Author: Bethlehem Lutheran
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Feast of The Holy Trinity
Readings: Isaiah 6:1-7 | Romans 11:33-36 | John 3:1-17 Text: Isaiah 6:1-7; John 3:1-17 Who is God? That question is the foundation all religion, all spirituality, all philosophy, all science, and all human knowledge. The answer to that question affects how we understand everything. The atheist answers the question by saying no one is God.…
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Feast of Pentecost
Readings: Genesis 11:1-9 | Acts 2:1-21 | John 14:23-31 Text: John 14:23-31 How will you manifest yourself to your own but not the world? By the keeping of the Word of Christ. Many have asked in previous generations how you can tell the difference between Christians and unbelievers. Is it the number of good things…
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Sunday after the Ascension (Exaudi)
Readings: Ezekiel 36:22-28 | 1 Peter 4:7-14 | John 15:26-16:4 Text: John 15:26-16:4 Following the format which Martin Luther taught to his barber, Peter, in the tract known as “A Simple Way to Pray” This is the Sunday after the Ascension of Jesus, and what it must have been like for the disciples! Their final…
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Sixth Sunday of Easter (Rogate)
Readings: Numbers 21:4-9 | 1 Timothy 2:1-6 | John 16:31-33 Text: John 16:31-33 Isn’t it interesting that peace is usually the thing that everyone can agree on? You never see protests calling for war. Peace symbols adorn bumper stickers, but what sane person ever aspired to bloodshed? So also in the current political atmosphere, the…
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Fifth Sunday of Easter
Readings: Isaiah 12:1-6 | James 1:16-21 | John 16:5-15 Text: John 16:5-15 So much ink and words have been spent trying to convince the unbelieving world of the truth of the Gospel. So many ministries are dedicated to this purpose. So much effort is given to bringing non-committal, indifferent unbelievers to faith. Despite all this…
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Fourth Sunday of Easter (Jubilate)
Readings: Isaiah 40:25-31 | 1 Peter 2:11-20 | John 16:16-23 Text: Isaiah 40:25-31 On the night in which He is to be betrayed, our Lord taught His disciples, 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.…
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Third Sunday of Easter (Misericordias Domini)
Readings: Ezekiel 34:11-16 | 1 Peter 2:21-25 | John 10:11-16 Text: John 10:11-16 The name for this second Sunday after Easter is a mouthful: Misericordias Domini. It’s also a strange name, unless you’re a Spanish-speaker. Misericordias in both Latin and Spanish means “mercy.” It’s from Psalm 33:5, which we heard in the introit as, “The…
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Second Sunday after Easter (Quasimodo Geniti)
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14 | 1 John 5:4-10 | John 20:19-31 Text: John 20:19-31 On the evening of the Resurrection, the disciples—at least ten of them—saw the risen Lord! Sometimes we get to thinking the disciples must have had an easier time because they had Jesus in the flesh. After all, what quality of teaching! What…
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The Resurrection of Our Lord (Easter Day)
Readings: Job 19:23-27 | 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 | Mark 16:1-8 Text: Mark 16:1-8 Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Easter mornings are always the best for Church. We sing louder than any other day. We sing, “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!” We shout for joy. We tell each other He is…
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Vigil of Easter
Readings: Genesis 1:1-2:3 | Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18; 8:6-18; 9:8-13 Exodus 14:10-15:1 | Mark 16:1-8 Text: Jonah 3 In our reserved, sterile minds, we might take these words figuratively. That doesn’t really mean that God’s voice comes out in fire or earthquakes. I’ve never seen the earth melt! Because it’s so far removed from our daily…