Pious Lutheran

Martin Luther Preaching , from the altarpiece of the Church of Torslunde, 1561 The bold, confident ministry of a pastor The insufficiency of a pastor A pastor’s confidence in Christ Since I recently accepted the call to Our Savior’s, and my ministry among you is very swiftly drawing to a close, this sets me in mostly an awkward position of being a lame duck for the time being. On the other hand, however, since I have four final sermons to preach to you, this also sets me in a unique position to prepare you for your next resident pastor. In a way I can now preach to you in such a way that was more complicated previously. For example, it’s awkward for a pastor to preach about the office of the holy ministry, and what a pastor is, while he is the local pastor, because it requires him to talk about himself in a way that is uncomfortable. But since I’m departing soon, lot’s of things are already a bit awkward, so let’s lean into the awkwardness and address this very important subject. Parti...

Christ  Healing a Deaf Man,  Leonard Gaultier, 1579 God opens our lips Words are important We must guard our lips and ears from evil God gives us the good words to hear and speak Eight hundred years ago Saint Francis of Assisi supposedly said “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” Or as P.T. Barnum said: “Talk is cheap, until you hire a lawyer.” Both sayings ultimately mean the same thing: actions are more important than words. While it is true that we sometimes talk too much and fail to act, words are still very important. Francis of Assisi was wrong, you must use words to preach the gospel, actions aren’t enough. Talk isn’t cheap, as evidenced by how much we must pay lawyers and politicians to speak. Words are valuable, and they’re made even more valuable when God opens our lips. That’s what happened in today’s miracle. It wasn’t complicated or hard to  understand, it was maybe a little weird at times, but the results were simple: a man’s ears and...

Christ Healing the Deaf-Mute , Philippe de Champaigne, 1665 Jesus opens our ears to hear and our lips to speak His Word. Jesus’ ministry was primarily to teach His Word. Jesus’ miracles were for the support of His Word. Today we hear and proclaim His Word. Why did we bother reading this miraculous account today? For that matter, why is this miracle even recorded in the Bible? Jesus performed tons of miracles, way more than what’s written in scripture, so what’s so special about this one? The miracles are recorded in the Bible to teach us. Through this miracle of the healing of a deaf-mute man, we learn to apply it to our lives, namely that Jesus opens our ears to hear and our lips to speak His Word. To help us understand that, we’ll discuss what Jesus’ ministry primarily consisted of, why Jesus performed miracles, and how today we also can hear and proclaim His Word. So first, what was the purpose of Jesus’ ministry? What was His goal? Jesus’ ministry was primarily to teach His Word. T...

Jesus Healing a Deaf-Mute , Bartholomeus Breenbergh, 1635 The miracles in the Bible are incredible! But, you might wonder, what do they have to do with us today? This healing of the deaf man is great, but why do we care? What does he have to do with me? Good questions. The miracles in the Bible are recorded not just for us to remember random miracles Jesus performed, but God teaches us these miracles to point us to the greater miracle of our salvation. It’s always weird when Jesus tells people not to tell anyone about the miracles He performed, but He had good reasons. One of the reasons Jesus charged the people to tell no one was because His great miracle and work had yet to be accomplished. Namely, the miracle of Jonah, the miracle of dying, being laid into the deep for three days, and then rising again. Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection is the great miracle towards which all of His previous miracles point. Jesus isn’t to be known just as the guy who healed the deaf, fed the thousa...

  In the Garden of Eden God created man in His image. Thus Adam and Eve were able to converse with God, just as freely as you and I might chat with our friends. God would speak and Adam and Eve could hear Him and then respond right back!  I can hardly imagine strolling along and having a conversation with God, but that’s how it was, at least until the Fall into sin. At that time Adam and Eve chose to listen to Satan and each other rather than God. Henceforth all of their descendents from Cain, Abel, and Seth, to you and me, all have been born deaf and mute like the man in the region of the Decapolis. Like that man, Christ opens the deaf ears of our hearts to believe the Gospel and loosens our tongues to rightly declare His praise. Let me ask you a question: why do humans have ears and mouths? Is it just so that we can converse with one another or hear danger coming and run away? If that were the case then we would be no different than the beasts of the earth. Animals have ears...

“Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today.” John Lennon’s imagination is not only his, but in fact it’s many people’s perception of reality and it has been for a long time here in America. People suppose that hell is just a made up place pastors tell people about to get them to behave, like Santa Claus only giving you gifts if you’re nice. But imagining that there is no heaven or hell, and thus living for today without respect for eternity, will only bring you to hell. Because contrary to what secular society and liberal Christianity tells you, heaven and hell are real. Jesus says so in His own words: “ Fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell…” Again, He says, “The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment… in anguish in flame. ” Once again Jesus says, “ He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart f...