The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father—Life Creator, the Son—Life Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit—Life Sanctifier, Amen. Psalm 10, which we just recited, is a passionate outcry of the righteous against the wicked. The Psalmist asks God, where are you to help? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? He sees the wicked pursuing the poor and the helpless, being greedy for gain, cursing and renouncing the Lord. He hears them denying God’s existence and believing that for generation after generation, they will be able to get away with this oppression. Murdering the innocent in secret places, preying on the poor, the helpless, and the afflicted. The Psalmist cries out to God—how can this be? He cries for God to remember the afflicted, hold the wicked accountable, and to take this violence and injustice into His hands, and break the power of evildoing. The Psalm ends on the confident note that God will hear the cry of the afflicted, will encourage and strengthen them, will do justice for the fath...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Do you know what it would take to “light a fire in you?” What would get you so stirred up and passionate about something, that you would take action and do something? Maybe seeing something outrageous, or knowing a terrible injustice was being done, and something had to be done about it? Sometimes I feel like our generation is desensitized, or dulled to what’s going on around us in the world. Do you feel so heavily bombarded with stories of violence, corruption, war, poverty, and injustice in the media, that it hardly triggers an emotion in you anymore? We might feel apathetic, like we can’t possibly care—because it’s too much, too great a burden to bear or comprehend. We might feel helpless or even lazy, as though there is nothing we could do that would make a difference anyway. Or we might simply feel safe and complacent, since we may seem to be insulated from much of the “bad news.” If you can identify wit...

·          Last week: Paul’s vigorous response to the Galatians, astonished they were abandoning Christ and His Gospel, for a false gospel. Strenuously argued his gospel is from God, not man. Evident because centered on Christ, not man, and all glory to God. ·          First, pause to define “gospel.” Good news or good message. But not just any good news, but here, precisely the gospel taught by Paul, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has a particular content: the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. His whole saving act accomplished for us, by grace (undeserved love), received by us through faith. Pastor Roschke’s sermon next week will touch in greater depth on what that gospel is, but this “gospel” or good news, stands distinct from God’s other holy message—the Law, which shows us our sins and condemns us. The Gospel is what frees us and comforts us with the love of God, and de...

·          Intro to 6 part sermon series on Galatians: Apostle Paul, to the Christian church in Galatia (modern day Turkey). Church founded by Paul, but now in his absence, overtaken by a powerful and destructive false teaching. Paul was no stranger to churches suffering confusion about the Word of God, wrestling with immorality in their midst, or a facing a host of other serious concerns. Uniqueness of Galatians in the fervor, anger, and vigorousness of his reply. Skips his usual pleasant greeting, his habit of thanking God for the church he’s addressing, and almost immediately expresses his profound shock and disappointment. ·          Why? What moved Paul to such heights of emotion and passion, that even remarkably dysfunctional churches like the one in Corinth, did not create the same intensity of response? ·          Here, above all else, it’s the heart of th...