At the center of every religion is something called “righteousness.” For our purposes let’s define “righteousness” as the condition of being right with God. The goal of religion is to answer the question in the heart of man, “How can I be right with God?”
The family was all gathered in the lawyer’s office on the right day at the right time. It was the day for the reading of the will. No one thought they would be here. But George had died suddenly. Massive heart attack. Never saw it coming. George was leaving a huge fortune to someone in that room. His wife is there. And so are his two ex-wives. All five of George’s children are there.
“Lord, teach us to pray.” There is something very significant and profound about that little word “teach.” It confesses something. It confesses that we don’t know how to pray! It is true that every human being comes into this world with what is called a “natural knowledge of God.” People are born “theists,” not “atheists.” People know there is a God.
When you listen to our text today, what do you think about Martha? I remember as a child hearing this story. I don’t know if it was the way it was taught, or if it was just the way I processed what I was hearing, but I came away with a very negative view of Martha. Almost like she was the “villain” in the story.
We are privileged to have Pastor Jerry Ewings lead our worship today. Pastor Ewings served at Lord of Love from 2006 – 2017. He currently serves as a Christian Giving Counselor for the Western Wisconsin District. He and his wife Lori reside in Johnson Creek, WI.
As citizens of the United States of America, certain documents are very dear to us. The Declaration of Independence comes to mind. After that, we have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Those latter two, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, are special because they outline the unique RELATIONSHIP that exists between the citizen and the government in the United States of America.
The disciples could hardly believe their eyes. Not too long ago Jesus had explained to them that he was going to go to Jerusalem where he would give his life as a ransom for us all. And now the time has come to go to Jerusalem, and Jesus is out front, leading the way! The Greek text literally says that Jesus “set his face” to go to Jerusalem.
In the magnificent explanation of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed in Luther’s Small Catechism we confess about the Lord Jesus: “He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil.” With those words we mention the three enemies of our soul: sin, death, and the devil.
How old do you think the oldest part of our worship service is? Would it surprise you if I told you there is a part of our service that is 3500 years old? Well, there is! It is the blessing spoken to conclude our service. It is a blessing that dates to the time of Moses.
Pentecost was a busy day! I don’t know what time those early Christians woke up, but by 9:00 a.m. they are all gathered together in one place. Then things get really busy. They hear that sound like a rushing wind…think tornado. Then they see those little flames separating and coming to rest on their heads. Then as they begin to speak, they are speaking languages they never learned or studied!
