The Joshua Victor Theory

  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. A blessed Pentecost! Or should we say, Happy Birthday, Christian church? In a way, Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian church, the day when Jesus poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit, so the church would begin to grow and spread around the world. What does the word “conviction” mean to you? Do you think of a “man or woman of conviction”, taking a courageous stand on the truth? Or a court room conviction, like someone sentenced to jail? A convict has been convicted of a crime. An ex-convict has “done the time” and is out of prison. Conviction…has someone ever hauled you into court? Today Jesus uses the word “convict” to describe the work of the Holy Spirit. Before He left, Jesus explained to the disciples that He was sending the Holy Spirit to “ convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment”. The Holy Spirit hauls us into court. Are you “convicted” by t...

  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. What does God have to prove? He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, right? He’s GOD after all. But in Romans 3:19-28, it says twice that God proved or showed His righteousness (v. 25-26). What did He do and why? God showed His righteousness by justifying believers in Jesus. On Reformation Day, we continue to contemplate that great word “righteousness” as today we reflect on God’s Righteousness. As we zero in on this aspect, many other facets of this beautiful diamond sparkle unseen. We are only glimpsing the great gift of God’s Righteousness from one angle. Righteousness is a central theme of Romans and Apostle Paul’s ministry itself. It became central to Martin Luther’s Reformation 500 years ago. Not only Paul and Luther beat that drum. This theme of righteousness runs all through the Bible. Two key points today: 1) God’s righteousness is His character, and 2) He imputes or credits His righteousn...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. There’s a hard lesson about division and judgment in today’s Gospel: Jesus talks about how He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Divisions in the world, the family, and ultimately divisions from ourselves. Divisions are a tragic symptom of our sinful condition. Selfishness, rivalry, divided loyalties, and much more come from our sinful refusal to put God and His ways first. By contrast, God’s peace comes to those who trust and follow Jesus, even while they are divided from those who won’t follow Jesus. Ultimately Jesus must divide from sin, error and unbelief. There must be a parting of ways between God’s way and the world’s way—between the devil’s lies and God’s truth. Thank Jesus for rescuing us from lies and bringing us into truth. So where does Jesus divide and where does He unite? Jesus must divide us from lies and unify us with the truth. Lies are incompatible with the tru...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Every day we are engaged in a spiritual battle. We may or may not be conscious of it. But Bible passages like Ephesians are meant to wake Christians up, to be alert and engaged in the spiritual battle. You can guess how well the spiritual battle will go for us if we are sleepwalking, unarmed and unprepared, vs. being watchful and alert, armed and ready. To this end, Ephesians 6 tells us what the lay of the battlefield is, who our true enemies are, and what armor God equips us with. Last week at my drill with the National Guard, I talked in my sermon about how soldiers are issued a uniform, and expected to report for duty or ceremonies dressed in their uniform. Just like the wedding guest in last week’s parable did not wear the garment that would have been issued by the host. I also made a stop by the supply room, where they took my sizes to issue me a helmet, vest, and other gear. I neither make my own unifo...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In several different places in the Bible, God contrasts two different paths. One is the way of the righteous, the other is the way of the wicked. One leads to freedom and life, the other, to slavery and ultimately death. Proverbs 4 is a father to son life lesson talk, from Solomon to his son. There are two different paths, and he urges him to stay on the right path, and avoid the path of the wicked. Over and over in the Bible, this theme of two paths reappears. God grant that we stay on the path to life and righteousness. First, let’s consider the path to AVOID. “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.” It can be sad, humorous or even tragic, when certain “Do Not Enter!” signs in life go ignored. Ignore a “Do Not Enter” sign in a hospital, and you might end up where you’re not supposed to be—but ignore a “Do Not En...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father of lights, Jesus, His Word of Truth, and the Holy Spirit whom He makes to dwell in us. Amen. We’ll take today’s reading from James 1:16-21 verse by verse. James writes pithy, punchy statements that pack a lot of weight without rambling. To get the full depth of his letter, like any other book of the Bible, let the Bible be its own interpreter—connect the dots between James and the rest of the Bible—his rich theology draws heavily on the words of Jesus and other scripture. Some call his letter the Proverbs of the NT, or see parallels between James and the Sermon on the Mount. Our reading begins abruptly “ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ” The “ do not be deceived” part comes right after explaining that temptation is not from God, but originates in our own sinful nature. So d...

Sermon outline: ·          Sorrow on disciple’s hearts—Jesus’ farewell speech (before cross, resurrection, ascension). Leaving them—we also long to be comforted by Jesus’ personal presence. Jesus’ ongoing presence—the Spirit, teaching, Lord’s Supper, joined in living relationship and salvation through baptism. Not orphans—but they won’t see Him. Disciples’ sorrow—this is not to our advantage! Jesus’ answer—it is to your advantage, because the Spirit is coming! Now Christ’s ministry, not in one location—but ministers through His Helper, the Holy Spirit, to the entire Christian ministry across the earth. Jesus is everywhere His Spirit is outpoured, and the works of the Spirit are done, and people directed to Jesus. ·          Works of the Spirit (others listed John 14-16)—convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgment. As Christians we often want to celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit, an...