The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Although 2,700 years is quite a long shot from “forever”—it is still a respectable distance from which we can see and recognize the enduring power and comfort of God’s word, which stands forever. 2,700 years ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote these words of comfort in Isaiah 40, which still “speak to our heart” today. They speak of a double comfort for all that God’s people have suffered for their sins. The passage also speaks of John the Baptist as the herald who would announce the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, the Lord who would traverse the wilderness and reveal His glory to us. The Word of the Lord stands forever, bringing a message of solid comfort and hope, across the centuries, despite all the changes and chances of life while several dozens of generations have flourished and then withered away like the flowers and grasses of the field. In human life, whenever we extend a gesture of comfort—it logically follo...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Please take out your bulletin insert and compare the Collect, or prayer of the day for this Sunday with our Old Testament reading. It invites God to “stir up Your Power, O Lord and Come…” just like the reading calls God to “ rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence ”…and talks about God’s mighty power causing the “ nations to tremble at your presence .” Both are prayers for God to arise and take action, especially as Isaiah feels as though God has been silent, He has hidden His face from His people because of their sins, and the enemies of Israel were triumphing over them. The kind of action Isaiah has in mind for God recalls Mt. Sinai—the thundering, fires, and earthquakes. Powerful signs and judgment to drive away the enemies of God’s people. This would bring the rescue his people hoped for. However, as Isaiah continues to pray, he is perplexed by their sins. He real...

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...

Sermon Outline 1.       Frailty and shortness of our own flesh and life contrasted with the Word of our God will stand forever. This is not any word of God that stands forever, but the word of the covenant God, Yahweh, who graciously reenters into a relationship with Israel to bestow his gift of double comfort. The psalmist says, “This is my comfort in my affliction, your word brings me life” (Ps 119:50). 2.       The entire book of Isaiah is dominated by a profound theology of Yahweh’s word. Creative Word. Word going from Jerusalem to call all nations to learn Yahweh’s ways of peace (2:1–5). Spiritual life is depends on hearing and responding to this word (37:33–35). 3.       As all flesh, all human achievement, effort and striving could be seen to wither and fade away around them, the Israelites left in exile in Babylon were despairing, longing for home. They wept as they remembered the “good old days...