The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Have you ever longed for someone to take notice? To take notice of you? Of course there are some people in the world, like the beggar Bartimaeus, who cried out loud to Jesus, and wouldn’t be silenced until Jesus came near and healed his blindness. Some of us have no trouble getting attention, or crying out in genuine need, “ Lord, have mercy !” But others bear suffering or misfortune in silence. They do not cry out to be heard, they do not raise their voice, and most often, no one notices or pays attention. We don’t know what was in the heart of the widow of Nain, described to us in the Gospel reading—except to know that she was gripped by grief that was on display for all to see, until Jesus noticed, came near, and spoke to her, “ Do not weep .” There seems to have been no invitation or plea for help—Jesus just happened upon the funeral procession leaving the town, as He and ...

            Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today we continue our series on the Beatitudes, as a Christ-colored lens through which we see our Christian life. The second beatitude is, “ Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ” This beatitude helps make it clear that the Beatitudes are not commanding goals to achieve or attitudes to develop, per se, but are rather descriptions of Christians in the kingdom of God. Mourning isn’t something we aim or strive for, as though we should manufacture circumstances in our life in order to mourn, but rather it is our condition or state before God, in this sinful world. This is partly why the Beatitudes don’t make sense as commands to obey in order to get a certain reward.             But before we consider what causes us to mourn in this world, let’s first consider what causes ...

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! How often have we heard someone promise something, and they said, “You have my word!” “I’ll take you…you have my word.” “It’ll be done by Friday…you have my word.” “I’ll never do that…you have my word.” And we’ve all seen how unreliable people can be. How quickly promises are changed, delayed, or forgotten. Rare is the individual who lives up to the phrase, “My word is my bond.” Rare indeed is the individual who can always be counted on to never break their promises. Many strive to keep their word, and I hope that we all do earnestly and sincerely, but who can be found that never broke a promise? We’re conditioned by repeated disappointments or let downs, to be skeptical of those who say, “You have my word.” The disciples of Jesus, both the remaining 11 and the women who were the closest followers of Jesus, had His Word as well. Thre...

Sermon Outline: 1. Prophecy from Isaiah: about what happens/will happen when the Anointed One, the Messiah enters on the scene of history/our lives. The Anointed One/Messiah/Christ—God’s chosen Savior for us. Jesus. Interesting, Trinity in OT. LORD God-Father; the Anointed One—Jesus; Spirit of the Lord. A scene of hopelessness, despair, of brokenhearted-ness and bondage is transformed into a scene of hope, life, gladness, praise and confidence. 2. The Jews who were the original recipients of this message, as said in previous sermons, where on such a scene of wreckage/hopelessness. Is your life the scene of hopelessness or despair? Surrounded by the wreckage of sin and a broken world? We have suffered under the heavy hand of the Law, which convicts our consciences of sin. Trampled down under life’s heavy burdens or griefs. Imprisoned in cages of sin of our own making. Only one can free us. One alone is strong enough to break our chains, proclaim God’s favor to us instead o...