In the New Testament, 37 miracles of Jesus are recorded. These miracles show His power over creation, disease, demons, and death. Each miracle is like an Epiphany spotlight shining on Jesus that reveals to us that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world and that His Word is trustworthy and […]
The focus of Lutheran Worship is on the Word and the Sacraments. Worship is God serving us through the proclamation of the Gospel — in words (Scripture), in water (Baptism), and “in, with, and under” the bread and the wine (Communion). We worship today just like the people did in Jesus’ day. In the Gospel […]
Miracles are described as signs; it means that there is more to the miracle than the miracle itself! Miracles are signs that point to something else. Miracles point to Jesus and His Word. If Jesus can work a miracle, then His Word is true also. Miracles are signs that point to Jesus and the truthfulness […]
The Epiphany spotlight shined on Jesus at His Baptism last week – Jesus in the water, the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, and God the Father publicly announcing, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” It was Jesus’ commissioning, His ordination to “fulfill all righteousness”. It signaled that the work […]
Today the Epiphany spotlight takes us to Jesus’ baptism. Jesus is about 30 years old now. His Baptism dramatically reveals Him as the Savior of the world! It is the only time in all of Holy Scripture that all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are publicly revealed at the same time! That makes Jesus’ […]
Epiphany begins with the Visit of the Magi. Of all the Christmas stories, this one has to have the most legends associated with it. There are several things about this story that are pure speculation. Here are some examples: The Magi are not identified as “Kings” in the Bible, but “Magi”. In Biblical times, Magi […]
It’s less than a week since we celebrated Christmas, and in the Gospel lesson from Matthew, the peace and joy and beauty of Christmas is shattered by the violence and ugliness of King Herod who intends to kill the infant Savior, the King of the Jews. This is one of the most tragic stories in […]
Matthew teaches us that Jesus is the Son of Abraham and the Son of David. The promise to Abraham was that one of his descendants would bless the entire earth; and the promise to David was that one of his descendants would be a Great King with an eternal Kingdom! Jesus is that Great King […]
The Gospel of Matthew begins with the “genesis” of Jesus: His beginning. Jesus begins the “new Creation”, the New Era of Salvation where Jesus will overturn and restore everything that Adam corrupted and destroyed in the original creation. Matthew then traces Jesus’ family line through the Old Testament showing that He is the Son of […]
A popular thing to do today is to trace your family tree and to do research on your genealogy. Maybe you have tried your hand at that to some degree. There are several websites that will help you find your family history. You can even do DNA testing to help. One of the things that […]