Job 38:1-3 We often speak with words without knowledge. These are usually statements about how we think God should be acting in the world but, even more so, also questions about why God is allowing us to suffer. Each of these questions mimics what the disciples asked God in the flesh (Jesus): Do you care that we are perishing? Does God care about us? We suffer, so it doesn't seem like it--but those are words without knowledge. God created the world. God made human beings and brought them together in marriages. He fashioned you within the womb from your parents. He provided your body and everything to support them. He continues to give you your daily bread. And the Lord came down from heaven in human flesh to suffer, die, rise again, and ascend for your salvation. Your God cares about you and He uses His Word to declare that you are His./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="1" average="5.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="6"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:mAlSgPUy6wU/id> yt:videoId>mAlSgPUy6wU/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Church Family and the Role of Widows (1 Timothy 5:1-16)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAlSgPUy6wU"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-22T21:44:07+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-22T22:10:48+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Church Family and the Role of Widows (1 Timothy 5:1-16)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/mAlSgPUy6wU?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/mAlSgPUy6wU/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>We should treat people in the Church like family. The elders like fathers and mothers, and the younger like brothers and sisters. The Church is about intimate, familial relationships through the Spirit. We care and provide for one another as we would our own family. A special case in our Church family are widows. In the ancient world, they were especially vulnerable members of society, which meant the Church did its best to provide for them. But the widows should not be idle but urged to good works. They should continue helping in their families if possible, or serving people in the Church, or marry if they were young enough to still have families. This is all in accordance with God's gift of femininity. Women, and men for that matter, should not be idle because that leads to filling time with sinful thoughts and deeds./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="5"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:VIqS-QAdv20/id> yt:videoId>VIqS-QAdv20/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Preaching and Teaching (1 Timothy 4:11-16)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIqS-QAdv20"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-19T21:42:47+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-26T20:59:58+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Preaching and Teaching (1 Timothy 4:11-16)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/VIqS-QAdv20?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/VIqS-QAdv20/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Clergy are to publicly read scripture, preach, and teach. These are the main actions of the office but the core of the message given is salvation in Christ himself. He is the Saviour of all people, even those who do not believe--which means they need to receive him through faith in order to be saved. Pastors are not reckoned according to their age but the wisdom of the Spirit guiding them. This also translates into being living examples for their churches that laypeople may see what is honorable. Suitable candidates for ministry are to be ordained by other ministers and recognized by this gift that they have authority to read, preach, and teach God's message./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="5"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:_hj9xT256bg/id> yt:videoId>_hj9xT256bg/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Satan, Hell, and moving on to Love (Jn 14:30-31; John study 111)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hj9xT256bg"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-18T19:34:53+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-22T21:34:24+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Satan, Hell, and moving on to Love (Jn 14:30-31; John study 111)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/_hj9xT256bg?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i4.ytimg.com/vi/_hj9xT256bg/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Jesus transitions from his statements about Satan (ruler of the world, having no hold over him) to how Satan's actions will direct the world into knowing the love of Christ. The love of Christ is made known through the cross, and Satan has no hold over Jesus there. When Satan possessed Judas to arrest Jesus, Jesus could have resisted but went willingly. Jesus also gave up his own spirit, not being overcome by his enemies. Death (brought about through the devil's deception in Eden) could not hold him and Jesus rose again. Even though Satan tries to overcome Jesus, Jesus uses everything that happens to demonstrate his love. We talk a fair bit about the punishment of God, especially what this means for hell. Hell itself is God's judgement--the fire of God. God and His presence is described with fire. His purification is symbolized by fire. And God's punishment with His condemnation is the Lake of Fire. This is His justice and only a loving God will refuse to let sin go unpunished. When we are being punished or disciplined with the evils of this world, rather than say God is unloving, we should communicate with Him in the Word and prayer that we might have a better understanding of what is happening. The chapter ends with an awkward transition by Jesus to "rise and leave" despite people staying where they are. Most likely, this is to highlight the new topic of discussion forming the core of the second half of John's gospel: the love of Christ laying down his life./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="10"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:9cmaIBgxPgo/id> yt:videoId>9cmaIBgxPgo/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (16 June 2023; Happy Father's Day)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cmaIBgxPgo"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-17T00:45:47+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-23T20:38:45+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (16 June 2023; Happy Father's Day)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/9cmaIBgxPgo?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/9cmaIBgxPgo/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Sermon Text: 2 Cor 5:1-3 Although we talk about going to our heavenly Father often, talk about the intermediate period between death and the resurrection is not common. One way Paul speaks of it is how it is better to be with the Lord and away from suffering. Yet, having our spirit away from the body is the very definition of death. God designed human beings to both body and spirit. It is unnatural for us to be away from the body. So, St Paul also talks of the intermediate state (dwelling in heaven as spirit) as a kind of nakedness where the souls in heaven desire to be further clothed. We do not want to be apart from our bodies, we want our bodies to be clothed with immortality. Christ shows and wins for us just this as he dies and rises from the grave. Our resurrection will be like his, in our own flesh without hint of mortality. We will have everlasting life. The resurrection is what we truly hope for; however, whether we are here in the body, in heaven away from the body, or in resurrected flesh in the paradise to come, our heavenly Father will always be with us through faith./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="1" average="5.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="68"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:jmTZ18QQDjI/id> yt:videoId>jmTZ18QQDjI/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>(Un)Trustworthy Sayings (1 Timothy 4:6-10)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmTZ18QQDjI"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-13T19:30:05+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-15T01:10:01+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>(Un)Trustworthy Sayings (1 Timothy 4:6-10)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/jmTZ18QQDjI?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/jmTZ18QQDjI/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Beware bad teachings that go against what God says. Our lives should be founded on the Word of God, especially the Gospel which gives us life. Jesus lived, died, and rose again that we may have eternal life in him. Now that our lives stretch to eternity, how should we live? We should follow the Law God set in place for His creation. Although not everything we say comes right from the Bible, all our thoughts and actions should be guarded by God's Word. When we encounter created content in the world--religious and non-religious--we should be mindful of what it says. If it promotes ideas going against God, we should call it out and deny it. Then we can offer Christian-influenced content in its place./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="1"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:zTbOET3QWtY/id> yt:videoId>zTbOET3QWtY/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Christ's Role and Satan's Chain (Jn 14:28-30; John study 110)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTbOET3QWtY"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-11T19:49:09+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-15T22:51:34+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Christ's Role and Satan's Chain (Jn 14:28-30; John study 110)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/zTbOET3QWtY?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i3.ytimg.com/vi/zTbOET3QWtY/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Jesus tells his disciples the if they love him, then they will be glad he is going to the Father and coming back. All of this is murky to the disciples but Christ is saying those who live in faith will rejoice that Jesus prepares a place for them in heaven at his death and solidifies this promise with his resurrection. For us, Christ has gone up in the Ascension to intercede at the Father's right hand and to bring about the kingdom to come. This promise we know to be true on account of his resurrection proving his word. Christ says the prince of the world is coming, that is, Satan will arrest Jesus at Gethsemane in Judas. Yet, Satan has no real power over Jesus and Jesus binds Satan with his victory at the cross and grave. The devil is given power to accuse sinners of sin, making his domain the whole unbelieving world. But his role is to convict people of their sin so that they may see their need for Christ's forgiveness. Since Christian's are already forgiven, Satan has no real power over us although he does attack. When we are attacked, we are to seek the one who overcomes him that we may be saved in Christ./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="1" average="5.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="5"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:DU42gNhzQ1o/id> yt:videoId>DU42gNhzQ1o/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Living by Christ and the Spirit (1 Timothy 3:14-4:5)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU42gNhzQ1o"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-11T03:28:25+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-17T22:26:37+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Living by Christ and the Spirit (1 Timothy 3:14-4:5)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/DU42gNhzQ1o?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/DU42gNhzQ1o/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Paul states he is writing the letter so we may know how the Church should operate, in regards to who should lead the churches and how we should worship. The teachings of the Church should be based on apostolic writings like these (that is, the New Testament) and the sacraments offering life and salvation. Central to the Church is the Gospel in our Lord Jesus Christ who is God come in the flesh, testified to by the Holy Spirit in his death and resurrection, and ascended on high. He did all this for our salvation. Although the Spirit warns of false teachers, such as those who make laws about what God does not to guilt people into following their teachings of law and not the free gift of salvation in Christ./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="1"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:DhTThDRZLHo/id> yt:videoId>DhTThDRZLHo/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Third Sunday after Pentecost (9 June 2024)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhTThDRZLHo"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-10T03:45:06+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-12T03:32:20+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Third Sunday after Pentecost (9 June 2024)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/DhTThDRZLHo?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/DhTThDRZLHo/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Sermon Text: Mark 3:23-27 Satan may be the god of this world but he has no power over us. His power was severed when Christ won the victory over sin, death, and, of course, the devil at the cross and empty grave. He has bound the "strong man" to plunder the house. It isn't Satan's house after all but Christ's house. He made the whole world and he made us. Satan may be allowed to accuse sinners, but our sins are forgiven in Christ. However, we struggle against sin. That is because we have another "strong man" in the house of our bodies: our sinful hearts. Yet, Christ has bound the sin within us as well since he has cleansed us and given us the Holy Spirit in baptism. Therefore, sin has no power over us like Satan has no power over us on account of what Christ does within us. When we struggle with sin, we can rebuke it saying that it has been enslaved and we are set free. We are not bound to sin but united with Christ!/media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="5"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:LchKuoEwq2M/id> yt:videoId>LchKuoEwq2M/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>What Is a Deacon? (1 Timothy 3:8-14)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LchKuoEwq2M"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-05T20:53:23+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-11T22:54:16+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>What Is a Deacon? (1 Timothy 3:8-14)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/LchKuoEwq2M?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/LchKuoEwq2M/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Pastors (Overseers/Bishops/Priests/Presbyters/Elders) are generally understood in terms of their role but deacons are relatively ambiguous. The word for deacon (literally "minister/servant") appears in different capacities in the Bible. Here Paul is talking about an appointed position in the Church. From the qualifications here, a deacon is someone who is: of good character, knowledgeable of the faith and living it out, under direction of the pastor, serving the pastor and congregation, and not in the preaching/teaching office of pastor, although there can be some teaching of youth. Can women be deacons? Women are not to have pastoral authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11-15) but the office of deacon is not of that teaching office. It is more about administration in a congregation from a spiritual perspective. Women are given capacity to serve as deaconesses, similar to their male counterparts (1 Timothy 3:11), but should be mindful of the boundaries of diaconal ministry which does not include being a pastor. 3:38 Differentiating between Pastor and Deacon 15:37 Getting into the Text 38:31 Defining the Role of Deacon 45:35 Deaconesses 1:06:41 Deacons and Family/media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="7"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:iYhUF1iK-Ek/id> yt:videoId>iYhUF1iK-Ek/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Taught, Reminded, and at Peace (Jn 14:26-27; John study 109)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhUF1iK-Ek"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-04T19:33:54+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-07T01:42:14+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Taught, Reminded, and at Peace (Jn 14:26-27; John study 109)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/iYhUF1iK-Ek?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/iYhUF1iK-Ek/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>The Holy Spirit is to teach us all things and to remind us of all things Jesus said. For the disciples, this meant proclaiming what Jesus said to others to create faith (eventually writing them down in scripture) and understanding what they could not previously understand. For us, the Spirit reminds and guides us by God's Word (through scripture, devotions, sermons, etc.) and teaches us by reason and experience toward robust doctrine and understanding. Although we may not feel confident in ourselves at facing people's arguments against the faith, the Spirit can still help us respond with the and understanding of God's Word--although it is alright to say we don't know from time to time. Christ says he leaves his peace with us. We usually define peace negatively as "without conflict" but the Bible has a positive definition. John's gospel portrays it as being with the promises of Christ's death and resurrection. Elsewhere, it refers more towards the peace of the new heavens and new earth, that is, a right relationship with God where we live as we were created to do./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="0" average="0.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="7"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:i14XTkYPFBM/id> yt:videoId>i14XTkYPFBM/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Answer Me When I Call (Psalm 4)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i14XTkYPFBM"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-03T20:55:08+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-07T01:39:16+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Answer Me When I Call (Psalm 4)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/i14XTkYPFBM?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/i14XTkYPFBM/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Psalm 4 is a lament in the face of people trying to turn our honour into shame. Our honour is the righteousness of God given to us in Christ. All of us were in sin, doing what is not right in creation, but Christ sacrificed himself in our place to give us reconciliation and righteousness in God. As we live this out in faith, we will be doing and saying what is right according to God's will. Those who oppose what God ordains try to shame us for these things, but we remain godly through God's active giving of grace. Therefore, although we are shaken and angered by the world, we should not sin. We can take comfort in what our Lord gives us and how He shapes us that we may have peace now as we await the peace in the world to come./media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="1" average="5.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="19"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> entry> id>yt:video:ifs_6xa8guI/id> yt:videoId>ifs_6xa8guI/yt:videoId> yt:channelId>UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/yt:channelId> title>Confirmation Sunday (Second Sunday after Pentecost, 2 June 2024)/title> link rel="alternate" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifs_6xa8guI"/> author> name>Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church/name> uri>https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCya4c5da1khaxQR8Nj1iuSg/uri> /author> published>2024-06-03T00:00:38+00:00/published> updated>2024-06-07T01:42:57+00:00/updated> media:group> media:title>Confirmation Sunday (Second Sunday after Pentecost, 2 June 2024)/media:title> media:content url="https://www.youtube.com/v/ifs_6xa8guI?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="390"/> media:thumbnail url="https://i2.ytimg.com/vi/ifs_6xa8guI/hqdefault.jpg" width="480" height="360"/> media:description>Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 4:5 On Confirmation Sunday, we gather together to receive Christ's grace and forgiveness through his Word and Sacrament, just like every other Sunday. While we recognize our confirmands and gladly receive them as communicant members of the congregation, it's not all about them. It's not about anyone of us in particular. It is about Christ. He is the Saviour who delivers us from sin and sets us in salvation. We cannot do that. When we look beneath the superficial, we still struggle against temptation. For our forgiveness, we look to Christ. Here in worship he is found: blessing us through our baptisms to live in grace, enlivening and encouraging us through his word, and uniting us with himself and the congregation in the Lord's Supper. We participate in worship but it is not about us; it is about what God blesses us with here. 24:19 Sermon 36:43 Confirmation Speeches and Rite/media:description> media:community> media:starRating count="2" average="5.00" min="1" max="5"/> media:statistics views="15"/> /media:community> /media:group> /entry> /feed>

++++ UPdate DAvidKanal SET tsc=1719570975 WHERE Cid="149333"

28.06.2024 12:36

01.01.1970 01:00

Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church

12.06.2024 · 02:37:40 ···
12.06.2024 · 02:37:35 ···
06.05.2023 · 17:08:20 ··· 5 ··· ··· 59 ···
28.06.2024 · 12:36:15 ···
28.06.2024 · 12:36:10 ···
06.05.2023 · 17:08:20 ··· 5 ··· ··· 67 ···

1:: I AM the True Vine (Jn 15:1-3; John study 112)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 25.06.2024 · 19:41:16 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus declares he is the true Vine using the emphatic "I AM" signaling that this is characteristic of his divinity. Jesus is the God who gives us life and salvation by joining us to him in faith. Agricultural metaphors are common in the Bible but there is some uniqueness in this text. Christ is the Vine, rather than the world or Israel being the vineyard. The Father is the Vinedresser who both cleanses/prunes those who are fruitful and takes away from the Vine those who seek sin. The fruit is not exactly our works but those who come to faith to be claimed by the Father in the harvest at the end of the age. The implication of this is that if we are not trying to spread the word of Christ so others may live in Christ like we do, then we are cutting ourselves off from Christ and his salvation.

2:: Duties to Pastors and the Gospel of Luke as Scripture (1 Timothy 5:17-25)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 24.06.2024 · 20:43:19 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Pastors should receive double honour because they are not just responsible for their own lives in faith but the faith of those in their spiritual care. Good examples must be set, grace must be administered, and encouragement given for parishioners. People are not to show partiality in judgment to pastors but should respect them. Pastors themselves should fill the office honourably for both good and wicked deeds will affect the people around them. Paul references Luke 10:7 as scripture. The best explanation of this is that Luke was written at this point (early 60s AD) and it was already approved as a scriptural text, showing how the New Testament was starting to come together.

3:: Fifth Sunday after Pentecost (23 June 2024)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 23.06.2024 · 22:45:12 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: Job 38:1-3 We often speak with words without knowledge. These are usually statements about how we think God should be acting in the world but, even more so, also questions about why God is allowing us to suffer. Each of these questions mimics what the disciples asked God in the flesh (Jesus): Do you care that we are perishing? Does God care about us? We suffer, so it doesn't seem like it--but those are words without knowledge. God created the world. God made human beings and brought them together in marriages. He fashioned you within the womb from your parents. He provided your body and everything to support them. He continues to give you your daily bread. And the Lord came down from heaven in human flesh to suffer, die, rise again, and ascend for your salvation. Your God cares about you and He uses His Word to declare that you are His.

4:: Church Family and the Role of Widows (1 Timothy 5:1-16)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 22.06.2024 · 21:44:07 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· We should treat people in the Church like family. The elders like fathers and mothers, and the younger like brothers and sisters. The Church is about intimate, familial relationships through the Spirit. We care and provide for one another as we would our own family. A special case in our Church family are widows. In the ancient world, they were especially vulnerable members of society, which meant the Church did its best to provide for them. But the widows should not be idle but urged to good works. They should continue helping in their families if possible, or serving people in the Church, or marry if they were young enough to still have families. This is all in accordance with God's gift of femininity. Women, and men for that matter, should not be idle because that leads to filling time with sinful thoughts and deeds.

5:: Preaching and Teaching (1 Timothy 4:11-16)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 19.06.2024 · 21:42:47 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Clergy are to publicly read scripture, preach, and teach. These are the main actions of the office but the core of the message given is salvation in Christ himself. He is the Saviour of all people, even those who do not believe--which means they need to receive him through faith in order to be saved. Pastors are not reckoned according to their age but the wisdom of the Spirit guiding them. This also translates into being living examples for their churches that laypeople may see what is honorable. Suitable candidates for ministry are to be ordained by other ministers and recognized by this gift that they have authority to read, preach, and teach God's message.

6:: Satan, Hell, and moving on to Love (Jn 14:30-31; John study 111)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 18.06.2024 · 19:34:53 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus transitions from his statements about Satan (ruler of the world, having no hold over him) to how Satan's actions will direct the world into knowing the love of Christ. The love of Christ is made known through the cross, and Satan has no hold over Jesus there. When Satan possessed Judas to arrest Jesus, Jesus could have resisted but went willingly. Jesus also gave up his own spirit, not being overcome by his enemies. Death (brought about through the devil's deception in Eden) could not hold him and Jesus rose again. Even though Satan tries to overcome Jesus, Jesus uses everything that happens to demonstrate his love. We talk a fair bit about the punishment of God, especially what this means for hell. Hell itself is God's judgement--the fire of God. God and His presence is described with fire. His purification is symbolized by fire. And God's punishment with His condemnation is the Lake of Fire. This is His justice and only a loving God will refuse to let sin go unpunished. When we are being punished or disciplined with the evils of this world, rather than say God is unloving, we should communicate with Him in the Word and prayer that we might have a better understanding of what is happening. The chapter ends with an awkward transition by Jesus to "rise and leave" despite people staying where they are. Most likely, this is to highlight the new topic of discussion forming the core of the second half of John's gospel: the love of Christ laying down his life.

7:: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (16 June 2023; Happy Father's Day)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 17.06.2024 · 00:45:47 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: 2 Cor 5:1-3 Although we talk about going to our heavenly Father often, talk about the intermediate period between death and the resurrection is not common. One way Paul speaks of it is how it is better to be with the Lord and away from suffering. Yet, having our spirit away from the body is the very definition of death. God designed human beings to both body and spirit. It is unnatural for us to be away from the body. So, St Paul also talks of the intermediate state (dwelling in heaven as spirit) as a kind of nakedness where the souls in heaven desire to be further clothed. We do not want to be apart from our bodies, we want our bodies to be clothed with immortality. Christ shows and wins for us just this as he dies and rises from the grave. Our resurrection will be like his, in our own flesh without hint of mortality. We will have everlasting life. The resurrection is what we truly hope for; however, whether we are here in the body, in heaven away from the body, or in resurrected flesh in the paradise to come, our heavenly Father will always be with us through faith.

8:: (Un)Trustworthy Sayings (1 Timothy 4:6-10)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 13.06.2024 · 19:30:05 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Beware bad teachings that go against what God says. Our lives should be founded on the Word of God, especially the Gospel which gives us life. Jesus lived, died, and rose again that we may have eternal life in him. Now that our lives stretch to eternity, how should we live? We should follow the Law God set in place for His creation. Although not everything we say comes right from the Bible, all our thoughts and actions should be guarded by God's Word. When we encounter created content in the world--religious and non-religious--we should be mindful of what it says. If it promotes ideas going against God, we should call it out and deny it. Then we can offer Christian-influenced content in its place.

9:: Christ's Role and Satan's Chain (Jn 14:28-30; John study 110)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 11.06.2024 · 19:49:09 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus tells his disciples the if they love him, then they will be glad he is going to the Father and coming back. All of this is murky to the disciples but Christ is saying those who live in faith will rejoice that Jesus prepares a place for them in heaven at his death and solidifies this promise with his resurrection. For us, Christ has gone up in the Ascension to intercede at the Father's right hand and to bring about the kingdom to come. This promise we know to be true on account of his resurrection proving his word. Christ says the prince of the world is coming, that is, Satan will arrest Jesus at Gethsemane in Judas. Yet, Satan has no real power over Jesus and Jesus binds Satan with his victory at the cross and grave. The devil is given power to accuse sinners of sin, making his domain the whole unbelieving world. But his role is to convict people of their sin so that they may see their need for Christ's forgiveness. Since Christian's are already forgiven, Satan has no real power over us although he does attack. When we are attacked, we are to seek the one who overcomes him that we may be saved in Christ.

10:: Living by Christ and the Spirit (1 Timothy 3:14-4:5)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 11.06.2024 · 03:28:25 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Paul states he is writing the letter so we may know how the Church should operate, in regards to who should lead the churches and how we should worship. The teachings of the Church should be based on apostolic writings like these (that is, the New Testament) and the sacraments offering life and salvation. Central to the Church is the Gospel in our Lord Jesus Christ who is God come in the flesh, testified to by the Holy Spirit in his death and resurrection, and ascended on high. He did all this for our salvation. Although the Spirit warns of false teachers, such as those who make laws about what God does not to guilt people into following their teachings of law and not the free gift of salvation in Christ.

11:: Third Sunday after Pentecost (9 June 2024)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 10.06.2024 · 03:45:06 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: Mark 3:23-27 Satan may be the god of this world but he has no power over us. His power was severed when Christ won the victory over sin, death, and, of course, the devil at the cross and empty grave. He has bound the "strong man" to plunder the house. It isn't Satan's house after all but Christ's house. He made the whole world and he made us. Satan may be allowed to accuse sinners, but our sins are forgiven in Christ. However, we struggle against sin. That is because we have another "strong man" in the house of our bodies: our sinful hearts. Yet, Christ has bound the sin within us as well since he has cleansed us and given us the Holy Spirit in baptism. Therefore, sin has no power over us like Satan has no power over us on account of what Christ does within us. When we struggle with sin, we can rebuke it saying that it has been enslaved and we are set free. We are not bound to sin but united with Christ!

12:: What Is a Deacon? (1 Timothy 3:8-14)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 05.06.2024 · 20:53:23 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Pastors (Overseers/Bishops/Priests/Presbyters/Elders) are generally understood in terms of their role but deacons are relatively ambiguous. The word for deacon (literally "minister/servant") appears in different capacities in the Bible. Here Paul is talking about an appointed position in the Church. From the qualifications here, a deacon is someone who is: of good character, knowledgeable of the faith and living it out, under direction of the pastor, serving the pastor and congregation, and not in the preaching/teaching office of pastor, although there can be some teaching of youth. Can women be deacons? Women are not to have pastoral authority over men (1 Timothy 2:11-15) but the office of deacon is not of that teaching office. It is more about administration in a congregation from a spiritual perspective. Women are given capacity to serve as deaconesses, similar to their male counterparts (1 Timothy 3:11), but should be mindful of the boundaries of diaconal ministry which does not include being a pastor. 3:38 Differentiating between Pastor and Deacon 15:37 Getting into the Text 38:31 Defining the Role of Deacon 45:35 Deaconesses 1:06:41 Deacons and Family

13:: Taught, Reminded, and at Peace (Jn 14:26-27; John study 109)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 04.06.2024 · 19:33:54 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The Holy Spirit is to teach us all things and to remind us of all things Jesus said. For the disciples, this meant proclaiming what Jesus said to others to create faith (eventually writing them down in scripture) and understanding what they could not previously understand. For us, the Spirit reminds and guides us by God's Word (through scripture, devotions, sermons, etc.) and teaches us by reason and experience toward robust doctrine and understanding. Although we may not feel confident in ourselves at facing people's arguments against the faith, the Spirit can still help us respond with the and understanding of God's Word--although it is alright to say we don't know from time to time. Christ says he leaves his peace with us. We usually define peace negatively as "without conflict" but the Bible has a positive definition. John's gospel portrays it as being with the promises of Christ's death and resurrection. Elsewhere, it refers more towards the peace of the new heavens and new earth, that is, a right relationship with God where we live as we were created to do.

14:: Answer Me When I Call (Psalm 4)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 03.06.2024 · 20:55:08 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Psalm 4 is a lament in the face of people trying to turn our honour into shame. Our honour is the righteousness of God given to us in Christ. All of us were in sin, doing what is not right in creation, but Christ sacrificed himself in our place to give us reconciliation and righteousness in God. As we live this out in faith, we will be doing and saying what is right according to God's will. Those who oppose what God ordains try to shame us for these things, but we remain godly through God's active giving of grace. Therefore, although we are shaken and angered by the world, we should not sin. We can take comfort in what our Lord gives us and how He shapes us that we may have peace now as we await the peace in the world to come.

15:: Confirmation Sunday (Second Sunday after Pentecost, 2 June 2024)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 03.06.2024 · 00:00:38 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 4:5 On Confirmation Sunday, we gather together to receive Christ's grace and forgiveness through his Word and Sacrament, just like every other Sunday. While we recognize our confirmands and gladly receive them as communicant members of the congregation, it's not all about them. It's not about anyone of us in particular. It is about Christ. He is the Saviour who delivers us from sin and sets us in salvation. We cannot do that. When we look beneath the superficial, we still struggle against temptation. For our forgiveness, we look to Christ. Here in worship he is found: blessing us through our baptisms to live in grace, enlivening and encouraging us through his word, and uniting us with himself and the congregation in the Lord's Supper. We participate in worship but it is not about us; it is about what God blesses us with here. 24:19 Sermon 36:43 Confirmation Speeches and Rite

16:: Proper Pastors (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 30.05.2024 · 21:04:40 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Priests stood between God and man to mediate the forgiveness of sins and salvation, which makes the position pretty important. Christ is our Great High Priest who made complete satisfaction for our sins which is given through the priesthood on behalf of the Church in Word and Sacrament ministry. Someone performing this good work for the souls of the people should themselves be above reproach, faithful to his household, and respectable to outsiders for preaching of the Gospel. In this way, a pastor imitates Christ and does what is good in the pastoral office.

17:: Promises in Love; Personhood of the Spirit (Jn 14:23-26; John study 108)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 28.05.2024 · 19:42:14 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus places many promises (obeying his teachings, love of the Father, the Father and Son coming and dwelling with you) on loving him. These promises also apply to our sinful state before the Lord enables us to love Him with His Word. Living in love only shows how we come into the greater fulfilment of these promises of those who hear God. Those who are outside of the Word (logos) of Jesus' ministry and divine promise do not love nor do they listen to the Word (logos) the Father uses to draw people to Christ. Jesus again promises the Holy Spirit/Paraclete who the Father will give in Christ's name, which will occur through the Word and devotionally living in prayer. We see something interesting with the gendered terms of the Greek. Paraclete is masculine and the masculine pronoun is attached to His action of teaching and reminding. Holy Spirit is neuter and relates to the Father giving the Spirit. The actions and gendering of the language suggest the Spirit is a person of the Trinity (as opposed to those who think Him merely a force) while the neuter and masculine pronouns deny labelling Him as female as some people do in identity politics.

18:: Psalm 3: Protected by God

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 27.05.2024 · 21:34:35 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· King David composed this psalm when he was fleeing from his murderous son trying to take over Israel. While we may not be able to relate to having enemies out to kill us, Christians do know what it is like to have people oppose us for our beliefs in Christ and proper Christian living. Christ himself was arrested and sentenced to death for it. Yet, Christ rose from the grave to show us there is salvation in our God. Looking to David, we also know there is hope for deliverance in this world through God's gifts and people He places in our lives to help us.

19:: Holy Trinity Sunday (26 May 2024)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 27.05.2024 · 01:33:26 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: John 3:8 Trinity Sunday is about recognizing God revealed in three persons; one God in three persons, neither dividing the divine substance nor confusing the persons. However, this is confusing for us. We do not fully understand divine mystery nor the mind of God. When we are faced with challenging decisions or despairing confusions of why things are happening or what we should do, we similarly understand that all things are known to God even though we hardly know what should be done. He will likely not give us exact directions through dreams and visions either. However, we can point to some absolute certainties: we have received the Holy Spirit in baptism, the Spirit brings our prayers to the Father who hears us, and Jesus will serve us in this world by his grace and love. That is the Trinity. Although we don't know the exact nature of God nor what to do, our Lord does promise to guide our lives by the Spirit who protects us in life everlasting.

20:: Women and the Church (1 Timothy 2:11-15)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 23.05.2024 · 03:03:13 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Paul states that women are not to teach and have authority over men. What does he mean? This comes up in the context of worship and practice in the Christian Church. Women are not to be in the priesthood/pastoral office despite there being legitimate roles for women in the Church outside of this vocation. Paul links this to Adam and Eve invoking: the order of creation, the respective biology of the sexes God created, the natural order of the household upset due to sin, and historical precedents. Objections to women not being allowed in the priesthood are generally either about women being equal to men in the Church (they are in terms of salvation and worth before God, but God still gives specific roles to specific people and women are not given the role in the Church of pastor although they can take part in other ways) and denying the legitimacy of this passage in the Bible (which rejects the legitimacy of the Bible and the faith based on it as a whole, including the priesthood). 00:00 Introduction 00:51 Praying Psalm 128 03:48 Difference between Men and Women 10:35 Submission to the Authorities in the Church 24:30 "Quietness" in the Church 29:17 Women not to have Pastoral Authority 38:08 Creation showing Woman's Role 49:26 Sin showing how Roles can be Abused 58:08 Summary of Arguments Against Women's Ordination 58:48 Women's Righteousness 1:06:40 Addressing Arguments for Women's Ordination

21:: Working for Love? Which Judas? (Jn 14:21-22; John study 107)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 21.05.2024 · 19:30:02 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus says whoever loves him and keeps his commands (to love our neighbours) will be loved by God the Father. People could be misled by this statement into thinking that we need to do good works in order to maintain our salvation in God. However, when we explore what Jesus says in John 15:12-14 and what John explains in 1 John 4:10-11, we see that it is only by the love of the Father that we have the love of Christ crucified which enables us to love Him and do good works. We love because God loves us; we don't have to work for it. Judas not Iscariot now asks a question. Who is this? This is the only time he is mentioned outside of the lists of the Twelve Disciples and, even in those lists, he does not go by the same name. He is also known as Thaddeus, but may not commonly be called Judas to avoid confusion with Judas Iscariot, the Betrayer. Why does Jesus manifest himself to the disciples and not to the world? His followers are the ones who can identify him as the one who died on the cross and thus as the one who God raised from the dead for our salvation. When people see Jesus in dreams and visions after his Ascension, he usually appears to point them to sacramental Christian churches, even today.

22:: Psalm 2: Prophecy of the King

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 20.05.2024 · 21:12:28 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The second psalm, along with the first, introduces the book of Psalms. The first dealt with doctrine and righteousness, Psalm 2 speaks on the promise of the Messianic King. The world may oppose God and His righteous law, but the anointed one has been established. Jesus took up his throne at the cross for the salvation of the world and will come again to judge the living and the dead. Those who repent are found in his grace and will enter into paradise. Those who persist in their sins will be judged according to those sins.

23:: Pentecost Sunday (19 May 2024)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 20.05.2024 · 01:30:11 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon Text: Ezekiel 37:11-14 The image and message of the valley of dry bones is familiar: as Jesus Christ rose from the dead, so too will he raise you from death. Therefore, we do not fear death nor fear talking of death. We live eternally on account of the Holy Spirit uniting us to Christ through faith. However, there is still a dire evil that may haunt us, that is, feeling like we are dried bones in the world. When we get tired of the pain, loss, and unchristian sentiments of the world, we can fall into despair. We need a place of refuge away from the sorrows of the world well before our Lord takes us into the paradise to come. The sanctuary for which we are looking is the Church. The Holy Spirit creates the Christian Church as a body of believers who take refuge in God's grace. Although the evils of the world are nipping at our heels, the Spirit will guide us that we may know and live in the reality that our Lord is breathing new life into us always.

24:: Leviticus 19:11-18 Love Your Neighbour

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 31.07.2023 · 21:40:17 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· This section of commands focuses on the Seventh ("do not steal"), Eighth ("do not bear false witness"), and Fifth ("do not murder") Commandments. They look to how to treat your neighbours in society by caring for others in their body. Sins of commission (active harm you commit) and omission (passive harm through withholding something you can provide) should both be considered. All this can be summed up with, "Love your neighbour as yourself," (Leviticus 19:18b) where everyone to whom we can show mercy becomes our neighbour. We have received mercy in God through Christ that we might be saved; therefore, we should show His mercy to others in love and good works.

25:: Investing in the Kingdom (Sermon on Matthew 13:44)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 30.07.2023 · 22:08:21 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Investing in the Kingdom: Sermon on Matthew 13:44 30 July 2023 The kingdom of heaven is like a man who finds a hidden treasure in a field and sells all he has in order to buy that field. So, what are you willing to invest to obtain the kingdom of heaven? To be clear: you are not buying your way into heaven. That treasure is more valuable than anything you can offer. You are acting according to the promise of heaven you received in faith and now live in salvation. How do you act in faith to invest in heaven? You should be giving everything of yourself. You are centring your entire life on Christ and living out your salvation in God's kingdom through how you love God and love your neighbour. To watch the whole service: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live?ref=watch_permalink&v=293642566486264

26:: Hebrews 11:7 Noah: Faith of Righteousness and Condemnation

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 26.07.2023 · 22:33:32 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Many people know the story of Noah but some of the specifics are not as well known. The reason for the flooding of the world was that the sinful line of Cain (who murdered his brother) was mixing with the rest of the world so Noah and his family were the only righteous ones God would save. Noah spent a hundred years building the ark and collecting animals so God could cleanse the world of sin and sinners in the flood. Following the flood, God declared the wicked ones were no more but wickedness remained in the human heart, and Noah did sin. This closely parallels our story of salvation in baptism. Baptism joined us to Christ and cleansed us from sin, but we still struggle with temptation. However, just as the faith of Noah saved him (in building the ark) our faith will save us where Christ constantly cleanses us from sin.

27:: Leviticus 19:1-8 Be Holy: In Life and Worship

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 24.07.2023 · 23:07:52 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· This new chapter in Leviticus looks to being holy in all aspects of life because of God's holiness placed within you by His name. God has saved us in holiness. Now we are to live out this holiness. The first section is concerned with the first four commandments, although the Second Commandment (not misusing the name of the Lord) is voiced throughout the whole chapter by living up to the holiness of God's name on us. We are to honour our parents in conjunction with properly worshipping God. These two commands are linked closer than we might think. God is our Creator but parents are the procreators. We honour our parents who made us and our Lord who made us. If we respect our parents, who should also be bringing us up in God's name, then we should respect our heavenly Father. The latter happens in proper worship. We are to worship Him as He directs us, not trying to alter things to our preferences, but following His fatherly commands.

28:: Hope of Creation (Sermon on Romans 8:18-25 for 23 July 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 23.07.2023 · 21:57:21 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· To view the entire service, including the preservice music, please go to: https://www.facebook.com/watch/live?ref=watch_permalink&v=1009373963591063. The Creation itself is waiting for God's glorification. This glory comes from when the Lord raises our bodies from death in the resurrection to come in order to live with Him forever. The Creation was placed under our dominion in the beginning for we were made from the earth and also in the Image of God. When we fell into sin, the Creation was unwillingly subjected to the effects of sin. This is why the Creation (the elements, animals, disease) is hostile to us--and we are the cause. But our Lord has brought us into the hope of the resurrection and the Creation will follow suit so we need not worry about suffering harm from the Creation in the world to come. Until that time, we are to live in faith according to God's word and rule over the Creation as faithful stewards and take care of it like Adam and Eve tended to Creation in the beginning.

29:: Sermon on Isaiah 55:10-13 (19 July 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 21.07.2023 · 21:17:33 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Written by Pastor Adam Chandler and delivered by Bert Weiss. The Lord uses the metaphor of rain coming to cause growth in the field for the food of the farmer in order to describe His Word. The Word of salvation in Christ Jesus certainly does cause growth in us. It transforms our deadness in sin into new life, much as rain can transform a barren land into a flourishing farm. The fruits of the faith continue to nourish us as we live in this world and allows us to do the work that is needed of us. We The fruit of the Word is not for us alone but for all people. We are to cultivate the world by spreading the Word of Christ that all might be forgiven their sins and come to knowledge of the Truth.

30:: Sermon on Matthew 11:25-30 (9 July 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 21.07.2023 · 21:10:03 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Rev. Tim Rumsch preaches a sermon on Christ sharing in our burdens.

31:: Sermon 1 Peter 1:3-7 (2 July 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 21.07.2023 · 19:39:15 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Sermon by Pastor Scott Brayall, modified by Pastor Adam Chandler, and delivered by Bert Weiss while Pastor Chandler is volunteering at the Impact Youth Gathering led by Pastor Brayall. There is a lot of uncertainty around our lives, despite all the amazing statements made by people trying to sell you something. The youth attending the Youth Retreat in Grand Forks have many uncertainties themselves, about growing up and about the here and now. Adults can remember those times as well. But Christ promises an inheritance of salvation which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfailing. It is certain and pure just as his own resurrection from the dead. Our own resurrection is awaiting each of us in the faith.

32:: Hebrews 11:5-6 The Salvation of Enoch

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 20.07.2023 · 21:51:03 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· You might not recall Enoch from the Old Testament because he appears in the middle of a genealogy and nothing more is mentioned of him. However, he is one of only two people known for sure to be taken up to heaven before dying in the flesh (the other being Elijah). This is due to God favouring him on account of his faith. This doesn't mean that we should act piously to avoid dying in the flesh, but we should take it as a sign of how important faith is for us. God finds us pleasing only through faith. He gives us salvation and grace through faith. Our faith produces works, yes, but it is not on account of our work that we are saved. Only by the grace of God through faith are we saved in Christ.

33:: Leviticus 18:24-30 Summary and Conclusion of Sexual Prohibitions

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 29.06.2023 · 23:58:10 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· God has ordered the universe according to His will, which includes the moral ordering of humanity. The gift of sexuality God has given has been purposed for the marital union of a man and a woman. Anything outside of this (going outside the marital union and outside of the designed purpose of the sexual organs to homosexual or even bestial sexual acts) is forbidden. The people occupying the Promised Land before the Israelites had practiced all these perversions; therefore, God was going to expel them from His promises and judge them according to their deeds. But the Israelites have committed sins and so have we--sexual or otherwise. This is why all people regardless of sexual orientation, type of sin, or amount of sin need salvation in Christ our Lord. United to Christ through faith, we receive the true Promised Land of the paradise to come as he forgives us our sins and directs us to live holy lives.

34:: John study 72 (Jesus' Death Sentence [Jn 11:50-57] and an Excursus on the Christian Priesthood)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 27.06.2023 · 20:08:24 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The first half of the study, we look to the prophecy of Caiaphas and its aftermath. Caiaphas did prophesy that Jesus would die for the people, but he meant it in a political sense. John rightly hints at the true meaning being Jesus dying for the salvation of people from sin and death. Caiaphas could have used the priestly method of the Urim and Thummim for determining what to do with regard to Jesus, which is a specialized casting of lots, where God gave the response that Jesus was to die. Jesus uncharacteristically withdraws from public life until shortly before the Passover and people were wondering where he was. The Sanhedrin publicly announced Jesus' whereabouts were to be reported to them that they may kill him. The second half of the study (1:02:45) gets into the question of the Levitical and Christian Priesthoods. The Old Testament priests had significant limitations (male from the tribe of Levi without defect) while the Christian preaching office has different restrictions which are largely ethical (1 Timothy 3:1-7) with the exception of being male (1 Timothy 2:11-15). The condition of being male does not sit well with our preset-day culture since people look more toward equity (sameness of outcome) instead of equality (sameness of opportunity) where the latter applies restrictions based on qualifications for vocations. This is made worse with the cultural call to ignore physical differences in selection, although some are recommended or necessary for certain vocations. Lutheran synods were affected by this through the shift toward Social Justice over the teaching of Law and Gospel. However, a breaking point might be reached later in time where our culture becomes so perverse in its understanding of sexuality that society begins to move back to a proper understanding of men and women. Devotions on Sexual Prohibitions in Leviticus: Incest (and Polygamy) https://youtu.be/zLxyjQ2rFkA Impurity and Adultery https://youtu.be/W-KMxJkdGPI Abortion and Prostitution https://youtu.be/fGtc9dPRCJI Homosexuality and Bestiality https://youtu.be/NWgsvYf7AWY

35:: Hebrews 11:4 Abel's Example of Faith

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 26.06.2023 · 20:33:32 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The first person described in the Faith Chapter of Hebrews is not Adam but his son, Abel. Adam, in unbelief, moved from the promises of God into sin and a world of sin. Abel, by faith, offered sacrifices and God gave him grace through faith. Abel's brother, Cain, did not act in faith and sinned against his brother by murdering him; and Abel's blood speaks in condemning Cain's sin. Yet, we are hoping for a better word from Christ's blood over Abel's blood. Christ's blood speaks forgiveness to sinners and the promise of the paradise to come, a paradise which Abel's parents lost due to sin. In Christ through faith, we and Abel receive more than an end to evil but all the blessings of God.

36:: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (25 June 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 26.06.2023 · 17:31:21 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, 25 June 2023, Jeremiah 20:7-13 (sermon text) Psalm 91:1-10 Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:5a, 21-33 The fire of God's Word is within our hearts and bones. It's not some emotional "burning of the bosom" but the dwelling in the promises of God through Christ Jesus. We feel the fire of God purging our sins and refining us for heaven through the concrete means of His Word and Sacrament. Yet, when the world hears the fire of God's word, they typically hear the Law instead of the Gospel: stop sinning or be destroyed. Our fear in sharing the fiery light of the Gospel is that we will be rejected by people--especially our unbelieving family and friends--because they do not want their sins and their unbelief condemned. But, like Jeremiah, shutting up the fire of God's word in our hearts and bones forces the fire to burn within us, having it accuse us of not doing what we should by spreading it. We must let it out, not because we fear it, but because it is far more joyous to help our neighbours in their faith than to withhold the message of Christ's salvation from them.

37:: Church History 27 (Close of the Nicene Council and the Aftermath)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 25.06.2023 · 22:09:24 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The Arian controversy was the main reason for the Council of Nicaea but there were other decisions of the Council. (1) Twenty canons regarding Church discipline, especially with respect to the clergy, were agreed upon. Some were stipulations about who could become a clergyman, but some were targeted towards clergy affected by being Lapsed or heretical, both issues arising out of the Diocletian Persecution of 303-311. (2) The Meletian Schism in Alexandria was settled by allowing Meletians (followers of a different bishop than the one recognized by the Church) to enter back into fellowship. Finally, (3) the date of Easter was fixed for the whole Church as the Sunday following the Passover. Sadly, there were two ways to calculate the Passover so this issue was not actually resolved until the 9th century. Arianism did not end at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Eusebius of Nicomedia, the main Arian bishop, used political connections to have Constantine permit Arianism in the Roman Empire in 328. Many Nicene Christians were targeted by scandals and heretical synods. It was not until 381 with the First Council of Constantinople did the tide turn against Arianism and Nicene Christianity began to gain ground against heretical belief.

38:: Leviticus 19:22-23 Sexual Prohibitions: Homosexuality and Bestiality

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 21.06.2023 · 22:38:17 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Our God loves the creation which He designed and structured. He loves us whom He created. Therefore, He came in the person of Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, when we deviate away from the purposes for which He designed us. (Apologies for the audio. One of my parishioners chose a bad time to mow the lawn.) Homosexuality is a major topic of debate in recent years. From a biblical perspective, it is forbidden because it goes against what God purposed us to be and do in this world. He created male and female to marry each other in a one-flesh union to create children of that united flesh. Our sexual organs do not work to support homosexual behaviour. Every passage which mentions homosexuality condemns it as sin. Therefore, everyone who is sexually oriented towards the same sex is to remain single in faith toward God. It is not an easy burden to bear. Bestiality (or zoophilia) is also an orientation away from God's designed purpose, which is also shown through the inability to be in a true marriage with these animals and produce children. It is also a point which can be encountered on the slippery slope of promoting alternative sexualities.

39:: John study 71 (Sanhedrin Politics and the High Priesthood; Jn 11:47-50)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 20.06.2023 · 19:34:15 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Study on the Jewish War: https://youtu.be/d_EUXTirobw Leviticus devotion series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6YbmASiIjtN7F9PFQeIPfrNpmfUcewvV The priests and the Pharisees hear of Jesus' miracles and are concerned about an open rebellion against the Romans because this could result in them losing their positions and the nation of Israel. Their motivations are politically motived, not religiously motivated. They desire power and good living rather than attentiveness to God's promises. High priest Caiaphas' response (kill Jesus to stave off Roman destruction) also seems to be politically motivated but he might be more concerned for the people of the nation than the rest of the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas is high priest "that year". The high priesthood of Israel was instituted by God at Mt Sinai for the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Without the high priest, the nation of Israel could not be forgiven its sins. John the Evangelist might be hinting that Caiaphas is not the truest high priest. Annas, Caiaphas' father-in-law, is the high priest that comes up in John 18, although deposed by the Romans. Caiaphas is not the legitimate heir of Annas according to Levitical law and should not have received the office of high priest until Annas' death even if he was. While Caiaphas does seem to function as the high priest, there is some doubt involved.

40:: Hebrews 11:1-3 The Nature of Faith

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 19.06.2023 · 21:21:52 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· This is where we have the only concrete definition of faith in the New Testament (most definitions elsewhere are contextual). Faith is assurance in things hoped for and the conviction of things unseen. Non-Christians (and some Christians too) would say this means faith is having a favorable wish lacking evidence. This is hardly the case. Biblical faith is being in that which we have evidence for leading to salvation. Specifically here, faith is in Christ, his resurrection, and the paradise to come--none of which we have seen but we do have evidence. Christ's resurrection has eyewitness testimony from people who had every reason to tell the truth. Because Christ is risen from the dead, so can we believe we are raised from death. Faith is not a wish without reason but a gift of the Holy Spirit to grasp onto the promises of God.

41:: Third Sunday after Pentecost (18 June 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 18.06.2023 · 23:56:40 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Third Sunday after Pentecost, 18 June 2023, Happy Father's Day! Exodus 19:2-8 Psalm 100 Romans 5:6-15 Matthew 9:35-10:8 (sermon text) The Lord of harvest sends us out as labourers to collect the harvest, which means that Jesus is sending us to proclaim the Gospel that others might find salvation in Christ. We ourselves have been "harvested" by receiving the call to faith so we may share in the salvation and love of Jesus. The call was extended by faithful Christians and now we have the opportunity to help others as we have been helped. But we are few, which is not a new problem. It was the same for the Church throughout all generations, including the Twelve Disciples who were sent to preach to a whole nation. The important thing has never been our numbers but the fact that Christ has enlivened us with his word and has given us the honour to give his word to others.

42:: Church History 26 (The Creed of Nicaea)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 18.06.2023 · 20:07:50 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Emperor Constantine I called the Council of Nicaea early in 325 on the advice of a more local council held by Bishop Hosius of Cordova. The Nicene Council began c. 20 May 325 with discussion regarding the Arian controversy, which was not well-known to all the bishops in the Empire. Constantine arrived later on June 14 and called for the signing of the Nicene Creed on June 19. Those who refused to sign were exiled. The creed at Nicaea is different than our "Nicene Creed" today. Our Creed was expanded at later councils to further describe Jesus' human history and the person of the Holy Spirit. Those two subjects were not in debate at Nicaea, Arianism was. Therefore, the Creed at Nicaea also had anathemas (condemnations) of particular Arian beliefs. Much of the issue can be summed up with the difference between homoousios ("same substance") and homoiousios ("similar substance"). The Arian position that Jesus' divinity is created leads to the logical conclusion he is a different and lesser deity than God the Father (which is similar to Jehovah's Witnesses who are modern day Arians). The Council at Nicaea maintained that Jesus is the same divine substance as the Father, which means he is uncreated, but different in person and consequently in relation to the Father, thus Christ is eternally begotten.

43:: Leviticus 18:21 Sexual Prohibitions: Abortion and Prostitution

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 14.06.2023 · 20:42:22 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The Israelites are forbidden to sacrifice their children to Molech, but what does it mean? There are two main categories of interpretation: (1) do not kill your children to this false god or (2) do not engage in sexual acts to worship the god. Basically, do not engage in ritual abortion or prostitution. People today are not worshipping Molech but are worshipping their sexual desires by sacrificing/aborting children to keep their current lives or "playing the whore" by satisfying sexual desires outside of proper marriage. However, in Christ we see a proper orientation to both God and to other human beings, devoting himself to worship God and serve others. Christ especially serves his bride, the Church, in sacrificing himself for her--something we should emulate in our own devotion to our spouses.

44:: John study 70 (The Grammar of Belief, Jn 11:45-46)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 13.06.2023 · 20:06:39 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· It's everyone's favorite subjects: narrative structure and Greek grammar! Looking at the chiastic (X-like matching of themes) structure of John 11, the glory of God in Lazarus' lack of death in 11:4-6 is matched by Lazarus walking out of the tomb. Therefore, the messenger warning Jesus of Lazarus' sickness is matched by messengers of the resurrection provoking Jesus' death. Those who come to faith from the resurrection of Lazarus come to faith by Christ's action. We can see this from the grammatical structure of 11:45 where background information (the Jews "had come" and "had seen") are signaled by participles while the main verb is in the indicative mood ("Jesus did") and denotes what is most important. We can see this in the structure of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 where "go", "baptizing", and "teaching" are all participles in Greek (and therefore background information) meant to explain the primary command of "make disciples" (an imperative). Therefore, in John 11, John is highlighting faith coming from God's action over human action, although humans are still the people doing the believing. We briefly talk about the gathering (synagogue) of the chief priests and Pharisees in a council (Sanhedrin). From the wording, it is difficult to say whether this is a formal or informal council, but we do know they are at a loss from what Christ has done. They act in unbelief, not faith.

45:: Hebrews 10:32-39 Perseverance in Faith

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 12.06.2023 · 21:01:13 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Having warned against desecrating Christ's blood by falling away from faith, the author of Hebrews encourages us to persevere under persecution. When we go forth to proclaim the Gospel, we will meet opposition in the world (usually because we convict people of their sins). We might face public condemnation, or maybe even imprisonment and death. However, we have greater blessings awaiting us than what is found corrupted in this world of sin. Eternal life, perfection of body and soul, and the presence of our holy God are in paradise. Therefore, we should persevere in our faith, which is our confidence and confession, in order to receive these blessings God promises to those in faith.

46:: Second Sunday of Pentecost (11 June 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 12.06.2023 · 01:09:26 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Second Sunday of Pentecost, 11 June 2023, Hosea 5:19-6:6 Psalm 119:65-72 Romans 4:13-25 Matthew 9:9-13 (sermon text) Jesus is our Great Physician who has cured us from the sickness of sin. In him, we do not die but live eternally. Since he has come to save us all at the cross, that means we are all sinners in need of salvation. People do not like to hear they are damnably in error, but it is true. What we need is Christ to cure us from sin; flushing out death with baptism, nourishing us with the Word, surgically removing the guilt of sin with baptism, and giving us the Lord's Supper as the medicine of immortality. All this he does within his Church where you can find the pastor as your spiritual healthcare provider and consultant. In order to be spiritually healthy, we should continue to receive the Word and Sacrament within the Church which also equips us to help others.

47:: Church History 25 (Confronting Arianism)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 11.06.2023 · 23:04:16 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The Arian heresy declares that the second person of the Trinity (Jesus/Logos) was created by the Father and shares in His substance. This would make Jesus less than truly God. Modern day Arians, the Jehovah's Witnesses, even insert words into scripture to misrepresent what the Apostles taught. Ancient Arians use Proverbs 8:22 as a proof text to say the Logos was created, but a careful study of John 1:1 shows otherwise. John says, "The Word was God." Arians tend to deny this statement from Greek grammar, but the grammar of the statement (as well as the context of the whole chapter) demonstrates the Logos is in fact fully God and not a creation. The formal address of Arianism begins with the priest Arius in 311. Arius speaks against his bishop in Alexandria for saying Jesus is uncreated and of one substance with the Father. A local council is called and condemns Arius. Arius does not stop and sends out heretical writings which are picked up by Eusebius of Nicomedia, an important bishop in the Roman Empire. A Church Council is called by Emperor Constantine in 325 but the Arian debate is, at the beginning, not the main issue. Bishops are coming across the empire mainly to decide on how to understand the offices of priest and bishop because this was jeopardized somewhat in the Diocletian Persecution which ended in 311.

48:: Leviticus 18:19-20 Sexual Prohibitions: Impurity and Adultery

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 07.06.2023 · 20:51:24 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The prohibitions here are moral imperatives that continue to impact us but people might deny their formulation in Leviticus. We need to see what divine imperatives these laws rely on. Not having relations during a time of sexual impurity is not applicable to us when we are cleansed by Christ; however, this law relies on not placing sex or even marriage before our worship of God (the Third Commandment). Therefore, we can say we should not enter into marital relations if this hinders us from regularly coming to God. The prohibition against infidelity with married persons does not give us license to pre-marital sex. Marriage in scripture is defined by devoting one's life in the flesh to each your spouse, which is expressed with sex. Therefore, this prohibition is about not committing adultery, that is, not having any sex outside of one partner (the Sixth Commandment). We see this modeled in Christ who laid his life down for his bride, the Church. The faith that gives us Christ's life is more intimate than marriage in the flesh.

49:: John study 69 (Miscellaneous Things with Lazarus' Resurrection, Jn 11:40-44)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 06.06.2023 · 22:11:17 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Jesus declares those who believe will see the glory of God. The glory of God for the Gospel of John is primarily the crucifixion of Christ, which is undividedly tied with Christ's resurrection. The reason for this is John's understanding of God's glory is the creation intertwined with life flowing from God. When Jesus is crucified, he dies for the salvation of life; and when he rises from the dead Jesus brings us into eternally enfleshed life. The crucifixion and resurrection should be kept in tension because overemphasizing Christ dying for your sins (apart from the life you receive in the resurrection) emphasizes your guilt over your salvation, and overemphasizing the resurrection unto the Ascension takes our eyes off how Christ saves us from our sins at the cross. Jesus prays to the Father so others may know that it is through his relation to the Father and the Father's acting through the words of Jesus that His glory (the resurrection found in Jesus) may be known/believed (by way of Lazarus being raised through the resurrection of Jesus, an event that has yet to occur). Needless to say, this is a complicated piece of speech, especially when the grammar is involved. Jesus "knew" that the Father always hears him. The Greek verb "knew" is in the pluperfect which here functions as an imperfect (in the video, I mistakenly say the pluperfect is a completed past action with an ongoing effect on the present; the ongoing aspect of the verb comes from its function as an imperfect verb here although in the form of a pluperfect...yes, complicated; see Mounce's "Basics of Biblical Greek"). The aorist tense for "said" as in "I said this" is commonly translated as past tense but the aorist's true force is an undefined aspect which means it can have a present tense meaning here, as in "I say this". The loud calling of Jesus to Lazarus reminds us of both his role as the Good Shepherd beckoning us from death to gather around him in life and as the call for the believers to rise from death on the Last Day. This also reminds us of Jesus healing the crippled man in John 5 and his subsequent speech proclaiming a spiritual resurrection through his words and the promised resurrection of the flesh on the Last Day. But would Lazarus want to be resurrected? Prior to Jesus' sacrifice for our forgiveness, most likely yes. Going to the heavenly throne appears in Revelation 7, after Jesus' sanctification of believers through his blood shed at the cross. Old Testament saints prior to Jesus' sacrifice seem to be in the better part of Sheol/Hades (Abraham's bosom, Luke 16:22) awaiting when they could receive the effects of the cross at the time of the sacrifice of Jesus when we would join them (Hebrews 10:19-22; 11:39-40).

50:: Hebrews 10:26-31 Sinning Against Faith

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 05.06.2023 · 21:07:04 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· This warning passage is directed against those who reject Christ and his forgiveness by deliberately continuing in sin. As sinners, all of us will be sinning until we are removed from sinful flesh but we should not deliberately sin. Unintentional sin is when we struggle against our sin in faith. The Spirit turns us in repentance to Christ when we fail against temptation. Deliberate sin is deciding to continue doing evil and deny God's Word to stop. Sadly, denying you need to stop sinning also denies the forgiveness of those sins found in Christ's blood. The forgiveness is there at the cross, but it is denied in favour of personal desire.

51:: Holy Trinity Sunday (4 June 2023)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 05.06.2023 · 00:45:28 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· Holy Trinity Sunday, 4 June 2023, Genesis 1:1-2:4a (sermon text) Psalm 8 Acts 2:14a, 22-36 Matthew 28:16-20 What is man that God made him a little lower than the angels? And how is man greater than the animals? The reason for God being mindful of us is the gift He gives to us of His own Image, not anything special of ourselves. The Image of God makes us like Him; living everlastingly, being perfectly righteous, and having dominion over the creation...but this does not sound like us. Sin has broken the Image of God in us. We still have the shards of the Image--like knowing we should be moral and ruling over creation--but our sin corrupts these things so we deserve death, not everlasting life. Therefore, Jesus came as God and in the Image of God into the form of man that he might raise our humanity from death back into the Image of God. The Holy Spirit brings us into this image of Christ so we may reflect Christ not only in our actions, but primarily in the gifts of life and righteousness we receive from him.

52:: Leviticus 19:1-18 Sexual Prohibitions: Incest (& Polygamy)

01.01.1970 · 01:00:00 ··· 01.06.2023 · 20:12:37 ··· ···
··· ··· ··· ··· The chapter is all about God's moral law against sexual immorality. The first half of the chapter lists different types of incest which fall into two general categories: immediate biological relations and in-laws. The general idea for their relation together is marriage is making you one-flesh with your spouse, therefore your spouse's biological relations are your relations. This is the primary reason why incest is forbidden, although avoiding genetic disease prevalent in incestuous cultures could also be a factor. Polygamy is also implicitly forbidden with the explicit law against marrying your spouse's siblings while your spouse is alive. For clarification, we look to Christ. Christ's bride is the Church and he has not relations apart from her. He gave his own life for her and she lives through him. Therefore, we should be faithful like Christ to our spouse and, also, not desecrate our close family relations.