Proper 15 • Ephesians 5:6–21
The Christian Life, A Wake up Call
The Christian Life, A Wake up Call
hose whom the Lord has bound to himself through the waters of baptism, establishing the Christian’s identity, serve him and love the name that is above every name—Jesus Christ
Jeffrey A. Oschwald As if the themes of this Gospel weren’t challenge enough, two significant exegetical/translational questions must also be addressed. Luke 12:49b is “a passage of well-known difficulty, the translation of which remains doubtful.”1 Just presents the case for the translation “How I wish that it were already kindled,” but the parallels are not ..
Editor’s note: The following homiletical help is adapted from Concordia Journal, April 2008. By Joel P. Fritsche This epistle reading turns our attention toward living the Christian life. It builds off the foundation that St. Paul laid earlier in Ephesians, namely 2:8–9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not ..
Editor’s note: The following homiletical help is adapted from Concordia Journal, July 1999. By Robert W. Weise Salvation Is for All I. Introduction A. Most people detest any form of discrimination or exclusionary activity. It is no fun being left out of the group or not being invited to the birthday or graduation party, as well as ..
By Kyle Castens “What are you looking at?” Hey, someone’s staring at you. Well, what are you to do? Some stares are seen as a compliment. Some are offensive. Some make the recipient quite uncomfortable. Well, what’s one to do? You could dismiss it. You could move on. One way or the other you should ..
By Kyle Castens The Choice is His There is nothing more non-descript than a plain white Styrofoam takeout container. As it sat on our counter, it went unnoticed. My wife had to bring it to the attention of our sons. They opened the lid and found something unexpected: desserts! Cookies and brownies, big and small. ..
by Michael J. Redeker Liturgical Context: This week’s readings answer a question, “Do Gentiles have a part in God’s plan of salvation?” For example, Psalm 67 never tires of announcing YHWH’s blessings upon his people. But this Psalm also proclaims that all nations should recognize him as their judge, provider, and their way of governance ..
By Travis J. Scholl The crux of this text is the ongoing conflict in Jeremiah between true and false prophets and Jeremiah’s own ongoing conflict with those whom he perceived to be false prophets in Israel’s midst. “They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (v. 16). Their word ..