Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus told us that he did not come “to abolish the Law and the Prophets… but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17, ESV).[1]  The Old Testament is not “old hat.”  The Ten Commandments are not […]

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  Last week we heard Jesus pronounce blessing upon his disciples—upon us!—in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12).  Whether we feel it or not, we are blessed because Jesus calls us blessed.  His Word creates the reality it speaks into being. Today […]

  Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!  Amen.  Today’s Gospel reading is the first in a series of four Sundays on which we listen to Jesus’ familiar words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  Today Jesus speaks blessings upon his disciples in the passage […]

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:3, ESV).[1]  Amen.  In last week’s sermon, I preached about the importance of giving thanks for the people in our lives, even the ones who are difficult to love and get along with.  In that same message, we surveyed […]