The Joshua Victor Theory

  Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Zechariah, the Palm Sunday prophet, describes King Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. Some 500 years before it happened, Zechariah wrote about a humble King entering Jerusalem on a donkey, and the joy of the inhabitants. The following chapters of Zechariah go into greater detail and foretell many details surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion and the events of Holy Week. But we’re just going to zero in on a narrow phrase today. In Zechariah 9:11, God says “ because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free”. Then in Mark 14:24, at His Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus gives them the cup to drink and says, “ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.” What is this “ blood of the covenant ?” First, we need some background on covenants. A covenant is a little like a contract made between two groups or individuals. Contracts or agreements usually have terms and conditions, as well as...

  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Our OT reading from Exodus 20 is the giving of the 10 Commandments on Mt. Sinai. I’ve substituted Hebrews 12 for the regular Epistle reading of the day. Hebrews contrasts two mountains. Mt. Sinai on the terrifying day when Israel came to the mountain to hear God directly speak the commandments out loud to them. And secondly, Mt. Zion, where we the gathered worshippers have come to this second mountain, and to Jesus Christ. Consider God’s work for us and our salvation at each mountain. First, Mt. Sinai. God delivered volumes of teaching, instruction, and laws to Moses and the Israelites on Mt. Sinai. Most of the 5 books of Moses. Sinai was the place of His revelation, God speaking to His people. But of all that God revealed to them, only the 10 Commandments God spoke directly to Israel without a mediator (Deut. 5; Ex. 20). Everything else came by Moses. But at the scene in Exodus and Hebrews 12 they heard t...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The epistle of Galatians is a short, 6 chapter letter written to one of the Apostle Paul’s mission churches he’d helped to establish 2,000 years ago. He wars against the ever-popular opinion that we can be justified before God by our works. We saw it a few weeks ago in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee thought he had God’s law down just fine, and had nothing to be sorry for before God. Besides, everyone else he knew was worse than him! He was righteous in his own eyes—trusted in his good effort to get him in good with God. We don’t have to be quite as pompous as the Pharisee to fall into the same trap. But the tax collector knew better. He cried out: “ God, have mercy on me, a sinner !” Jesus said that tax collector went home justified, with God’s verdict of innocence. Paul is determined in Galatians 3 to drive away the spirit of the Pharisee, trusti...

·          Would you accuse God of injustice? A fearful proposition, to lay that charge at God’s feet—yet this is just what the people had done in Malachi 2:17. Malachi wrote: “You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” They accused Him of leaving the wicked unpunished, and that evildoers were prospering. Their question “Where is the God of justice?” Is tantamount to them saying, “God, what are you going to do about all this evil that is going on? Are you going to prove yourself just and judge them, or will they continue to escape?” ·          Malachi 3 is God’s response to this charge. Malachi, the last prophet, ~430 BC records God’s response. Watch what I will do—I’m sending my messenger to prepare my way. God’s saying, “I’m ...

Sermon Outline:   1.       Rainbows—borrowed as a symbol for all kinds of things, logos, movements, even Emmanuel Lutheran’s logo. But what’s the true meaning and message of the rainbow? Setting the stage—why the Flood (widespread violence and wickedness on earth—sound like today?); yearlong destruction, Noah and family disembarking, God’s unconditional promises to Noah and all creation: physical blessings, not spiritual or a promise of eternal salvation. 2.       God’s covenant never again to destroy all the earth by Flood. Few today fear a global flood, but the threat of catastrophes certainly on our minds—tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, end-of-the-world movies. Our share of violence today—feel somewhat insulated (in US), but tragedy breaks through our sense of security—Colorado, terrorist attacks; other countries where danger is a part of everyday life—not safe to worship in many places in Nigeria—bombings, suicide attack...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. So far in our Advent series we’ve looked at two types of Jesus. Types, remember, are Old Testament people, places or events that foreshadowed something later and greater. First we saw how Adam foreshadowed Jesus, who is the Second Adam. Second we saw how the test of sacrificing Isaac was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ own death. Today, the type isn’t a person but a thing—Jacob’s ladder. You heard in the Genesis reading about Jacob’s dream when he was fleeing from his twin brother Esau. He slept on a stone, and saw a vision of angels ascending and descending on a ladder that extended from heaven to earth. At the top of the ladder he saw the LORD God who told him, “I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac.” God reaffirmed Abraham’s blessings to Jacob his grandson. Promised the inheritance of the land of Canaan; that they would become a great and blessed nation; and that through his offspring al...