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"The Babe of Peace" 1st Sun. After Christmas
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:22-38
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:22-38
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Through the word of the Holy Spirit, Simeon had the assurance that he would not die before he had seen "the Lord's Christ." When the parents of Jesus brought Him to the temple to fulfil the obligations of the Law, Simeon recognized God has fulfilled His promise. Holding this baby in his hands, Simeon could now in contentment, depart this world in peace. His Savior had arrived. We, too, behold Jesus through the means of Word and Sacrament. We can also be at peace because in Christ our sins are forgiven. Then, whenever God sees fit to call us out of this life, we can be content because our Savior has come and we are His.
"The One Truly Life Changing Gift"
Pastor Justin Herman
Luke 2:22-40
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Pastor Justin Herman
Luke 2:22-40
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People have the tendency to think that if they acquire certain things, or receive certain gifts, their lives will be permanently changed for the better. But the reality is often a disappointment when those things lose their luster, get old and worn out, or don't actually bring us the positive change we thought they would. But God has given the one Gift that truly is permanently life changing for the better. He has given us His Son, Jesus.
"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.
"What child Is This?" 2nd 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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For three days, Josheph and Mary searched for their lost twelve year old son. They found Jesus in the temple where he had been the whole time. All those with whom Jesus had been conversing for those three days were amazed at his understanding of the Scriptures and the things he said. His parents were astonished to find him there. None of them got it. But even at age twelve, Jesus knew fully who he was, the Son of God, and so he had to be "in my Father's house." Everything in his life centered on Jerusalem and what he would do there as he bore the sins of the world on himself and would die on the cross and be raised again the third day. People are still puzzled about Jesus today. Many don't get it yet, for those who do have faith in him, we know him to be our Savior and Redeemer.
"Hark!" Christmas Day
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:8-14
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 2:8-14
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Fear animates all of us. Many of our sins try to mitigate our fears, but deep down, we still are afraid of the final Judgment. Yet, rather than announcing God's judgment on sinners, the angels tell the shepherds (and us) "Fear Not!" Why? Because the Savior was born for us to reconcile us to God and be our Redeemer. That is a message we should listen to and believe. "Peace on earth and mercy mild; God and sinners reconciled" through the Babe of Bethlehem - Jesus Christ. Merry Christmas!
"The Right Sign"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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As Jesus' disciples were warned about the signs leading up to the fall of Jerusalem, so He gives us general signs that will lead to the end of the world and Judgment Day. Those signs are for each generation that we may remain awake and watchful, living in repentance and faith in Jesus. Those who heeded Jesus' words escaped the destruction of God's judgment on Jerusalem. Those who heed Jesus' words today, and continue in faith in Him, will likewise escape the coming judgment on the world. We don't focus on signs of earthquakes, wars, etc. We focus on the sign of our salvation: The Cross.
"Lessons From History" 2nd Last Sun. of the Ch. Year
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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Wars, earthquakes, famines, persecutions - and more are all indicators of that final Day when this creation comes to an end at Christ's return. As His Christians, Jesus directs us to be watchful and prayerful that we might be ready anytime. We are not to live in fear of that Day, for Christ has brought about our forgiveness, nor are we to simply hide from the world and its evils, but to see that which is happening as an opportunity to witness for Christ to others who are yet in darkness. And with every upset, globally or personally, that we recognize that our final redemption in Christ draws ever nearer.
"It's Coming!"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 21:5-28
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In these last Sundays of the Church Year, we are directed to the return of Christ and the End of All Things. When Jesus foretells of the destruction of the Temple and of Jerusalem, those cataclismic events for the Jewish people become a picture or type for the end of the world and the Judgment Day. The genrals signs that Jesus gives, such as wars, pestilences, famines, earthquakes and the like are reminders to all generations that The End is coming and we should be alert, prayerful, repentant and expectant. Because Jesus first came and redeemed us through His blood shed on the cross, Christians need not fear when we see these signs of The End because, as Jesus assures us: "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
"The Denial of Peter" Lent 5
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 22; 2 Tim. 2
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 22; 2 Tim. 2
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All of Peter's confidence, pride and self reliance came crashing down. In the court of the high priest, Peter had three opportunities to confess Christ, and three times he denied Him. We are no different. When we shut up when we should speak up; when we fear man more than God; when we pursue our own pleasure instead of Christ, we deny Him. Yet, as Jesus was going to the cross for the sins of Peter, He was also dying for our sins. We are called to repentance, yes, but also to faith in our Redeemer, who died for us and rose again. Even when we falter and fall, He remains faithful to us.
"Judgment Day" Last Sun. of the Ch. Year
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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The final Judgment Day is coming, when all humanity will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. How will it be possible for any of us not to cry out to the mountains "fall on us" in order to hide us from the gaze of the Holy One who sees all? It will be possible because Judgment Day has already come, but it came upon Jesus at the cross. He bore the judgment for our sins. He has suffered for us and was, for a time, rejected by His Father so those who trust in Christ would never be rejected at that Last Day. The self-righteous, the arrogant, the wicked and unbelieving will stand naked in their sins and be rejected. Those who trust alone in Christ will stand covered in His blood and righteousness and will be welcomed into the eternal Presence. Indeed, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus."
"Judgment Day" Last Sun. of the Church Year
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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In order to be able to stand before God at the last, and final Judgment Day, there had to be another "Judgment Day" first. That was the day that Jesus, as He was being crucified, was judged for the sins of the living and the dead. Because of His sacrifice for the world, all who trust in Him can have the confident assurance that as He comes again "to judge the living and the dead," we, as His Christians, will be with Him in Paradise forever.
"Paradise Made Possible" Last Sun. of the Ch. Year
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:27-43
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Repentance should not be based on sorrow for getting caught and punished, but instead it is based on sorrow for the wrong we have done and knowing we deserve the punishment. But true repentance also reaches out for mercy, trusting that God is and will be merciful to us because of Christ. Indeed, our hope for entering the paradise of eternity at the Last Day instead of being rejected by God to spend eternity in hell is because Jesus first came and died for our sins. Like the thief on the cross who prayed, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom," and received Jesus' absolution: "Today you will be with me in paradise," so our prayer is: "Lord, have mercy." And Jesus says to us, "I forgive you all your sins." Because of His life; because of His death for us; because of His resurrection paradise for us is indeed made possible.
"A Strange Throne for a King"
Pastor Kenneth D. Lueke
Luke 23:32-43
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Pastor Kenneth D. Lueke
Luke 23:32-43
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Jesus Christ is, was, and always will be King of kings and Lord of lords. He will return in His glory as King to judge the living and the dead. But before He comes in glory, He first came in humility to save sinners. The cross was His throne then, and by His atoning death, He gives the promise to all who trust in Him: "You will be with Me in paradise."
"The First Word: Forgive!" Ash Wednesday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:34
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:34
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"Dust you are, and to dust you shall return." That word of Law was spoken by God to Adam and Eve when, because of their sin and rebellion, Paradise was lost, and death came to all. But in His mercy, God made provision for our salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. As Jesus hung on the cross, He prayed for our forgiveness, and accomplished that forgiveness for us through His atoning death. Even now, He continues to intercede for us in heaven. Though, because of sin we are but dust and ashes, because of Christ, we are also now dear children of God and heirs of Life in Him.
"The Second Word: Paradise" Lent 1
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:43
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:43
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As Jesus prayed for our forgiveness as He shed His blood on the cross, so the criminal being crucified alongside Him prayed that Jesus would remember him when He comes into His kingdom. Christ assured him that he would be with Jesus today in paradise. That which was lost to us because of sin is restored to us by Jesus. It is made possible because the sinless Son of God died for sinners. The criminal recognized what he deserved; knew there was nothing to offer to merit being remembered by Jesus, yet prayed for mercy and received it in abundance. So with us, and all who are in Christ. When we die, we immediately enter the Paradise of God to be with our Savior who not only prayed for our forgiveness, but accomplished it at the cross.
"The Seventh Word: Commit" Good Friday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:46
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 23:46
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As Jesus was crucified to bring about our forgiveness, so He died in order to defeat Death. Death is the judgment of God upon sin and, since we are all sinners, we shall all die. "Dust you are; and to dust you shall return." His death was not an inescapable event; it was according to His will and in His control. Only when the price for sin had been paid; only when the Father was reconciled to His wayward creation through the blood of His Son, did Jesus then commend Himself into His Father's hands and gave up His spirit. Now we, the redeemed in Christ, can likewise commend ourselves to God when our last hour comes. For we know that, in the resurrection of Jesus, the victory has been won for us, and we will rise again to be with Him forever, where there is no death - only Life.
"God's Word is About Jesus" Confirmation Sunday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13 ff.
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13 ff.
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The Emmaus Disciples were confused, downhearted and bewildered over the events from Good Friday to Easter Sunday. They had followed Jesus and heard God's Word, but they didn't connect the dots. They didn't see that the entire Scripture is about Jesus, and how God saves sinners through His incarnation, life, death and resurrection. When we see the Bible only as a book of rules, stories or principles for a good life, we will be discouraged, confused and downhearted at the sorrows we experience in this fallen world. But as we continue to read, hear and learn the Scriptures (Remember, they're all about Jesus), we will have patience and comfort as we continue to hold fast the hope of everlasting life in Him.
"How to Recognize Jesus"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13-35
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13-35
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How do we recognize Jesus? Is it in our feelings or intellects? No, both of those are fallen and can not reveal the true Christ to us. As we see with Jesus' encounter with the Emma's disciples on that first Easter Sunday, the only way they (and we) can recognize Jesus is through His Word and Sacraments. This is where He promises to come to us and reveal Himself.
"Stay With Us"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13-35
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:13-35
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The grief and disallusionment the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were experiencing were only alliviated by the presence and word of Jesus to them. They finally recongized Him in His word and in "the breaking of the bread." We, too, can only have our fears and disallusionments removed as we come into the presence of our Lord through His Word and Sacraments. In these Means Christ has promised to "stay with us."
"That's a Fact!" 3rd Sun. of Easter
Pastor Lee Wenskay
Luke 24:36-49
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Pastor Lee Wenskay
Luke 24:36-49
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Many people believing in things as fact even though they are only based on opinions or feelings. Yet when it comes to the resurrection of Christ, many think that it is a belief as opposed to facts or "science." The reality is that the bodily resurrection of Christ is a Fact of history, not an opinion or a feeling. The Scriptures testified to Christ even before His incarnation. You have eyewitness accounts that His resurrection appearances were really, and not a vision or a ghost. The Holy Spirit testifies to the fact of the resurrection. The evidence is in: Jesus, who was crucified for the sins of the world, is risen from the dead. That's a fact to be believed and proclaimed.
"Open Tomb; Open Minds" Easter Sunday
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:36-49
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:36-49
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The open tomb and the bodily resurrection of Christ is a glorious thing. Yet, because of the deadness of our human natures, our minds remain closed to this miracle of our salvation. Even if Jesus walked among us today, we would not believe it. Yet, working through the Scriptures, God opens minds to embrace by faith this work Jesus has done for us. Apart from the Word of God, none of it makes sense. But with His Word, it all makes sense to us and we can joyfully proclaim: "Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Alleluia!"
"The Heavenly Proclamation" Ascension Day
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:44-53
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 24:44-53
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Christ's ascension into heaven now means that the glory He has as true God is now shared with His human nature as well. Rather than being locked up in heaven, to which we must travel to partake of Him, He now fills all things and comes to us in His glorified humanity so that we can actually partake of His body and blood together with bread and wine. That He is present with His Christians everywhere they are, not just in His divinity, but also in His humanity.
"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.
"Until..." 1st Sun. in Lent
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
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The devil's tempation of Jesus in the wilderness mirrors that which he did in Eden as he tempted Adam and Eve. By appealing to their physical appetites, greed and desire to assert their own wills over God's will, he sought to bring about their fall. What the devil succeeded in doing with the "First Adam," he failed to do with the "Second Adam," Jesus Christ. Jesus resisted the devil's temptations through God's Word. Nothing was going to cause Jesus to take shortcuts, which means nothing was going to keep Jesus from suffering and cross for our redemption. Yet, the devil still is at work, desiring the fall of those Christ came to save. We resist the devil's temptations, not by our own reason or strength, but by employing God's Word as our defense. And when the devil is successful in his temptations, that same Word calls us to repentance and trust in the forgiveness that our Savior won for us.
"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.
"The Devil, You Say!"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:1-13
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We see that, as the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus countered those attacks with God's Word, the Holy Scriptures. The devil continues to assail us with temptations, those most deadly of which is the false spiritualities we devise for ourselves that are without the Cross and Christ. Without knowing it, even Christians who embrace the devil's spirituality can open themselves up to demonic oppression and fear. Our bulwark against these attacks and fears is to remain connected to Christ and His Word of the Gospel, to cling to the promises of God in our Baptisms, and to continue receiving the forgiveness and life Christ gives us in His body and blood in Holy Communion. It is the power of Christ in His Word and Sacraments that casts out the devil and keeps us as God's own dear children.
"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.
"Despising the Familiar"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:16-30
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 4:16-30
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"Familairity Breeds Contempt." That old saying epitomizes the reaction of the people Jesus grew up with in Nazareth when He came to preach in the synogogue there. He was the fulfilment of the Isaiah 61 passage that He read, but all the people could do was question and doubt Him because He and His family were so familiar to them. Then they became outraged and wanted to kill Him when He called them on the hardness of their hearts and their unbelief. Quite a different reaction from the Israelites hearing the Scriptures in Nehemiah 8, which brought them to repntance and tears. So, do we drive Jesus away from us because we are already "familiar" with Him and His Word and feel no real desire for Him. Do we fill up our lives with other things and deny that we are sinners who need a Redeemer. Do we become outraged at something the Bible says, or our pastor preaches about that we don't like to hear? Then repent. For all the evil and sins committed by all of us Jesus died for to bring about our forgiveness. But if we harden our hearts, that Word and presence of Christ may finally go elsewhere to our eternal loss. But understanding our true condition before God, and the grace that has been lavished on us in Christ, our tears of sadness will be turned by Him into gladness as "the joy of the LOrd (and His forgiveness to us in Christ) is our strength."
"In Deity's Presence"
Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 5:1-11
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Pastor Kenneth Lueke
Luke 5:1-11
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To be suddenly found in the presence of God, the Holy One, would strike terror into anyone's heart. Like Isaiah and Peter, the contrast between the One who is completely holy and we as abject sinners would be too much for us to bear. We would fully expect God to annihilate us because of our sin. Yet both Isaiah and Peter received, not judgment, but atonement for their sins. As such, Isaiah was joyfully ready to answer God's call, and Peter left all to follow Jesus. It is through the atonement Jesus made for us sinners that we can now stand in the presence of Deity, first in church, then at the Last Day, not in fear and dread, but in quiet, joyful confidence. Instead of us imploring Jesus to depart from us because of our sin, we implore Him to remain with us as our Savior from sin.
"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.
