The Joshua Victor Theory

Note: this sermon is revised and expanded by myself, from an original sermon by Rev. Dr. Reed Lessing, part of a purchased series of Lent and Easter sermons titled "Job: Blessed Be the Name of the Lord." The entire series is available for purchase through the Concordia Seminary Store as an inexpensive download. Our congregation has greatly appreciated the study of Job in both Sunday Bible class and midweek services, concluding with this message.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. For a child, the dark can be frightening—even and especially the dark bedroom, dark hallway, or dark bathroom at night. And that’s all on “familiar ground” inside the home! Not to mention plenty of other dark and scary places outside the home on unfamiliar ground! No, a child doesn’t want to go alone. Even reassuring words from a tired parent: “There’s nothing to be afraid of. No, there are no monsters. Just go! You’ll be fine!” often aren’t enough to co...

It was early on a Sunday morning, if you can imagine it—a familiar routine unfolded. An average Joe, or let’s say a Peter, rolled out of bed, rubbed his eyes, and headed for the kitchen, still yawning from a Saturday night slumber. As his hands and feet mechanically go through their morning rituals—brew the coffee, toast the bread, open the front door and pick up the morning paper—he’s oblivious to what events are astir. Drowsy with sleep, he pages through the headlines in the morning paper: “ Stock market falls for third consecutive day … Congressional deadline looms as gridlock seizes the Capitol… ” pages rustle, business, politics, same old, same old, local news, sports, religion: “ The tomb was empty: Reports that Jesus is alive!” But the pages keep turning as the half-interested, half-bored man concludes that none of the articles are of interest, and drops the folded paper at the side of his couch. The TV flips on to the morning news, and more routine headlines follow… “Police ...

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! This joyful Easter response echoes through our churches in the weeks after Easter Sunday or the Resurrection of Our Lord. We celebrated Easter on April 24th, this year, and our Easter celebration continues through the first week of June, before the next church festival of Pentecost (June 12). Easter is always a tremendous experience as we reach the loudest and most joyous crescendo of praise during the year. You just want to belt out those Easter hymns and Alleluias!! The combination of the brass and the choir and the powerful melodies that together proclaim: Victory, Resurrection, Life!! Christ is Risen! One of the hymns that I think best captures that Easter mood was sung at our services during communion. That hymn is #633, At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing. The first verse reads: At the Lamb’s high feast we sing, praise to our victorious King, who has washed us in the tide flowing from His pierced side. Alleluia! The “high feast” or “pa...

Outline for my Easter sermon. Sermon audio available on 1. The first resurrection appearance—a life-changing experience. Where their lives any different? We know they were! The women and disciples’ lives were forever changed—no returning to life as usual. New braveness, bold witnesses, new joy a. That death had been defeated was not news that could casually be overlooked b. Outside the realm of normal human experience, yet something that could and was completely experienced, seen, and understood by humans 2. What would you be doing now if Christ had not been raised? Where would your life be? What choices would you have made differently? But since Christ has been raised, has that changed your life? For those who believe in Him, the answer has to be Yes! a. Colossians 3:1-4 you have been raised with Christ! How? In your baptism: b. Colossians 2:11-12, “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Chr...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! When you think of the greatest blunders or failures in history, what comes to mind? Do you think of certain individuals who set out with great plans and were met with disastrous failure? Their names probably didn’t stick around so long, precisely because of what they didn’t accomplish. Though some have rebounded from devastating failures to great success. When you think of famous failures, do you think of great projects that went awry? The supposedly unsinkable Titanic, that struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic? Perhaps in Bible history, the failed attempt to build a monument to human glory, the Tower of Babel. Perhaps you would name famous failed inventions or marketing ideas, or even famous failures in battle or war. Some failures are tragic, others are humorous. Some are memorable, some are not. But rarely are failures celebrated. But today, on the day of o...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. When Jesus reentered the world of the disciples for the first time after Easter, He was entering a world of fear. Their hopes and expectations had been dashed by Jesus’ crucifixion and death, and it appeared as though mankind’s greatest enemy had stolen their greatest hope. In the Gospel for today, we’ll look at how Jesus enters our world of fears and speaks peace to our fears. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The disciples were gathered to talk about these things, after several of them and the women had seen the resurrected Lord. Even with these eyewitness reports, there was still an uneasy fear and apprehension that gripped them. They weren’t quite ready to fully believe this, or even understand what it all meant. We’re often in their company. Even with the knowledge of the resurrection, both for Christ and for our eternal hope, we’re gripped by...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! We’re here this Easter morn because we believe that death isn’t the end. We’re here because there’s One who has truly conquered death, as witnessed by the women at the tomb, the twelve apostles, more than 500 disciples at one time, His unbelieving brother James, and lastly Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church, later known as Paul. We’re here to celebrate how Jesus has conquered death for us, for we live on in this hope and promise. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Easter is God’s answer to our greatest enemy. For death is the great leveler of mankind. Death steals from our joy; it robs us of those we love; it leaves life and ambition unfinished and incomplete. Death spares none, and makes no distinction between the rich or poor, the young or old, n...