Proper 12 • Deuteronomy 7:6-9 • July 27, 2014
God, our faithful God, keeps his word and covenant in redemption and forgiveness
God, our faithful God, keeps his word and covenant in redemption and forgiveness
Paul is praying that the Ephesian Christians will be able to see the blueprints, so to speak, for the new church construction project, that is the building project of the church of God, the body of Christ
By Todd Jones It might seem like an odd thing to do, but notice how our first reading in Luke 11 takes on a slightly different tone when it is considered in light of the last of our Lord’s words in chapter 10, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one ..
By Benjamin Haupt How big are we talking? That might be a question that you have discussed if you have ever built a house or a church or any other kind of building. That is the question Paul seems to be addressing in Ephesians 3:14–21. In Ephesians 1 and 2, Paul reminds the Ephesian Christians that they are chosen ..
Editor’s Note: The following homiletical help is adapted from Concordia Journal, January 1984. By Thomas Manteufel According to the context of this pericope, Israel was to have no fellowship or covenant with the heathen. She was to war against their blasphemous religion. In a similar way, Christians of the New Testament are to distance themselves from the ..
By Joel Biermann True to form, Paul uses the first verse, bluntly to declare his point: you received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in him. The rest of the pericope simply unpacks the admonition in a Colossian context—one with more than its share of threats to Christian faith and a life walking in harmony ..
By Thomas Egger Congregations of the LCMS have not heard many sermons on the rainbow, since Genesis 9 did not occur in the lectionary cycles of Lutheran Worship. In fact, the LW three-year lectionary did not include a single reading from the Flood narrative in Genesis 6–9. With the biblical illiteracy of our culture and ..
By Robert Weise Parables of Assurance and Hope I would suggest that the best reference for studying the context of these three parables that “assure them [the disciples] that God is reigning and that to follow Jesus is the good and right thing to do” is found in Dr. Jeff Gibbs’ commentary on Matthew 11:2–20:34.1 This ..
By Dr. Jeffrey A. Gibbs Introduction The text presents two particular problems for interpreters. The first is the question of how “AD Christians” read the “BC Old Testament.” The second pertains to the whole issue of prayer in general, and intercessory prayer in particular. I will comment on the latter problem first. It is dangerously ..