Author: Bethlehem Lutheran
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Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Matthew 5:21-37)
Jesus cuts to the chase. He doesn’t sugar coat His message to lure people in with fluffy words, only to hook them. Right away, He gets to what His work is about by confronting us our failures by the Ten Commandments. But He doesn’t quite follow the order given on Sinai (Exodus 20:1-20)—first our duty…
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Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany (Matthew 5:13-20)
There are two errors that we can fall into with good works: One error is that we can prove to God and others by our actions that we are good. The proof that we are right with God is that we are busy doing the things God apparently wants. This happens in many Christian churches…
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Purification of Mary and Presentation of Our Lord (Luke 2:22-32)
The Gnostics of the first century imported many strange ideas into the Christian Church. Named after their chief aim: knowledge/gnosis, they believed the story of salvation was that the stuff of this world was evil and foreign. Our true selves were meant to dwell in spiritual forms. They taught that Jesus came to impart this…
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Second Sunday after the Epiphany (John 1:29-42a)
Every year in January, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a chance for manufacturers to tout their latest innovations, upgrades in the most attractive way. This year’s convention had everything from a foldable tablet to a spoof toilet paper robot by Charmin. But every year the theme is celebrating the new and leaving the old…
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Baptism of Our Lord (Matthew 3:13-17)
Among the many mysteries of Christmas is that God was born. This was something that many—trying to use their reason—couldn’t wrap their heads around. God fully embraced our human nature in Jesus Christ: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory” (John 1:14). Another is that God revealed this…
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Second Sunday after Christmas (Luke 2:40-52)
Some eighteen years later, Jesus would sit up on a mountain and say: 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the…
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First Sunday after Christmas (Matthew 2:13-23)
On Christmas Day, the Holy Evangelist John said to us, “He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” This didn’t start once Jesus began to preach and teach; it began that silent, holy night in Bethlehem. When the magi arrived in the capital of Israel, it wasn’t just Herod who was…
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The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord (Hebrews 1:1-11)
If you don’t want to offend people’s religious tastes, talk about angels. Everybody loves angels—from your new age chiropractor to your spiritual-but-not-religious cousin. It’s nice to think about guardian angels, even if you have no other duty to God, to hope you have allies in the spiritual realm. It’s a nice idea to think that…
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Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord (Titus 2:11-14)
There are a lot of things that are funny, and there are a lot of things to criticize in the world. Lord knows we’re experts at it in our day. But suddenly something that used to be funny or despised takes on a whole new light when it touches our life. For example, the bumper…
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Fourth Sunday in Advent (Matthew 1:18-25)
Our Gospel reading falls nearly at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. What comes very first is the introduction: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matt. 1:1) Recall the promise given to Abraham: “In you and in your Offspring, all the families of the earth will…