The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. In our reading John today Jesus is answering a question—so to better understand the answer, we need to know the question! In John 14:22, just before our reading starts, Judas the son of James—not Judas Iscariot, asks this question: “ Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” It’s the only recorded words we have from this second Judas. Jesus’ answer begins our reading: “ If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s, who sent me.” So Jesus’ answer is that the way He shows Himself to us and not to the world, is by making His home or dwelling place with believers, and creating in them a love and obedience toward God. Just think of what this means! God is going to ma...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. God calls you children of God, and so you are! God also calls His children saints, or holy ones. God speaks these realities into existence by His all-powerful word, and through the salvation He has won for us in Christ Jesus. Today, let those realities sink into your heart and mind and life, so that you live in what God has given and done for you. God has made us His children, and made us pure saints, in Him—because He is pure. We live out that reality. Talking about “saints” usually leads to some confusion and misunderstandings. One misunderstanding is that saints become so by virtue of their achievements and great example of godliness. This is to say, that they become saints because of their good works. The Bible, however, teaches the contrary view, that we become saints because God has called us to be saints, and because He has loved us (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). A sain...

Last week we talked about worship and the reason why we do what we do. We reviewed the order and purpose for the first half or more of the worship service, called the Service of the Word. We talked about the theology of worship, and how worship is like a “W”, not an “M”—because worship begins and ends with God and His gifts that flow down to us, and we return our thanks and praise to Him. Worship is not an “M” because it does not begin or end with, or center around me—but is initiated and sustained by the blessings of God’s gifts. Carrying that same thought into our teaching today, we are going to look at the second part of the worship Service, the Service of the Sacrament. In the Service of the Word God serves us through Jesus’ words, which give eternal life. In the Service of the Sacrament, God serves us through Jesus’ body and blood, given in the Lord’s Supper. Before we dive fully into discussing the Service of the Sacrament, let’s pause and look at three items you should al...