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Sermon - Lent, Midweek 3, 2026 - Baptism, Part 3

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Healing of Naaman, Jan van Scorel, 16th Century The Water of Baptism: Washes away sin, death, and hell Rebirths us as Children of God Isn’t the interaction between Elisha and Naaman fantastic! Here’s Naaman, this great commander of the Syrian army, who is afflicted with leprosy! He had to take advice from one of his foreign born servant girls who directed him to a prophet of the little kingdom of Israel. When Naaman brings his entourage to see Elisha, Elisha doesn’t even go to the door but sends his messenger. Naaman is then told “ Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. ” Now, we don’t know the rivers of the ancient world, but Naaman does, and this instruction drives him mad! Jordan is a filthy river, and basically any other river would’ve made more sense. But in the midst of this mighty army commander’s temper tantrum, another of his servants has to calm him down and be the voice of reason, saying: “ It is a great word the pr...
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Sermon - Oculi 2026 - Luke 11:14-28

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  Jesus Heals a Mute Possessed Man, James Tiddot, 1886-1994 Our Spiritual Warfare Christ, the Stronger Man, has overcome Satan Demons continue to assault us, therefore we can’t be neutral If we don’t positively side with Christ, we will lose Therefore, remain firmly in Christ’s kingdom and smite the foe The spiritual warfare of our age is quite intense. Perhaps we don’t always call it that, we’ve got all sorts of medical, psychological, sociological, and social terminology and buzzwords that get brandied about, but what we’re experiencing is spiritual warfare. The 19th and 20th centuries were such materialistic ages that we’ve often scoffed at the idea of interpreting social trends, philosophical movements, and geopolitical events as various skirmishes in our spiritual warfare, but they are. I think we instinctually know this. We may not be able to always articulate how and why these things are spiritual assaults against our souls, but we can feel it in our bones. Afterall, Satan h...
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Sermon - Lent Midweek 1, 2026 - Baptism, Part 1

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The Baptism of Jesus, Paolo Veronese, 1575 What Is Baptism? Baptism is a washing with water and the word, by which we are given the name of the Triune God and our identity. Messing with the words, or not believing in the Trinity, negates baptism, because baptism relies on the word of God. Baptism is from God and God’s work, not man, because Jesus instituted it. Baptism is for all Christians, including infants. Baptism is connected to teaching, since baptism and teaching go together. Who are you? How do you identify? Identity politics plays a large role in the world today, and tends to take center stage in our social environments. But your identity as a Christian is already determined for you through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. So what a blessing it will be this Lententide to spend some time pondering God’s gift of baptism and what this means for us. Today we’re looking at the first part of baptism, so open up your small catechisms to the part on Baptism. If you’re using the hymnal i...
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Sermon - Invocavit 2026 - Matthew 4:1-11

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The Temptation of Christ, Titian, 1525 ( This painting presents one of the temptations, when Jesus is being offered a stone by a young demon in order that He might turn it into a loaf of bread. Titian's representation of the devil as a young boy helps to emphasize that the devil's temptations are often sly and appear innocent at first glance.) The Devil’s Sly Temptations The Devil’s temptations appear innocent Jesus is the Scapegoat, who bears all our sins in the wilderness Angels minister to us amidst our weaknesses News that the Devil and his demonic minions are at work in our world among us is entirely unsurprising. Of course we see that the devil is actively promoting unrest and violence in our communities, seeking to murder the unborn and the elderly, driving people to murder themselves, giving easy access to lewd materials, breaking apart marriages, sexually confusing especially the young, and leading countless Christians to renounce the faith. But one of the things the t...
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