And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42) There’s just something about food. Imagine going to your relatives’ house for Thanksgiving. The house is packed. Every chair is full. They even have to bring in some folding chairs. A couple kids are… Read More ›
Do you remember the old children’s song about the skeleton bones? The foot bone’s connected to the leg bone. The leg bone’s connected to the knee bone. The knee bone’s connected to the leg bone. … And eventually, The neck bone’s connected to the head bone. (And something about dancing skeletons.) Well, what happens if… Read More ›
You know how the internet learns things about you and shows you advertisements it thinks you’re interested in—like when you google the word “marriage” and all you see for the next two months is ads for diamond rings? Well, a funny thing happens when the internet learns that you are a pastor. You start to… Read More ›
What if I would have tried out for the golf team instead of track? What if I had apologized twenty years earlier? What if I hadn’t even had that first drink? We all have those “what if?” moments in our lives—those times when we wonder what would have happened if we had made different choices…. Read More ›
“According to the Word of God, the congregation is the right form of the Kingdom of God on earth.” Think about that statement and what it means. First of all, is it correct? And if it is correct, what implications would it have for us? This statement is the first (and primary) fundamental principle of… Read More ›
Whenever we confess the Apostles’ Creed (which is basically every week except communion Sundays, when we use the Nicene Creed) we confess this Biblical truth that Jesus descended into hell. But we don’t really talk about it very much. I suppose the primary reason for this is simply because there is only one Scripture passage… Read More ›
What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you? Notice I didn’t ask, “What does it mean to you.” That would be too subjective. When we talk about the resurrection of Jesus, we are talking about a real, historical event with eternal implications. So we ask, “What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for you?” Because it does impact… Read More ›
A very bad man was getting what he deserved, and he knew it. He said to another criminal, “We are receiving the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:41). He was speaking of Jesus, who was hanging on a death instrument between these two criminals. I suppose both… Read More ›
Occasionally I would like to use this space to give you a little book review of something in our library or tell you about something I’ve been reading. This month I commend to you a little book published for the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. It’s called 12 Reformation Hymns by… Read More ›
During the season of Epiphany (the time between Christmas and Lent), the Scripture readings progressively reveal Jesus to us. As we observe Jesus’ baptism, miracles, and teaching, the Scripture readings answer the question, “Who is this guy whose birth the angels heralded?” In The Gospel According to Matthew, one of the first events in Jesus’… Read More ›