The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The theme of honor and dishonor can be traced through all of our Bible readings today. Today let’s explore how God’s Word leads us to a life of honor, and away from dishonor. We should start with a definition. Honor can mean different things to different people. You might be convinced that you are acting with honor, but that doesn’t always prove your actions are right. Honor, like other virtues, can be warped, intentionally or unintentionally. But a definition: the fourth commandment says: “Honor your father and mother.” This commandment gives the definition that to “honor” is to respect and obey. Honor also can refer to a high level of recognition for what someone has done, as when they are “honored” with a reward or medal. Our nation’s highest military award is the “Medal of Honor.” From the Army’s website, it explains the Medal of Honor this way: This award goes to Soldiers who make honor a matter of da...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today the cycle of the church year begins anew, with the First Sunday in Advent. We renew a journey of sorts, a journey that lasts us one year—a journey along the places and paths that Jesus followed, from the time He was anticipated as Savior, to His birth in Bethlehem, through His ministry, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. This first half of the church year, we call the “Festival Season.” It wraps up with Pentecost, when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, and follows with the part of the church year that we just finished, is the long “non-festival” season of the church year, or “ordinary time”. Sundays that review the rest of Jesus’ teachings, leading up again to the anticipation of His return. Along the journey, we get to know Jesus better and better, not as a friend who joins us occasionally, but as our constant companion who leads us and has finished the jour...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today on Ash Wednesday, we begin the journey following Jesus to His cross and resurrection, taking stock of our sin and our need for repentance or turning away from sin, and witnessing the perfect love and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. To aid our meditation during Lent, we’re going to study and meditate deeply on the Beatitudes. A few months ago on All Saints’ Day I preached on the whole set of the Beatitudes, and described them as “Christ-colored glasses” through which the believer in Jesus sees how they stand before God. They are not descriptions of the Christian life only and not about Christ—and neither can we understand them as only descriptions of Christ and not reflecting on the Christian life. Instead, they show Jesus as the source and strength of the Christian life and how it takes shape from Jesus’ own life. Since this is the first in the series, let’s briefly introduce them. There are nine “Blesse...

            In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We live in an automated age. A long list of conveniences relieve the drudgery of daily work, or simplify our daily tasks. We have automatic dishwashers to do our dishes, automatic sprinklers to water our yards, autopilot mechanisms that steer airplanes over long flights, automatic self-cleaning ovens, automatic coffee machines, automatic apps that send our pictures and files into “the Cloud”, and all sorts of other modern innovations that supposedly simplify our lives. Well in today’s reading we discover a much older innovation, a much older “automatic system” that has been at work for ages. It is the kingdom of God. How is it automatic, you ask?             Jesus tells a parable, that the kingdom of God is like a man scattering seed on the ground. Waking and sleeping, the farmer passes his days, and the seed s...

The following Lenten series I will be preaching on is adapted from Dr. Reed Lessing's series on Jonah the prophet. Dr. Lessing is professor of Old Testament at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO.              After a somewhat less than graceful exit from the belly of the whale, Jonah was back on terra firma . And it was no time to rest or to hatch another escape plan—that have proven to be fruitless (267). God had work for Jonah to do, and he was to get right to it. God was persistent in His call, and wasn’t going to let up. Perhaps we can recall times when we’ve had a less than graceful course-correction in our lives, and were humbled, somewhat unsteady on our feet, and back to facing the call that God has for us. Because of God’s grace, we are given a second chance—we are renewed for His service yet again. Jonah obeyed at last the command to “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.”  ...