The Joshua Victor Theory

[The following sermon is adapted from sermons from Rev. Lyndon Korhonen and Rev. Michael Salemink on Lutheransforlife.org  You can find more encouraging, life-affirming materials and resources on their website]. If we did not have the Word of God, wouldn’t we wonder what is going on in our world? Life, as many of us have known it, is under attack. Over 40 years ago, our nation legalized the killing of babies in the womb. The “right to death” is seemingly being treated as an enshrined right, rather than the “right to life.” In several states, people have been given the right to end their lives through legal suicide. The value that we place on the elderly continues to decline. Marriage has been redefined by the U.S. Supreme Court. The sex one is born with is now up for change. The world is ever pushing to redefine even fundamental realities. And yet with all this so-called “progress” in getting what we want , people are profoundly unhappy and discontent. Jesus unmasks the conf...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. If we were to ask the kids at church, “If you could be an animal, what kind of animal would you be?”, we’d get a variety of fun answers. Maybe a dinosaur because it’s huge and fierce. Maybe an eagle that could soar above everything in the sky. Maybe a cheetah because it’s so fast. Maybe a dolphin that could play in the ocean. Probably a sheep is not too high in the rankings for most kids. Probably not what we would choose for ourselves. Sheep are not particularly glamorous creatures. Not fast, strong, or fierce. Rather, they don’t have very good eyesight, are prone to get stuck or be in trouble, and are relatively defenseless. But Psalm 100:3 joyously announces to us, “ Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” We are the sheep of His pasture, and He made us! So God why is it such a wonderful thing? Why would anyone want to be a sheep?...