Pious Lutheran

The Flight into Egypt , Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828 Rejoicing in Suffering Sent by God God sends suffering God guards us through the suffering God turns all our suffering into glory Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! “ This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. ” God’s ways are beyond human reason. For instance, the prophet Micah declared that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, “ for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel. ” Though Jesus was conceived in Nazareth, and Joseph and Mary were already living there, because Israel was under Roman occupation the holy family needed to travel to Bethlehem in order to pay taxes to a foreign nation, and there He was born. The prophecy was fulfilled through suffering. Then, the prophet Hosea declared that the Christ would have to come out of Egypt, saying, “ Out of Egypt I called my Son. ” Now the holy family had to move to Egypt because Herod in his jealous rage sought to murder the Christ. ...

Child Jesus in the Temple , Jan Steen,1659 The Comfort of Predestination Distinction between foreknowledge and predestination We are predestined through Christ and His work of redemption We are predestined through the hearing of His Word “ In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will.” The topic of predestination often reveals the confusion people have regarding who is going to be saved. For example, there are some groups of Christians who believe in what is called double-predestination, whereby God predestines some to heaven and some to hell. Or on the other side of this many conclude that none are predestined to hell, but that all people are predestined to heaven. In which case they missapply predestination to mean that it doesn’t really matter what they believe or do in life, since if they’re predestined to heaven they will be saved regardless. It’s this latter misapplication I mention which is I think most prev...

The Triumph of the Innocents,  William Holman Hunt, 1883 Merry Christmas! Christmas is such a joy filled celebration! Jesus is born, God has taken on human flesh, our Lord has been born for us! The shepherds and angels rejoice and all Christians join in that ancient cradle song: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth!” Old Simeon and Anna in the temple sing praises to God and proclaim the Savior’s birth when they meet Jesus as a baby. The magi come from the east to present the little king with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Christmas is such a wonderful thing! But then, after the Magi returned home, perhaps the most gut wrenching story in the Bible is told. “ Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ” Herod the Great was an incredible...

Merry Christmas! God’s ways are mysterious, yet wonderful. Many things we’ve heard about the past few weeks are obviously wonderful and even quite joyful. John the Baptist was born to Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary and Joseph that the Christ would be born to them. Then Christ was born, with angels and shepherds rejoicing together. On the 8th day, He was brought to the temple and circumcised and named. Later on, the Magi come from the east and present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  But today, it’s a 180, a complete and sudden change of mood! An angel appears and says to Joseph: “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” So the holy family flee Herod’s jurisdiction and hide out in Egypt until Herod dies. Meanwhile, Herod, “when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in ...

Merry Christmas! Today is the last day of Christmas and tomorrow is the feast of the Epiphany. On Epiphany we celebrate the arrival of the Magi from the East to worship the small child who is Christ the King. That arrival of the Magi is the context for our scripture lesson today.  After Jesus was born, the Magi entered into Jerusalem and asked King Herod “ saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. ” The Magi apparently knew the scriptures well enough to know that a Jewish child would be born of the kingly lineage of David and that a star would guide them to Him, but they obviously didn’t know the passage from Micah which says: “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” But little did they know that when they stopped in Jerusalem to ask Herod where the child was to be born, he ...