The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In today’s reading, Paul talks about the privilege and reward of preaching the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and forgiveness. It was his unique joy to preach to the Corinthians free of charge. Like other servants of the gospel, he knew he deserved to earn a living by it. But among the Corinthians, he chose not to accept any payment, but worked for the sheer joy and reward of serving Jesus Christ. You can only understand this joy if you grasp the marvelous mystery of what Jesus has done for you. Working for a big paycheck we can understand. Working at an easy and rewarding job, we can understand easy enough. But facing constant rejection, persecution, beatings, and failure, and still finding the work so joyful that you would do it for free—that’s not so easy to understand. But the way that Paul carried out his ministry, and the joy and willingness with which he did it, all are f...

Sermon on Romans 10:5-17, part 8 of a 13 part series in Romans, "God's Greater Story." This sermon is not adapted from the series. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Last week in Romans 9 we heard St. Paul’s impassioned love for his people the Jews, many who had hardened their hearts against believing in Jesus as Savior. Chapter 9 went on into the mystery of God’s eternal election—or choosing the people of His promise. While we did not delve into those mysteries of election, or how God chooses—we did hear loud and clear from Paul that God’s choice is not based on works, either good or bad, it is not based on our human will or exertion, but only based on Him who calls, in His mercy. We cannot earn our way into God’s favor, but rather it is entirely up to God and His undeserved love, who He calls to believe in Him and be saved. It’s God’s sovereign right to do this, Paul argues, against any claims that i...

Note: The following sermon is part 7 of  a 13 part series on Romans 6-14, adapted from the Series "God's Greater Story" by Rev. David Schmitt of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. I did not preach sermons 4-7 in the series, if you are following along on the blog. In the beginning of the sermon I allude the difficulty of Romans ch. 9, referring to the passages about election and specifically vs. 13. In this sermon I did not tackle that large and complex issue, which would require a whole sermon in itself. However, for the interested reader, I can commend no better summary of the issue of election and predestination than the summary found here http://www.bookofconcord.org/fc-ep.php#XI.Election  or here http://www.bookofconcord.org/sd-election.php   These are, respectively the Epitome (short version) and Solid Declaration (long version) of the Formula of Concord, from the Lutheran Confessions found in the Book of Concord. While not resolving all difficulties and potent...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! Has it caught your attention how many times the words “tell” or “told” appear in the reading; or that someone is in the process of telling about the Resurrection of Jesus? The angel tells the women that Jesus has risen, after they’ve seen the empty tomb, and tells them to “go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” Then the women go to tell the disciples, and they meet Jesus who again tells them to “ tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” There’s a strong connection in the reading between seeing and telling—which is the very role of the first Christian eyewitnesses. Tell, tell, tell! But why does the angel, after telling his good news to the women, end by saying, “See, I have told you”? It’...

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. We’re never really told why Peter and the six other disciples decided to go out fishing that night, sometime after Jesus’ first two resurrection appearances to them, and before they received the special outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. But the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias) was an old, familiar place, filled with memories of their lives as fishermen, and then, when Jesus came teaching and calling, their lives as disciples. Were Peter and the disciples restless—searching for guidance on what to do now, after the stunning events of Easter, and seeing Jesus risen from the dead? Were they retreating from the task that Jesus had set before them, to go and proclaim repentance and forgiveness in His name to all nations? Uncertain? Retreating into a familiar, comfortable routine? We certainly know the reasons why we do that sort of thing. Or were they simply passing the time until the gift of the Holy Spirit would...