In 1934, a Lutheran pastor attended a convention of clergy in Frankenmuth, Michigan. During the convention, the pastor was sought lodging in the home of his cousin, who was a farmer. One evening, after polite dinner conversation, the farmer showed his cousin a family heirloom, an old German Bible. As he examined the book, he …
Author: sig1911
Christmas Day 2019
For centuries our world had been in darkness. Sin engulfed the earth at the dawn of time, and has cast its long shadow down through the ages. The prophet Isaiah painted the picture of our condition with these words: “The people…walked in darkness,,,they dwelt in a land of deep darkness.” The landscape of the world …
1st Sunday After Christmas
Grace and peace to you from our God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day a Savior Who is Christ, the Lord. And this will be …
Last Sunday in the church year
Jesus spoke frequently to His disciples about the end of all things. Yet His words were comforting, and spoke more of a new beginning than of the end of all things. To those who believed in Him Jesus says, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the …
Thanksgiving 2019
We have all come here tonight to express our gratitude to God, to give God our thanks and praise for all that He has done for us. God has come here tonight, as well. Tonight God has come to give you a gift that everyone wants, but few people have. God’s gift to you tonight …
19 Pentecost 2019
It was quiet in the Ardennes on Sunday, December 16, 1944. People were praying for their first free Christmas since the Nazis had been driven out. That’s when hundreds of German artillery batteries began firing on the American positions. Over 250,000 German soldiers and 1,000 deadly ‘Panzer’ tanks rolled through the line. The Nazi’s goal …
Reformation Day 2019
God’s people lay bound in chains – not literal chains, but the chains of captivity. Israel had sinned against God, and because of that, they had lost everything. They were far from their homeland, and it seemed as if they were far from God Himself. They suffered by day and wept by night until they …
All Saints 2019
Do you ever envy the saints in heaven, those who have gone before us? Do you ever long to be with those who are with the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven? In our first reading, the glorious vision of St. John, believers from every nation are clothed in white robes washed …
18 Pentecost 2019
Israel was on the edge of a total and complete disaster. In 930 BC, King Solomon dies, and Israel is divided into the Northern Kingdom – Israel, and the Southern Kingdom – Judah. Jeroboam becomes King of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, in 930 BC. He built 2 temples, one in the far North of his …
4 Pentecost 2019
Grace and peace… I can’t help but wonder what was going through Paul’s mind when he wrote the compelling and humbling words of our text, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” How many writers, how many authors, how many self-styled poets would …