The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Welcome to all our preschool families, and thank you for joining us for worship today, and supporting your child’s education! Today in our reading Jesus encounters a person who is genuinely and eagerly interested in knowing about eternal life. Reflect today whether that’s also a burning question for you, and we’ll look together at what the answer is. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. We’re not invincible. We live like it, but we’re not. Every person will reach life’s end one day, and don’t wait till then to ask the question, “What next?” In the Gospel lesson we encounter a rich young man, who could really be any one of us (rich or poor—but I’ll get to that later). He’s eager and ready to find out about eternal life, and comes running up as Jesus is leaving town to ask a burning question. His respect for Jesus is obvious when he kneels before Jesus ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The sermon text is Matthew 25, Jesus describing His return for the Final Judgment. Only a short time before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, He is prophesying about the end of time. Confident of His coming victory over sin and death on the cross, Jesus looks to the Final Judgment, where He will be exalted on His throne of glory, seated at the right hand of God the Father in power. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Drawing close to the end of the church year, themes of Jesus’ return and the judgment prevail. For some, these Scriptures are frightening, and put us in mind of our mortality. For others they raise fears about how we’ll face the Final Judgment and how we’ll come through it. For still others, ignorance means bliss, and we pretend not to think about these things, but carry on business...