Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  Today’s Gospel lesson is the first in a series of several parables we will hear over the next three weeks.  Matthew 13 contains more of Jesus’ parables than any other chapter of Scripture.  But what is a parable?  […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The Word of God that engages us today comes from the prophet Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  Today in our Gospel lesson, Jesus once again says things that are confusing and difficult to understand: “The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who […]

Introduction – Growing hostility against Christianity in America Mockery  Suspicion  Isolated persecution  Organized persecution Types of Persecution Mockery Beatings Arrest and Seizure of Property Death (11 of 12 apostles were martyred, 1 died in exile) Jesus says that persecution will come to his Church (10:16-22) from… Government (vv. 17-18) Family (v. 21; […]