Pious Lutheran

Merry Christmas! Yes it’s still Christmas today. Christmas lasts for a full 12 days, ending when Epiphany begins. Thus, today is the first Sunday during Christmas when we read about Jesus who is presented at the temple at 40 days old, as we read: “ When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. ” Isn’t that kind of fascinating? On Christmas Day we read that the Word is God, and the Word became flesh in Jesus, therefore Jesus is God. Yet, Jesus who is the Lord is presented to the Lord. Isn’t the Trinity an amazing thing! Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the Son, is presented to the first person of the Trinity, the Father. So Jesus who is both fully God and fully man is in today’s reading subjected to the Law of the Lord on account of His being fully human. But why are we reading this today? What’s the point of it? What significance does it have for us today? Why was it even recorded in scrip...

Merry Christmas! “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ” Last evening at our Christmas Eve service we read the quintessential Christmas narrative from Luke 2. We heard all about Mary and Joseph, Bethlehem, and Jesus being born and laid in a manger.  But this morning, on the actual Christmas Day, in our readings Mary and Joseph are nowhere to be seen, the setting is not Bethlehem, and we’re not talking about Mary giving birth to a sweet little baby. Instead we read about Moses putting up the tabernacle, and John giving a theological lesson about the Word having become flesh. That’s really the difference between our readings last night and this morning. Last evening we focused on the historical narrative of Jesus’ birth. Today however we learn the theological significance of what it means that the...

Merry Christmas! A special welcome to all of our guests and visitors with us this evening. It is such a joy and privilege for us to have you joining your voices with ours, the shepherds, and the angels this evening as we praise the one true God. I suspect that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are a couple of the most happy days in your life each year. Here we are gathered together in this sanctuary, surrounded by gorgeous decorations both inside and outside. As you drive home this evening, I’m sure you’ll pass by any number of houses decked out in enough lights to give our electric companies a nice Christmas bonus this year. Along with the lights, the mood is enhanced by the chilly temps outside and the warm, cozy atmosphere inside. Soon we’ll light our candles, dim the lights, and sing everybody’s favorite: Silent Night.  We’ll all go home, gathering around the Christmas tree, slipping into our comfy pants while we sip on a nice warm beverage. We’ll tear into our Christmas pre...

“‘ Who are you? ’ He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed. ” John was a real man’s man. Not a wimp, not a sissy. As we heard last week, he wasn’t dressed in soft clothing in kings’  houses, or in other words, John wasn’t a eunuch, an effeminate man. John was a real man and he didn’t hesitate to confess the faith, to be a martyr for the Christian faith. No, he confessed his faith boldly and clearly to all, the regular people, the pharisees, the priests, the levites, the kings. John didn’t hold any punches, but he proclaimed the full stinging bite of the law to all people. John wasn’t like most people. He wasn’t like the fathers who are afraid to confront their children’s sins, he wasn’t like the mothers who are afraid to tell their kids no. He wasn’t like the cowardly politician who hides behind policies so as to never actually accomplish the good that they told others they sought. He wasn’t like the brothers and sisters who care more about eating a meal in silence versus a...

Two weeks ago we discussed grace alone: We are saved through no merit of our own, but wholly on account of Christ who died and rose for the forgiveness of our sins. Last week we discussed faith alone: The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts to trust in the promise of salvation and apply that promise of grace to us. Today, during our 3rd and final Advent midweek service, we’ll discuss the third Sola which confesses that the Word of God is Spirit and life: scripture alone. Quite frankly, scripture has always had a hard go at it, and through much of history has been held with rather low regard. In the days of Israel’s kings, scripture had been so forgotten that it was lost entirely for a period. It wasn’t until the high priest Hilkiah found the scriptures and brought them to King Josiah that God’s Word was restored. The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day may have had the scriptures, and even memorized many of them, but they preferred their man-made statutes over and against God’...

Doubts. Every Christian has them. It’s not just doubting Thomas, but everyone, I’ve had them, you’ve had them, doubts. You wonder, is it all real, is it all true, or is it all just some big elaborate joke? Has my life been a waste? Am I wrong? Have I wasted my time and energy? Doubts. The disciples of John doubted that Jesus was the Messiah. They complained about Jesus to John, saying, “ Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him. ” They were jealous that people were following after Jesus instead of John. They had doubts that Jesus was the Messiah. John the Baptist may even have had doubts that Jesus was the Messiah. Here John the Baptist had been preaching “ Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand .” He prophesied of a great and mighty coming Messiah who was going to come and judge the earth, yet Jesus came healing people and forgiving their sins. Jesus didn’t exactly look like the Messiah that John ...