The Festival of the Reformation

St. John 8:31–36

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit –

On the Eve of All Saints’ Day, October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg. This was not originally the grand, dramatic event it later came to be. On that evening he never dreamed that one day churches would bear his name. (The thought would have scandalized him to the core.) No one knew that this call for study and debate would start a world-changing event known as the Reformation. And frankly, the 95 Theses are in no way the most important, nor even the most “Lutheran” of Luther’s writings. But this seemingly small act by a German monk came to be known as the spark that would ignite the Reformation. In just 2 years, in 2017, we will be 500 years from that fateful day. And as this major anniversary comes closer I bet you’ll be hearing about the Reformation from those in the media as well as from the Church. However, what they will be saying about the Reformation will be quite different from what we talk about in the Church.

The prevailing secular views on the Reformation have very little to say about Jesus. For them, the Reformation was the beginning of the modern world. It was a revolution, a glorious protest against the old, out-dated hierarchy of the Middle Ages: the unjust lords, the corrupt bishops, and power-hungry popes. Modern scholars see the Reformation as the force that finally started to break-down the old institutions of church and king, freeing the common man to make up his own mind and choose his own path. It created more tolerant societies, led to the pursuit of science rather than religious superstition, and spurred on economic growth. But is that really what the Reformation was all about? The improvement of society? Would Martin Luther say that any of these were his goals? These temporal, societal improvements may have been by-products of the Reformation, many of them even good by-products. But they are not what it was all about.

The thing is, modern man can stomach the Reformation if it’s just an historical event. We can understand political movements, protests against corruption, and shakedowns of old-fashioned, ineffective authorities. Most people would probably like Martin Luther if he had been more of a freedom fighter. Maybe he could do well in the polls if he was known as a “political outsider.” But Luther was not William Wallace or George Washington fighting for the freedom of his country. He was not Donald Trump, saying the audacious things that the people wanted to hear. He was a pastor – a student and a teacher of God’s Word. And the Reformation was in truth, the activity of God’s Church. Or even more accurately, the Reformation was the activity God’s Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ at work in and on His holy Church. In short, the Reformation was another Pentecost.

This might sound incredibly arrogant. How can we claim that what Luther and the Reformers did in the 16^th century is even close to the same level as the coming of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts? Isn’t this turning into the worship of Luther? Isn’t this putting Luther’s writings and the Book of Concord above Scripture? Not if you have a right understanding of what Luther and the other Reformers did. And to say the Reformation was another Pentecost – another coming of the Holy Spirit – is not as audacious a claim as it might sound if you have a right understanding of how the Holy Spirit comes to us.

What Luther did was to help steer the Church back to the Scriptures. And what did He find there? Or better yet, whom did He find there? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures also comes to us in and through the Scriptures. The Holy Spirit only comes with the Word of God. He is present in the hearing and reading of that Word. And with that Word, the Holy Spirit delivers the Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, so that in hearing that Word, you may hold onto the Son by faith and be saved. This is what Pentecost was all about – the coming of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so that is why we have red on Reformation Day. Red is the color of the Spirit – the color of the fire that accompanied the preaching of the Word by the apostles on that first Pentecost. And so red is also the color of the preaching of Jesus Christ. It’s not so arrogant to claim that the Reformation is another Pentecost, when you understand how Pentecost happens every time you return to God’s Word. It is not arrogant, but it is truly wonderful, because we know what Jesus promises us who abide in His Word. If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

But what kind of freedom is this? What are we freed from or freed for? Once again, this “Freedom” is not the battle cry of an earthly revolution. This is not the freedom of civil rights, political independence, or even the freedom of thought. Jesus is talking about spiritual slavery and spiritual freedom. Jesus sets us free from slavery to sin, death, and the Devil. Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin… but if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. Yet, in some ways we like being slaves to sin. We like being able to do what we want to do. We like being able to think what we want to think. But this is not freedom, as much as we might try to convince ourselves. It is slavery. Slavery to our sinful hearts and minds that do not know and do not want to know the Truth of God’s Word, because it means we are wrong. This is slavery to our sinful actions that can only lead to death. Slavery to the temptations and lies of the Devil who only wants to confuse us and lead us captive away from the Truth, away from the forgiveness of sins, away from Christ, His Word and His Spirit.

Repent. You are not free on your own – to be what you want to be. You are not heroic liberators of your destiny. What you are on your own is a slave to sin, a prisoner of death, a conquered subject of the Devil. Repent. Repent and run back to the Word! Back to God’s Word! – says Luther. Back to where the Spirit is! Back to where forgiveness, life, and salvation are found! Back to the freedom of abiding in Christ’s Word! Any disciple of Jesus’ Word could have done this – there wasn’t anything particularly special about Luther. Jesus promises all of us: Abide in my word and you are truly my disciples, and you will know the Truth. And with His Truth, Jesus sets you free from your self-made slavery. His blood and word of Absolution forgives the sins you have committed against Him and against your neighbors. His death and resurrection, His Baptism and life-giving Spirit bestow life that conquers death. His authority and glory, His Sacrament of His risen body and blood save you from this kingdom of darkness where the Devil seeks to overpower you, and it brings you into the light and joy of the feast with Your Savior King.

To say that the Reformation is another Pentecost is to say it is a returning to the true and certain Word of God. And in the Word we receive the Spirit. And by the Word of the Spirit we receive Jesus Himself. The Reformation is not about the greatness of Martin Luther (no hero-worship here). It’s not about revolution, progress, or the new ideas of men. The LCMS slogan for the 500^th Anniversary sums up well what it’s really all about: Reformation 2017 – It’s STILL all about Jesus.

And it is still our task, as disciples of Jesus abiding in His Word, to tell it to the next generation. In every age, every generation, every Reformation anniversary, every Sunday, really every day, the Church must return to the Word of God. In every returning to His Word we participate in what the Reformation is all about. We do what Luther did and so many other faithful disciples. In every returning to the Word and Sacraments of Jesus we experience another Pentecost. And the Church is revived, reformed, living always by the power of the Spirit, set free by the Son, to be children of the Father.

Let us pray. Come quickly Lord Jesus and save Your Church from falsehood, sin, and destruction. Keep us steadfast in Your Word. Set us free by the Truth of Your forgiveness, and send us Your Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, guide divine, now cause the Word of life to shine. Teach us to know our God aright and call Him Father with delight. From every error keep us free; let none but Christ our master be That we in living faith abide, in Him, our Lord, with all our might confide. By Your power prepare each heart, and to our weakness strength impart That bravely here we may contend, through life and death to You, our Lord, ascend. Alleluia! Alleluia! (LSB 497)

In the Holy + Name of Jesus –

Happy Reformation Day!

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA

October 25, 2015

20th Sunday after Trinity

St. Matthew 22:1–14

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit –

Why would they refuse? Why would anyone reject the King’s invitation to the wedding feast? They paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized the King’s servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. Who would behave this way? Who wouldn’t go to the feast? Perhaps you’re thinking, I would have gone. I would have gladly accepted the invitation and joined the feast. And in a way that is true – you’re here.  You’re a Christian. In a similar way, we who are Christians are often baffled by those who are not. We know the Gospel – the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ – and we cannot understand why others reject it. Why do they get mad when we speak of Jesus? Why don’t they want to hear about the forgiveness of sins? The simple, but baffling answer is Sinners hate the Gospel.

Sometimes Christians forget just how powerful unbelief is. Sometimes we don’t realize just how much the sinful heart hates God. Sinners (and that really includes all of us apart from Christ) Sinners think God is weak. He is a tyrant who has been dethroned and we are finally free to spit at the mention of his name without fearing punishment. In the sinner’s mind, God is the enemy and we are better off without Him. And that’s also why sinners hate the Gospel so much. Because if God is your enemy then the Gospel is the greatest threat against you. The Gospel threatens to change the minds of sinners. The Gospel is powerful. It threatens to upset their world and show them that what they think is wrong and that God is right. The Gospel invites us to be weak and vulnerable, that is it invites us to trust in God rather than our almighty selves. But sinners don’t want things to change. They are proud and independent – nothing is worse to the sinful mind than admitting that you need help from someone else, that you can’t do it alone, that you are not right. And so sinners reject the invitation. They prefer darkness to the light of the feast. They prefer ignorance to the knowledge of the Truth. Sinners sit in their own filth and insist, “This is what I like,” Because it’s theirs. And they don’t want anything from God.

These are the people who rejected the invitation to the feast. And as those who have come to the feast, we are struck by how sad and foolish that kind of sinful thinking is. We are happy to be invited and to have a place in the kingdom of heaven. We might even grow comfortable. We’re all set, and good thing we didn’t reject the invitation like those other sinners. But not so fast – what are you wearing? There was a man who came without a wedding garment. And he was thrown out. Once again, we see the real danger of unbelief. Don’t look away from this parable, as hard as it may be. This parable is ABOUT those who reject the Gospel, but it’s not really FOR them. It’s a warning for you! It is possible to lose faith. There’s no such thing as “once saved, always saved.” For many are called, but few are chosen.

If this makes you fearful – it should. If this makes you doubt yourself and what you know – it really should. Because the only way to come into the feast is to shirk your own ideas, your own righteousness, the things about yourself that you’re rather fond of and proud of. And remember, this is what sinners hate. It sounds awful – Get rid of your stuff, you can’t wear your own clothes, get naked. But this is the only way God will have us. He does not accept us as we are – He makes us what we need to be.

In Isaiah, God said, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. This is the essence of repentance: You are wrong and God is right. His thoughts and ways are not your thoughts and ways. Forsake your ways and return to the Lord. You cannot come in wearing your own garments. You cannot come into the feast on your own terms, trusting in your ideas or taking pride in your deeds. All of that must be abandoned. And that’s good – because His thoughts and ways are better and higher than your thoughts and ways. He provides what is needed. He clothes you – He gives the faith and righteousness you need. God doesn’t strip you down and empty you out and then leave you that way. He also covers you and fills you up with the righteousness of His Son. That’s what He wants to give at this feast – His very own good thoughts and ways – the righteousness of His Son that makes you right and good. This God is not only one to be feared – He also wants to be known by you. He became a man with us – for us. This God is not only hidden in the highest heaven, far above our thoughts and ways. But He has also come down to us, to reveal Himself to sinners, that we might know Him and trust in Him.

Many are called, but few are chosen. This warning causes hearts to fear. So when you ask, “Am I chosen?” Or “Am I really a Christian?” The first answer is – Repent. You can’t come in with your own garments. You need a wedding garment provided by the King. Stop looking at yourself, at your faith, at your prayers, at your heart. Stop thinking your thoughts or going your way. Repent. You’re wrong and God is right. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than yours. So the second answer is – Go to where He tells you His thoughts. Go to His Word. Trust the promises of God and look to the work of Christ for your answer. What does God tell you in His Word? Jesus died for the sins of the world. Am I part of that? Yes. Whether I believe it or not, God says that He loves me because He gave His Son to save me. And so He does love me and I belong with Him.

When you really think about it, this love is the more shocking thing. The love God has for us in Christ Jesus is more shocking than the sinners who reject the invitation. No one has earned His invitation and still He gives it. The King has mercy and creates guests out of those who are not worthy. Still the call goes out. His mercy endures forever. This is really the amazing thing – the invitation works and the wedding hall is filled. The really amazing thing is that you are here. The Holy Spirit has called you by the Gospel and enlightened you with His gifts. By His working you have faith and are saved. And when we see what God has saved us from – eternal death in hell – how can we not cry for joy?

Even more shocking He did it all for us by His grace on account of His Son. He has provided for everything and washed us clean and clothed us in His own garments. Our sinful rags are gone and all we have are the glorious robes of Christ’s perfection. Finally, knowing all of this we understand something else: Not only are we welcome guests. But the Church is Christ’s Bride. The feast is held in our honor. We are sitting at the head table. You belong here.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus –

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA

October 18, 2015

19th Sunday after Trinity

St. Matthew 9:1–8

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit –

Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or “Rise and walk”? At first we would probably say “Your sins are forgiven” is easier. It’s invisible. No one can really tell if it works or not. If you said, “Rise and walk,” it should be immediately obvious if you had any real power. But then again, we’ve all seen magicians, illusionists, and the charlatans on TV. And notice what really causes the problem for Jesus. They call Him a blasphemer when He says, “Your sins are forgiven.” In Luke’s Gospel account they say, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Technically, they’re right. Telling lies about God is blasphemy. Claiming to be God and claiming to have His ability to forgive sins is the height of blasphemy. This is what makes them so furious with Jesus. They don’t have a problem with healings. They don’t have a problem with Jesus being a miracle worker. But they have a big problem with Him claiming to be God. It is far more difficult to say things of the faith – things that are invisible, things that can’t be measured or felt. So when Jesus does this, they can’t stand it.

The same is really still true today in our churches. Of all the things that we say in church, people are most offended by the Absolution. “As a called and ordained servant of the Word I forgive you all your sins.” Still today we hear the complaint: “Who does that man think he is? He can’t forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins.” And again, in one sense, this is true. But Jesus, the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. And we glorify the God who gives that authority to men.

This is what’s so shocking. Everyone seems to know that God is allowed to forgive sins. But that’s not why Jesus forgives sins. It’s not just because He is God. In fact, not even God can just forgive sins because He feels like it. Sins must be paid for – satisfaction must be made – there must be atonement. The wages of sin is death – so someone has to die. Not even God changes that. So why does Jesus have authority to forgive sins? How does the Son of Man have authority on earth to forgive sins? He has this authority according to His humanity. He forgives sins as a man. As a man, He does the work of God. This is so shocking, so beyond the reason of the scribes and Pharisees. They don’t have this authority – no one does. Only the One Man who died for the sins of the world. He alone has the authority to forgive sins.

Our God is one of us and even took it upon Himself to die as one of us. He became the perfect sacrifice for us. He made the atonement. He made satisfaction for those accusing scribes and also for that paralytic and his believing friends. Jesus paid the price for the good and the bad – for corrupt politicians and for faithful church people. He died for them all, to reconcile all men to God. It is on THAT basis alone – by THIS authority – the authority to lay down His life and to take it up again – authority given to Him by His Father – by this authority He pronounces forgiveness.

In the last chapter of Matthew, after His death and resurrection, Jesus meets His disciples on a mountain in Galilee and says: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” But we really destroy this text when we skip that part and start with the part “Therefore, go and make disciples…” As any good English teacher would tell you, You can’t start with “therefore.” “Therefore” needs a reason. Something has to come before the “therefore.” I can’t just start by saying, “Therefore, I like cats.” I have to say, “When I was little, we lived on a farm and we had cats in our barns and they had kittens and I took care of them, therefore, I like cats.” So in Matthew 28, when Jesus says, “Therefore, go…” it is only BECAUSE of what He said before that: “All authority has been given to Me.”

Now this is where Christians might really scratch their heads. We aren’t surprised when Jesus forgives sins – we know He is God. We aren’t surprised to hear that Jesus has authority – we know He is God. But how can authority be given to Jesus? Doesn’t He already have it? Once again, this authority to forgive sins is given to Him as a Man. Yes – Our Lord Jesus is a recipient. As a man, according to His humanity, He received all authority from His Father. Jesus – true God and true Man – died in payment for the sins of the world and then was raised by His Father. And in His resurrection and ascension He is still true Man. So now He also has the authority of God as a Man. And THEREFORE He also gives that authority to men. He gave that authority to forgive sins to His apostles – to His whole Church. The authority to baptize and teach in Jesus’ Name. The authority to make disciples. That’s what is behind the water and the words that we saw and heard earlier when Jada was baptized. It might just look like some guy pouring water and saying some words to a little baby, but behind all that is the authority of Jesus. He makes it happen. He does the baptizing – He does the forgiving – through the men He has authorized to do it. And He is with them always because He is in the baptizing and the teaching.

If you’re still having trouble with how authority works, think about a police officer. Why can a police officer arrest someone or pull you over? Because he has been given authority. He has been authorized to do that. So also with pastors. Jesus was given authority and so He gave authority to His ministers. He authorized them to forgive sins in His name. Let’s be like the crowd then and glorify this God who gives authority to forgive sins to men. We glorify the God who makes it possible for us to hear the saving message of Jesus. Our God has come down among us, to be with us, and to save us. The authority of our God has come down among us – it is given to men to make His glory known.

Today is a pretty wonderful Sunday. It’s a full Divine Service – with a Holy Baptism, a sermon on the Holy Absolution, and finally with the Holy Communion. In all three of these holy things we hear the authority of Jesus at work for us. So now whenever you hear the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – that’s Jesus washing your sins away. His authority is there because He died for your sins and rose again for your justification. And when the pastor asks you, “Do you believe my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?” You answer “Yes” because the authority of Jesus is there. And the pastor will say, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The blood of Jesus absolves you of all guilt and declares you righteous in the Father’s eyes. And then when the pastor speaks the Words of Our Lord: “This is My body and this is My blood” – that is Jesus, here with you, nourishing you and strengthening you for this life and for the life to come. His authority is there because He gave up His body into death and He poured out His blood for the forgiveness of sins. And now that same body and blood that belongs to your Lord Jesus is living and reigning with all authority in heaven and on earth. This Jesus, the only God with the authority to forgive your sins, He is here with you. And He exercises His authority for you and for your salvation. Let us glorify this God who gives such authority to men.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus –

Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA

October 11, 2015

Many elements of this sermon are based on sermons from Rev. David Petersen for Trinity 19.

18th Sunday after Trinity

St. Matthew 22:34–46
 

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit –

Today’s Gospel lets us listen in on a theological debate – a debate about Scripture and doctrine. It’s a debate between the Pharisees and Jesus. It’s a debate between those supposed experts in the Law and the very Gospel Himself – Jesus the Christ. Although the Pharisees don’t recognize that’s who He is. One of the Pharisees, a Law expert, asked Jesus a question to test Him: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” He wants Jesus to pick one. Either one of the Ten, or one of the other hundreds of commands found in the Books of Moses. Pick a commandment Jesus, and then we’ll have some fun debating Your answer.

It’s as if Jesus has His Bible opened to Deuteronomy. And He gives the perfect textbook answer. He doesn’t play the game – He doesn’t pick one commandment. He summarizes the entire Law: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” There it is. The Law expert asked a Law question and Jesus gave him the perfect Law answer. Debate over.

            But as perfect as the answer is, it is impossible to fulfill. The Law does not give life. The Law does not comfort. For supposed experts in the Law, those who think they can be saved by doing the Law, it can only kill and damn to hell. Debate really over.

But Jesus has His own question, and it’s very different from the Pharisee’s question – about as different as Law and Gospel. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” First, let me explain that term, “Christ.” We call our Lord: Jesus Christ. Jesus is His name – Christ is His title. Christ is actually a Greek word that means, “Anointed One.” Greek is the language of the New Testament. But God’s Old Testament people, the Israelites, didn’t speak Greek. They spoke Hebrew, and in Hebrew the term for “Anointed One” is Messiah. So Christ and Messiah mean the same thing. Our Lord is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One. And that means He is the promised Savior, the One chosen by God the Father to save the world from sin. Now, of course, the Pharisees know the term Christ, so when Jesus asks them, “Whose son is the Christ or the Messiah?” They answer correctly, “He is the son of David.” But that’s really only half of the right answer. And so Jesus needs to teach these experts. The debate might be over. But the Bible study is just getting started.

Jesus quotes from one of the Psalms of David: “How is it that David, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls the Christ Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’? If then David calls the Christ his Lord, how is he David’s son?” Everybody tracking with Jesus? The Pharisees, and all Jews, and all Christians for that matter, know that the Christ is the son of David – He is a human descendant of King David. But in Psalm 110, David calls his descendant “Lord.” And this Lord, this son of David is even going to sit at God’s right hand. David is worshiping his descendant! This is incredible stuff. And the Pharisees don’t know how to respond to this.

All you Christians already know what this means. Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed and promised Savior – He is David’s son and David’s Lord. How can this be? We learned it by heart in the Small Catechism: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.” Jesus the Christ is one Person with two complete natures. He is fully and truly God – the eternal Son of the Father. And He is fully and truly man – a son of David, the child of Mary. David’s God became a man, born from his own bloodline. Our God is a man – Jesus the Christ.

But our God did not come in the flesh just to repeat the Law to us. He did not become man just to answer the Pharisees questions and give us impossible demands that leave us in hell. He came to be the Christ. The Father anointed and sent His Son to save us from sin and from the accusations of the Law. The Christ must be true man. The Law was given for man to fulfill, so the Christ must be a man in order to do what the Law commands. He must also be a man in order to suffer all the punishments of the Law that we deserve. The Christ must be true man so that He could die. And the Christ must be true God. If Christ was only a man then He couldn’t take the place for all of us. Only God can pay the price for the sins of the whole world. Only God can take care of hell’s punishments for all eternity. The Christ must be true God so that He could save us all.

So now, with this right knowledge of the Christ, let’s go back to Jesus’ answer about the Law. He sums it all up: Love God and love your neighbor. He shows the unity to God’s Law. It’s not a list of random rules. It has a unity of purpose: the Law accuses everyone. It tells everyone: You have fallen short. You have not loved God perfectly. You have not loved your neighbor perfectly. You have failed. And we’re left in despair. Debate over. The Collect of the Day is a prayer for the little Pharisee inside each of us. This prayer admits the truth: “O God, without You we are not able to please You.” Without God’s mercy we have no hope. No matter how expert we think we are in loving God or loving neighbor, we are not able to please God. So the Collect continues: “mercifully grant that Your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts.” We need God’s intervention. We need His saving help. We need the answer to Jesus’ question about the Christ. That is, we need the Christ Himself – the Messiah, the Anointed One, the promised Savior.

This Christ loves you. And He actually loves you so much that He will not overlook your sins. He died for them – so He can’t just let you go on living with them. He paid the price for your sins with His blood of the New Testament. So He calls you to repent and trust in Him. The Christ is the only one who kept the two great commandments perfectly. He loved God His Father with all His heart, soul, and mind. He loved you His neighbors as Himself. He did what you cannot. He saved you to have you as His own. With the Christ your Savior, the Law debate is over. He washed you and made you holy. And He fills you with His true body born of Mary, yet also the body of your God. The blood of the New Testament is poured for you from a cup into your mouth to forgive your sins.

All this He is for you. Do not despair. Do not give up hope. You have suffering now. But it’s not the suffering of hell. Your sins are forgiven. The Law cannot condemn you because you are with Christ. And the suffering you have right now will come to an end. The Christ is David’s son and Lord. And He is your human Savior and your divine brother. And He is coming again soon.

In the Holy + Name of Jesus –

Immanuel Lutheran Church

October 4, 2015

A few sentences and ideas came from Rev. David Petersen (Trinity 18, 2014; and Issues Etc. Interview, Trinity 18, 2015)