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“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” In the wilderness, Israel stood condemned, dying: the serpents among them. Still, God appointed a remedy: look at the bronze serpent on the pole, and live. So also you, the venom of your own reasoning, strength, and pride working through you: look. The Son of Man is lifted up. He has taken what you could not an

Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun darkened. The moon turned to blood. Peter doesn’t soften it. He stands before the crowd with the full weight of a world under judgment, groaning under sin and death and the ancient enemy who wields power against it, and declares: into this world, this blood-and-fire world, your world, the Spirit of the living God has come. Into your world. Into this one. Into the grief that attends you here today. And then Peter recites the last ve

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is the day: the Day of days, long awaited, our triumphant holy day. This is the day when Abraham receives back his son, as from the dead. This is the day when Israel stands on the far shore of the sea, safe, the waters having drowned their enemies. This is the day when Joshua and the people shout with a great shout, and the walls of Jericho come tumblin’ down. This is the day when David stand

Due to a technical issue, the sermon video did not record Readings: Old Testament: Exodus 34:29-35 Epistle: 2 Peter 1:16-21 Holy Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9 Sermon manuscript: download Sermon: Sermon based on Matthew 17:1-9 * In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Dearly beloved by the Lord: Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain. And there, He was transfigured before them. His face shone {as} the sun, and His clothes became as white as

So much we can learn from this in our dark days, in the midst of all our troubles, the troubles of our living circumstances, and the troubles of our lives. For there is great slaughter happening in our midst also, as countless children are ripped not from their mothers’ arms, but from their wombs. They are put to death, not because of some order by some despot. They are put to death by those who bear and are supposed to protect life, not take it. Still, just like the Holy In

Matthew admits that he was nothing more than a dishonest, sinful man. What’s interesting, however, is that St. Luke, in his gospel...

Consider the witness of Bartholomew. After that first confession, his life of discipleship carried him far. Tradition tells us that he...

This Confession—that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God—is the rock upon which the Church is established and resides. And the...