The Joshua Victor Theory

Note: for the full audio of the sermon, check out my podcast. This is a limited outline. • Corinthian letters—1st to an immature, conflicted, error-filled church; yet still called “saints”. 2nd, to a more mature congregation, rejoicing over the reconciliations and growth that had happened in their midst, and reflecting on his own ministry to them. • 4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. What is this confidence? Vs. 1-3 “do we need letters of recommendation (referral letters) among you? You  are our letter, written on human hearts by Christ! We’re the messengers, you are sent out to the world! (way of talking about how Christian’s are to be living representatives, salt and light of Christ to the world). World experiences Christ’s love through you (or doesn’t experience…aren’t reading God’s Word, reading you). • Is this Paul taking credit for them? 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is fr...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The Olympics always feature dramatic stories of the struggle, perseverance, and the hard-fought victories of athletes, and the hardships and intense training that preceded their competition for the gold medal. The attention focused on the athletes is intense; often they are flattered with praise—but just as quickly they can bear the brunt of criticism, suspicion, or doubt, for their failures inside and outside of the game. Every athlete faces the specter of discouragement and the temptation to quit, when the road gets tough. The stakes are high, with the whole world competing, only once every four years, and with only 3 medals to be captured in each event Last week Pastor Roschke drew on the imagery of the “race” that we are running “by faith” as Christians. How “Team Emmanuel” is being cheered on by the cloud of witnesses in heaven, who are encouraging us as we run the race, with...

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...

Sermon Outline:   1.       Rainbows—borrowed as a symbol for all kinds of things, logos, movements, even Emmanuel Lutheran’s logo. But what’s the true meaning and message of the rainbow? Setting the stage—why the Flood (widespread violence and wickedness on earth—sound like today?); yearlong destruction, Noah and family disembarking, God’s unconditional promises to Noah and all creation: physical blessings, not spiritual or a promise of eternal salvation. 2.       God’s covenant never again to destroy all the earth by Flood. Few today fear a global flood, but the threat of catastrophes certainly on our minds—tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, end-of-the-world movies. Our share of violence today—feel somewhat insulated (in US), but tragedy breaks through our sense of security—Colorado, terrorist attacks; other countries where danger is a part of everyday life—not safe to worship in many places in Nigeria—bombings, suicide attack...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. On this night we remember Maundy Thursday, the night on which Jesus was betrayed, and celebrated His Last Supper with the disciples. The sermon will be based on our Old Testament and Gospel readings, which link together the blood of the old covenant, and the blood of the new covenant. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Why are these two passages so closely linked, since the time and place of their occurrence are so different? Approximately 1,500 years apart, with Moses speaking to the 12 tribes of Israel at the base of Mount Sinai in the desert, while Jesus is speaking to the 12 disciples alone in the upper room of a home in Jerusalem. At first there seems to be little similarity—but notice one uncommon phrase that appears in both readings. “The Blood of the Covenant.” These words only infrequently appear together in the Bible. When Moses first spo...