Author: Bethlehem Lutheran
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Fifth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: 1 Kings 19:11-21 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 | Luke 5:1-11 Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Persecution was a daily reality for third-century Christians in Rome. And in 258, the Emperor Valerian began another massive round. He issued an edict commanding that all bishops, priests, and deacons should be put to death, and he gave the…
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The Feast of the Visitation Readings: Isaiah 11:1-5 | Romans 12:9-16 | Luke 1:39-56 Text: Luke 1:35-46 God has created each of us in His Image and Likeness to live by His grace through faith in His incarnate Son, Jesus Christ. He was conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because of this, your entire life in body and soul—both…
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The Presentation of the Augsburg Confession
Readings: Micha 7:18-20 | 1 Timothy 1:12-17 | Luke 15:1-10 Text: Luke 15:1-10 What God says about Himself makes all the difference. If we start with the idea of what we think God is like, or what we think He would or should do, we will quickly fall into error. The Church is perpetually plagued…
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Second Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Proverbs 9:1-10 | Ephesians 2:13-22 | Luke 14:15-24 Text: Luke 14:15-24 Lutherans are known for their potlucks (or “covered dish dinners” if you don’t want to mention luck). It brings people together at church. Eating is something we all have in common, regardless of differing opinions or backgrounds. In fact, it’s a widely-known church…
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First Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Genesis 15:1-6 | 1 John 4:16-21 | Luke 16:19-31 Text: Luke 16:19-31 In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Last week, we confessed in the Athanasian Creed, “Whoever desires to be saved must, above all, hold the catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish eternally.” Today, we…
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The Holy Trinity
Readings: Isaiah 6:1-7 | Romans 11:33-36 | John 3:1-17 Text: John 3:1-17 You may think that faith is just a mental activity. It all happens in the mind, which assents to the proposition that there is a God, that this God is so favorably disposed toward us that He decided to send His Son into…
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Day of Pentecost
Readings: Genesis 11:1-9 | Acts 2:1-13 | John 14:23-31 Text: John 14:23-31 Have you ever pondered how the message of the cross reaches you and me today? Every generation has to go through a period of learning. It’s not that we have to completely start from scratch. However, how could this message of Jesus’ death…
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Seventh Sunday of Easter
~ Exaudi ~ Notes and Outline from Concordia Theological Monthly, April 1949 by Rev. Dr. Oswald Riess Readings: Exekiel 36:22-28 | 1 Peter 4:7-11 | John 15:26-16:4 Text: Ephesians 1:20b-23
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Sixth Sunday of Easter
~ Rogate ~ Holy Baptism of Maria Regina Cleveland Readings: Numbers 21:4-9 | James 1:22-27 | John 16:23-33 Text: John 16:23-33 The name for this Sunday, Rogate, derives its name from the Gospel lesson, instead of first word of the Introit. Rogate in Latin means, “Ask (all of you), and you will receive, that your…
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Called to Confess
~ Redeemer Lutheran Church, Gresham, OR ~ ~ Friday Session~ Text: Romans 13:1-10 People love to be free of the burden of authority. School kids count the minutes before the bell on the last day of school. College freshmen rejoice to be free of their parents’ rules when they move into their own space. Women…