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"Lifted Up With Christ" Ascension Day
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Ephesians 1:15-23
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Ephesians 1:15-23
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The Ascension of our Lord, though not often appreciated today, is a signal moment in salvation history. As Christ accomplished our salvation by His death on the cross, and defeated death by His resurrection, so with His ascension into heaven, He now fills and rules all things. Thus, we who are His Christians have Jesus present with us everywhere, especially in His Word and Sacraments. Now we are part of His body, the Church, and connected to one another as "the communion of saints."
"Facing Reality Courageously" 6th Sun. of Easter
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 16:23-33
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 16:23-33
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Through Christ, the heavenly Father loves us and hears our prayers. Because Christ was abandoned on the cross for our sins, we do not have to fear being abandoned by God because of those sins. In Jesus we can face adversities and realities of life with courage because we do not depend on ourselves or any human institutions, but on Christ, His Word and His grace and mercy to us as our Redeemer, Savior and Friend.
"Impending Joy" 5th Sun. in Easter
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 16:16-22
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 16:16-22
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There are few things in life that hold a sense of impending doom and impending joy. One of them was when Jesus was with His disciples in the upper room. He told them that they will not see Him, then they would see Him. He was talking about His impending death and resurrection. It didn't make sense to them, so He illustrated it by another example of impending sorrow and joy - the birth of a baby. During labor, the pain and sense of doom is overwhelming, but is completely forgotten when the baby is born. So, the disciples will be sorrowful, but that sorrow will turn to joy that can't be taken away when He rises from the dead. This is our encouragement as well. Though we may be sorrowful now, impending joy is just around the corner as we await His return in glory. Even now we can have joy in the midst of sorrows, for Jesus is with us even now in His Word and Sacraments, preparing us for that time when everlasting joy will be upon our heads.
"Knowing Him Who Knows Us" 4th Sun. in Easter
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 10:22-20
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 10:22-20
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It's a tragedy when one hardens his heart to where, no matter what word is spoken or evidence given, he will not believe that Christ is his Redeemer. It is also a greater tragedy for those who have known Christ to abandon Him. We remain in Christ by hearing His Word and following Him. As we do, nothing and no one can snatch us out of His hand. But to stop hearing His voice and listening instead to the voices of this world (the wolves St. Paul warns about) will leave us lost and destitute. Yet, even for those who have wandered away, Jesus still calls to repentance and to follow Him once more and have the eternal life He won by His death on the cross.
"Eternal Worship Even Now" Confirmation Sunday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Revelation 5:1-14
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Revelation 5:1-14
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As Elisha prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened to see the angelic hosts surrounding and protecting them, so the Book of Revelation opens our eyes to the heavenly realities surrounding us. Many believe that gathering for the Divine Service is an isolated thing taking place in a particular location. They view it as something optional for when we are "in the mood." But the reality is that when we gather on earth before Christ and His Word and Sacraments, we don't gather alone. We are united with all the "angels, archangels and the whole company of heaven." We are surrounded by a mighty host in praise of "the Lamb who was slain" for our sins and is alive forevermore. On our Confirmation Day we vow to remain faithful in receiving God's Word and Sacraments and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from them. Sadly, we all too often forget those vows as life happens. Yet, Christ continues to call us to Himself that He may give us His gifts and prepare us for when we join that heavenly host. May we all renew our commitment to Him and know that, even if we gather with only two or three others, He is there with us.
"He is the Key" 2nd Sun. in Easter
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Revelation 1:4-18
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Revelation 1:4-18
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Now that Easter is past, many are going back into their normal routines, both in life and in worship. We are thankful for Jesus' death and resurrection, but we don't give much consideration to Him now in His full glory in heaven. But the Apostle John saw Him as He truly is, and was both terrified and comforted. Terrified because of his own sinfulness in the presence of the Holy One, but also comforted by that very On who told him to fear not. Jesus died, but has conquered death by His resurrection. He is the One who "has loved us and freed us from our sins by His blood," and now we can stand before Him - not just in that future Day when He comes to judge the living and the dead, but each day of our lives now. Redeemed by Him and made His own, Jesus is the One who hold the keys unlocking death and the grave for us to be with Him forever. All because He loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.
"Body of Hope" Easter Sunday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
1 Corinthians 15:51-57
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
1 Corinthians 15:51-57
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Throughout the Bible, we have examples of those who were willing to lay down their lives in God because they believed that death itself would be defeated in the bodily resurrection at the Last Day. Yet, so many see that as a fool's hope, since reason and experience in this life only sees death and the grave. Yet, the hope of the saints of old is our hope as well, only realized in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Him our sins are forgivien, and in Him death istelf has been swallowed up in victory. We still grieve when death comes, but we know that death is only temporary because Jesus, who is our "Resurrection and Life" has promised to raise us up - bodily - and glorify those bodies even as His is now glorified. So, we do not just live in a spritual hope of something "better" after death. We live with a body of hope, too, that we will see our Redeemer in our flesh and with our own eyes and, as Job says: "How my heart yearns within me." Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!
"We Were Wrong" Good Friday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 53: Selected Verses
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 53: Selected Verses
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They were wrong about Jesus, though they couldn't see it at the time, so they persecuted Him, mocked Him and crucified Him thinking He was getting what He deserved. But they were wrong - and Isaiah saw that 700 years before when he prophecied that Jesus would suffer, not for His sins, but for ours. Everything inflicted upon Him was ultimately for our salvation because of the wrongness in every one of us. Sin has bent us, twisted us and deformed us so that even the best human being in the world can't save himself. Yet, the One who suffered and died for us is our Salvation. Isaiah saw it all long before it happened and, by faith, we now see it too and rejoice.
"Biting the Hand" Holy Thursday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 13:21-30
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
John 13:21-30
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Jesus was giving Judas one last opportunity to repent and be saved. He even offered Judas the bread dipped in the bowl while offering His hand of forgiveness and fellowship. But Judas, even taking the bread, remained hardened in his plan to betray Jesus and went out to do his deed, now controlled by Satan. All of us, likewise, are betrayers of our Lord through our sins. But, when Jesus offeres to us Himself in His body and blood in Holy Communion, will we take these gifts, unrepentant, and fully intending to cling to our sin? Or do we receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins and, with His power, desire to live a new life in Him? This account is a cautionary tale: Even to the last, Jesus desires to forgive and renew us. But we can harden our hearts, like Judas, and be lost forever. Jesus' betrayal into the hands of sinners was for the express purpose of saving sinners, including us. May we, indeed, receive His gifts rightly, trusting in His mercy to us, and live as His own dear children.
"Do We Really Understand?" Palm Sunday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Philippians 2:5-11
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Philippians 2:5-11
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The crowds on Palm Sunday didn't fully comprehend Who it was they were cheering (or despising). They are like many today, even among Christians who don't fully comprehend or appreciate who Jesus really is. But in Philippians 2, St. Paul tells us exactly the mystery of Christ, that He is both fully God and fully Man, who humbled Himself to death on the cross for the sins of the world, and is now exalted, as both true God and true Man with the name that is above every name, and to whom all creatures will bend the knee. Though human minds may struggle at fully comprehending this mystery, a time is coming when our praises of Him in heaven will be fully comprehended and rejoiced in.
"Strange Glory" Lent 5
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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We've come to understand that God often hides Himself, rather than acting in the fullness of His glory all the time. He operates in ways that are often strange and puzzling to us. Fallen man wants a god who does what we want; and that's a god we can't love, only use. But God hides Himself under the strange glory of the cross. What initally appears to be defeat and death ultimately results in life and glory. Sure, we wouldn't have designed a plan for the world's salvation that would include suffering and death, but that's exactly what Jesus did to pay for the world's sins. The cross doesn't leave us with a god we can use, but it does leave us with a God we can love, because He first loved us. What a strange glory that is!
"Pursue Your Calling" 5th Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Philippians 3:8-14
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Philippians 3:8-14
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Many intentiaonally prusue the aquisition of material wealth, fame, the "good life" and any number of earthly things. In and of itself, that's not bad, unless the pursuit of those things alienates us from God. But when our pursuit is of Christ Himself, taking hold of Him who has taken hold of us first, all other things pale in comparison. In Baptism we have been given the highest calling to follow our Savior who gave His life for us. When the other things in life are kept in proper perspective to that, we can enjoy them, and use them for the benefit of others. By pursuing intentiaonally our calling in, and relationship to Christ, we grow in knowledge and faith, and also in love and service to our neighbor.
"The Darkness Where God Is" Lent 4
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Texts
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Texts
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Whenn it's light out, we feel empowered and able to work because we can see clearly. But in darkness, our sight is diminished, minimizes our control and puts our senses on alert. It is precisely in the dark times we face in life that God is at work on our behalf. We may not always see that, or appreciate it, but He is at work nonetheless, to change us from relying so much on ourselves and more upon Him. God was at work in the darkness of that first Good Friday as Jesus hung on the cross. There, while outwardly it looked like defeat and death, Jesus was actually conquering our enemies of sin, death and devil. In the darkness of the cross, Jesus was actively at work for our salvation. In the darkness of the crosses He places on us, He is still actively at work - for us and through us - taking our upended lives and making them right-side up again. Now we can trust our Lord's promise that His grace is sufficient in our weakness, and that His power is at work in us turning our weaknesses into true strenght - His strength at work in us through Christ.
"The Ambassador's Bridge" 4th Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
2 Corinthians 5:15-21
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
2 Corinthians 5:15-21
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As worldly ambassadors work to bring peace between nations or engage in establishing treaties, so "spiritual ambassadors" work to bring the message of reconciliation in Christ between God and fallen man. Paul calls himself an ambassador for Christ and encouraging all to be reconciled to God through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The bridge that Christian ambassadors have is the cross, because that bridges the gap between heaven and earth; between God and man. And even we, though we are not apostles, are still "little ambassadors as we are able to share the Good News of Christ with others.
"Hope: For Today - And Tomorrow" Lent 3
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Real hope is anchored, not in optimism or when we have a pretty good idea of the outcome, but especially in those times where everyone else says it's foolish to hope. It struggles against the odds by clinging to the Word and Promise of God. When the Babylonians were about to conquer Jerusalem, God instucted Jeremiah to buy a pice of ground in the hope that there would be a return one day. It looked foolish at the time, but God is true. It seemed foolish for the criminal on the cross to put his hope in a dying man, yet he impored Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. And Jesus did. Hope understands that, with Christ, God's victory is hidden in what appears to be its opposite, and there can be grace even in hardship. And this is all proven out for us by Christ's death for our sins and His bodily resurrection. Our hope in Him may seem foolish to the world (and to ourselves on occasion), but we understand that, even in the crosses He places on us, God is carrying out His mighty acts of deliverance.
"A Hard Lesson" 3rd Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
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Even as God's Christians, we often take for granted God's grace and get swept back into the old ways, sins, and lusts of this fallen world. St. Paul uses the example of the history of the Israelites' wandering in the desert to remind us that God takes His Word seriously and, if one forsakes the faith to return to the world, there will be judgment. Yet, even as God gives us these examples from the Old Testament, it is so that we won't give in to those temptations to our downfall but that we might, instead, run to Christ as our Redeemer in repentance and receive His blessings for us.
"The God Who Regards" Lent 2
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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God didn't choose Israel to be His people because they were the biggest, but because they were the least. God chose Mary to be the mother of the Son of God not because she was high and exalted, but lowly. God didn't regard them because they were blessed, but because God regarded them, they were blessed. In truth, it's not about us climbing up to Christ, but about Him coming down to us to bear our sin and give us everlasting life in Him. He has regarded us and we are blessed.
"Innocent Blood" 2nd Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Jeremiah 26:8-15
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Jeremiah 26:8-15
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The reaction to Jeremiah's messages by the priest and prophets of Israel was to want him dead. They saw no need of repentance and saw his message as an affront that needed to be done away with. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was not accepted by many who should have known better. The rejected His word and they rejected Him. But Jeremiah was innocent of wrongdoing in the message he brought Israel from the Lord, and Jesus was ultimately guiltless as the sinless Son of God. Yet, Jesus shed His innocent blood for the sins of all that all who believe in Him would have forgiveness. To reject God's word and seek to "cancel" it leaves one destitute and under judgement. To receive His word by faith gives one true life and peace in Christ.
"Seeing God From Behind" Lent 1
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Selected Verses
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Moses was uncertain because of Israel's sin and rebellion. He was uncertain that God would still go with them, in spite of God's assurances to Moses that He would. So Moses wanted to see God's glory as proof. Yet, God didn't give Moses what he wanted. Instead, He let Moses see Him from behind - His back, so to speak. We, too, are often uncertain that God is with us, so we want proof by seeing His majesty in miracles or in some other concrete fashion. Yet, instead of doing that, God shows us His "backside" - the side of Jesus hanging on the cross for us. It is in the humility of Christ dying for our sins that we can truly know that God is with us. Miracles may impress, but soon fade. What He did for us in Christ is permanent. Miracles only create in us a constant sense of needed more reassurance. The cross assures us completely and demonstrates God's true glory in His love for us in Christ.
"Fasting Against Temptation" 1st Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
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Temptation comes in many forms, especially in times of weakness and, oddly, in times of victory. In either event, our guard is down and we are prone to being led astray. Jesus faced the temptations of the devil while He fasted those forty days in the wilderness. Only three of those temptations are recorded, but in each of them, Jesus overcame them by the Word of God. With Jesus, and with us, the devil's temptations were meant to make us distrust our heavenly Father's goodness and to take matters into our own hands. Only Jesus perfectly resisted those temptations and, by going to the cross for our sins, is then our perfect Redeemer. Yet, in seeing how Jesus was tempted, and how He overcame those temptations, we see also how we can recognize when those temptations are occuring, and how we also might resist them. And when we do fall, we have the One who was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, who sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, and forgives us and gives us the desire to do better.
"It's Time" Ash Wednesday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Joel 2:12-19
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Joel 2:12-19
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Great devastation had come upon Israel in the form of a massive locust infestation that was destroying everything. It was a judgment of God upon the nation's sin and idolatry. But Joel held out hope for deliverance: "Yet even now,' delares the Lord," with a promis and hope that as the people repent and return to God that, because He is merciful and gracious, they can be restored. In the midst of the great judgments befalling our nation and the world because of its sin and idolatry, that same hope is held out, especially to the Church. It's time to repent of our sins and indifference to God's Word. It's time for the Church to return to Christ, the Redeemer and only Savior of sinners. It's time for the Church to be the "salt and light" of Christ to those around us so that, hopefully, they also will be drawn to repentance and faith in Christ. And who knows? God may yet have mercy and restore our nation once more.
"The Privilege of Seeing" Transfiguration
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 9:28-36
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 9:28-36
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The glory that Christ has as True God was shown briefly through His humanity on that mountain top as he was "transfigured" before the eyes of Peter, James and John. But the real glory would be in accomplishing the salvation of mankind by going to the cross. His true glory was hdden from human eyes as he went through affliction, suffering and death. But his glory is hidden no more. The glory we have in Christ is presently hidden as well. But Jesus' transfiguration was a foretaste of that which we, as God's Christians, will one day share with Christ in his eternal kingdom.
"In ? We Trust"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Jeremiah 17:5-8
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Jeremiah 17:5-8
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One can see what is really important to someone by how much effort, devotion and trust they put towards it. The problem becomes when that devotion and trust given to a person or thing turns our hearts away from the Lord. The spiritual condition of that one is described as a dead shrub in the desert that sees no good thing and is cursed. There is nothing but death and judgment awaiting. But the person who trusts in the Lord is blessed and is described as a flourishing tree rooted in an ongoing stream that keeps it alive and fruitful during times of heat and draught. As we put our ultimate trust, not in people or things, but in Christ's redemptive work for us and in His Word, we are blessed, no matter what life throws at us, and we have the life of Christ flowing into our lives to make us truly alive.
"Present, Presence, Presents"
Pastor Lee Wenskay
Luke 5:1-11
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The miracle catch of fish drove home to Peter his own sinfulness in the presence of Christ and so he urged Jesus to depart from him. Yet, Jesus was present, not to condemn Peter, but to give him gifts instead. Obviously, Jesus gave Peter his "daily bread" in the catch of fish, but He also wanted to give Peter forgiveness of his sins and a new calling to follow Him. Likewise, Jesus gives His gifts to us of daily bread, even to the ungodly, yet He calls us all to receive the forgiveness He won for us on the cross and the call to follow Him as He leads. We should not be willing only to accept the gift of daily bread from Him while wishing Him to depart from us otherwise, but receive also by faith His greater gifts of the forgiveness of our sins and to be His disciples.
"Two Different Reactions" 3rd Sun. After the Epiphany
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:16-30
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:16-30
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The reactions to God's Word in Nehemiah 8 and Luke 4 are starkly different. In Nehemiah, the Law brought the people sorrow over their sins and made them ready to receive the Gospel that they should celebrate because "The joy of the Lord is your strength." But in Luke 4, Jesus' hometown people were enraged at the Gospel He preached, because they assumed they knew who He really was (they didn't) and what the Messiah should do (He wouldn't). They wanted the Gospel to be about themselves and not about Jesus. We, too, have certain assumptions, either from the culture or our own sinful hearts, and we get angered when God's Word tells us differently. But only when we submit to that word of Law in repentance will the Gospel of forgiveness through faith in Jesus break through and The joy of the Lord will be our strength.
"A Tale of Two Baptisms" The Baptism of Our Lord
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 3:15-22
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 3:15-22
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John's Baptism was preparatory. It was for sinners coming in repentance to receive forgiveness. Jesus needed neither, yet submitted to John's Baptism as a consecration for His work to be the Savior of sinners. Having accomplished His work, Jesus now gives us a different Baptism; not hwere we come to Him in repentance and resolving to do better, but where He comes to us, having done all that is necessary for our salvation. Here the Triune God calls us by name and puts His name on us. Here our sins are washed away and, by the word and promise of Jesus, we are connected to His death and resurrection, are giving newness of life, we put on Christ and we are saved. By trusting in Christ and His promises to us, we live out His life in us as His baptized Christians.
"Head Toward the Light" The Epiphany of our Lord
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 60:1-6
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 60:1-6
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The Old Testament people of God were surrounded in pagan darkness during their captivity in Babylon. Yet God hold out to them His light coming for them. It would bring them back to their homeland, and would usher in the Savior of the world. Thus, they were to arise and shine because of that light. For the last two thousand years since Christ came and accomplished His work of salvation, the New Testament people of God are surrounded by pagan darkness and in a "Babylonian Captivity" of sorts in this fallen world. But rather than giving into the darkness we, too, are to "arise, shine" because our Light has come in Jesus, and He promises to bring us out of this captivity to our true home in heaven when He returns in glory at the Last Day.
"Where to Find Jesus" 1st Sun. After Christmas
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:40-52
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:40-52
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When Jesus was twelve years old, his parents "lost" him in Jerusalem after the Passover celebration. They frantically searched everywhere, and finally found him in the last place they looked - the temple. Yet, Jesus knew who his true Father was and the place where he could be with him, and so he had to be "in my Father's house." Many people today try looking for Jesus in their hearts, in public opinion, in feelings and emotions; everywhere but where he has promised to be: in his Father's house. That house is everywhere the Word of God is purely taught and his Sacraments administered rightly. While certainly Jesus is everywhere with us, he concretely comes to us through his means of Word and Sacrament. That's where we are sure to find Jesus.
"Returning and Rest in Twenty-Two" New Year's Eve
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 30:15-18
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Isaiah 30:15-18
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In dealing with the pandemic the last couple of years, people have been living in fear because the trust they've put into earthly authorities and procedures haven't brought the peace and security we imagined. Lost in the shuffle has been God's involvement. Without Him and His Word, we will find no peace in the coming year. But as He tells Israel of old: "In returning and rest you shall be saved." Anchoring our trust in the ultimate power and mercy of God will bring a restfullness to our souls in this restless world. Understanding that Christ has come to forgive our sins and bring life out of death, even if death comes to us through a virus, can bring an increadible amount of peace and comfort to us. To wait on the Lord's good will for us in Christ makes us truly blessed by God.
"Coming and Going" 1st Sun. After Christmas
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:22-32
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:22-32
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Led by the Spirit, Simeon came to the temple as Mary and Joseph brought Jesus there to present Him to the Lord. Simeon was assured that he would not see death before the Savior's arrival. Simeon recognized this baby as being the Consolation of Israel and the Savior of the world. Now Simeon could depart this life in peace. He saw Jesus, and even held him and was content. We also see and hold Jesus though the humble means of Word and Sacrament. There He comes to us to bring forgiveness and peace. Being forgivien, we are reconciled to God and can leave the church, or this life in the peace of Jesus.
