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October 28, 2025

Broadcast

                 The Truth Shall Set You Free - Part 2
                             John 8:31-33
                              10/28/2025

        31   So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,
             ``If you abide in my word, you are truly my
             disciples,
        32   and you will know the truth, and the truth will
             set you free.''
        33   They answered him, ``We are offspring of Abraham
             and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it
             that you say, `You will become free?'''  (ESV)

        So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ``If
        you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and
        you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
        free.''  They answered him, ``We are offspring of
        Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is
        it that you say, `You will become free?'''


        What is the heart and core of Christianity?  Is Christianity
   like every other religious system, a set of laws and rules which
   we must follow to obtain peace with some greater entity than
   ourselves?  If so, why not pick the easiest religion, or none at
   all, for a system of rules and laws does not bring us hope.
   ``Have I done enough?'' we ask, but we cannot know the answer.
   There is only doubt, and the sinking feeling that we may not have
   a delightful eternity.

        Jesus promised that those who followed Him, if they truly
   heard and believed His word, would be set free from doubt and
   worry.  Jesus taught salvation from sin and death, not because of
   works, but because the Father sent His Son in love to pay the
   price of our sin.  ``Whosoever believes in Him shall not perish
   but have eternal life.''

        However, that goes against our human nature.  We want to be
   in control, we want to take credit for our own success.  The
   Jewish followers pinned their hopes on being descended from
   Abraham, not on the grace of God.  It is ironic that the children
   of Israel, who escaped four hundred years of slavery in Egypt,
   who spent seventy years in Babylon, and who were even then under
   the Roman occupation, did not recognize they were ever slaves.

        Spiritual freedom is not political freedom.  Freedom in
   Christ is freedom from condemnation and the fear of death.

        May our Lord grant us faith to believe His Word, that we may
   be free in Him.  Amen.

October 27, 2025

Broadcast

                 The Truth Shall Set You Free - Part 1
                             John 8:31-33
                              10/27/2025

        31   So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him,
             ``If you abide in my word, you are truly my
             disciples,
        32   and you will know the truth, and the truth will
             set you free.''
        33   They answered him, ``We are offspring of Abraham
             and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it
             that you say, `You will become free?'''  (ESV)

        An acquaintance was taking a philosophy class at Purdue
   University.  His professor stated, ``There is no such thing as
   absolute truth.''  The student was removed from the class roles
   by asking, ``Is that a true statement?''

        It is true that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per
   second, and that dropping a cement block on your foot will cause
   pain.  When someone suggests that truth is relative, they are
   suggesting they disagree and want to change the subject.  We may
   not see the truth, we may not agree about the truth, but that
   does not negate the truth.  Eventually our disbelief and stubborn
   nature will be shown to be in error, and we will live with the
   consequences.  This week we will be looking at the truth Jesus
   taught, ``The truth will set you free.''

        So it was in the life of Jesus.
        So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ``If
        you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and
        you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
        free.''  They answered him, ``We are offspring of
        Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is
        it that you say, `You will become free?'''


        Many Jews had come to faith that Jesus was a good teacher,
   but they still held to the idea that their goodness before God
   was a matter of keeping an external law or pledging their
   allegiance to Him.  They did not understand that Jesus taught we
   are all sinful before God, and that our only hope of salvation
   from sin and death is God's intervention.  Our good works, though
   evidence of faith, do not and cannot earn us eternal life.

        May our Lord grant that we hear, understand, and believe the
   truth of God's grace, love, and mercy.  Amen.

October 24, 2025

Broadcast

                        Two Questions - Part 5
                           Matthew 22:41-46
                              10/24/2025

        41   Now while the Pharisees were gathered together,
             Jesus asked them a question,
        42   saying, ``What do you think about the Christ?
             Whose son is he?'' They said to him, ``The son of
             David.''
        43   He said to them, ``How is it then that David, in
             the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
        44   `The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
             until I put your enemies under your feet?'
        45   If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?''
        46   And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from
             that day did anyone dare to ask him any more
             questions.  (ESV)

        This week we have looked at two questions which were posed
   on the Monday before Jesus was crucified.  A Pharisee asked
   Jesus, ``Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?''  In
   answer, Jesus summarized the Law as loving God and neighbor.

        Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus
        asked them a question, saying, ``What do you think
        about the Christ? Whose son is he?'' They said to him,
        ``The son of David.''  He said to them, ``How is it
        then that David, in the Spirit, calls him 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 him Lord, how is he his son?''  And no one was
        able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone
        dare to ask him any more questions.


        This Sunday, and every Sunday, we explore these two
   questions at Trinity Lutheran Church.  We may not ask them
   directly, but we know we have not kept God's Law, and confess
   that only Jesus as true God and true man could redeem us from the
   guilt and curse of the Law.

        Each Sunday a 9:00 a.m. we confess that the entire Bible is
   the inspired Word of God, given to us for our learning and our
   eternal life.  We pray for those who, out of a lack of faith,
   cannot answer the question, ``Who is Jesus?''  At the same time,
   we implore our heavenly Father for a greater understanding of His
   grace, love, and mercy.  Please join us in this quest to know
   more about our Savior, to love God above all things and our
   neighbor as ourselves.

        May our Lord grant us faith and wisdom to hear His holy
   Word.  Amen.

October 23, 2025

Broadcast

                        Two Questions - Part 4
                           Matthew 22:41-46
                              10/23/2025

        41   Now while the Pharisees were gathered together,
             Jesus asked them a question,
        42   saying, ``What do you think about the Christ?
             Whose son is he?'' They said to him, ``The son of
             David.''
        43   He said to them, ``How is it then that David, in
             the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
        44   `The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
             until I put your enemies under your feet?'
        45   If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?''
        46   And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from
             that day did anyone dare to ask him any more
             questions.  (ESV)

        By the time Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the
   rulers of the Temple had decided that He should be put to death.
   On Monday of Holy Week, both the Sadducees and Pharisees debated
   Him so to find a reason to carry out this plan.

        Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus
        asked them a question, saying, ``What do you think
        about the Christ? Whose son is he?'' They said to him,
        ``The son of David.''  He said to them, ``How is it
        then that David, in the Spirit, calls him 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 him Lord, how is he his son?''  And no one was
        able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone
        dare to ask him any more questions.


        Who is the Christ?  The answer the Pharisees would not or
   could not confess is that the Christ, the Messiah is both true
   man, descended from King David, and true God.

        Is Jesus the Christ, the Messiah?  Only as a true man could
   Jesus die in our place to pay the price of our sin.  Only as true
   God could He keep the Law perfectly, loving God above all things
   and His neighbor as Himself.

        Only as we have faith in Jesus as the Christ can we truly
   confess Him as our Redeemer from sin and death.  Only as we have
   faith in Jesus as the Christ can we truly confess that His is
   both true man and true God, incarnate for our salvation.

        May our Lord grant us faith which answers the question,
   ``Who is Jesus?''  Amen.

October 22, 2025

Broadcast

                        Two Questions - Part 3
                           Matthew 22:37-40
                              10/22/2025

        37   And he said to him, ``You shall love the Lord your
             God with all your heart and with all your soul and
             with all your mind.
        38   This is the great and first commandment.
        39   And a second is like it: You shall love your
             neighbor as yourself.
        40   On these two commandments depend all the Law and
             the Prophets.''  (ESV)

        A Pharisee, a lawyer, asked Jesus, ``Teacher, which is the
   great commandment of the Law?''
        And he said to him, ``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.''


        On Monday I suggested that we can summarize Christianity
   with two questions.  The first is: What is our condition as we
   compare ourselves to God's Law?  Unfortunately, no one can say
   they have always loved God with their whole heart and soul and
   mind.  We have failed, thus stand condemned.  Likewise, no one
   has always, and in every circumstance, loved their neighbor with
   the same intensity and care with which we love ourselves.

        The law acts like a mirror, showing us our sin, showing us
   that we cannot, by our own works and desires, be reconciled to
   God.  No matter how we try, in our hearts, in our souls, in our
   minds, we place ourselves above God and neighbor.  Even if we are
   active in doing good works, there is always that selfish part
   which is sin.

        Fortunately, tomorrow and Friday we will look at the second
   question, ``Who is Jesus?''  In Him and because of His death and
   resurrection, we are forgiven, we stand perfect before God.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom to confess our sins to receive
   forgiveness for the sake of Christ Jesus.  Amen.

October 21, 2025

Broadcast

                        Two Questions - Part 2
                           Matthew 22:37-40
                              10/21/2025

        37   And he said to him, ``You shall love the Lord your
             God with all your heart and with all your soul and
             with all your mind.
        38   This is the great and first commandment.
        39   And a second is like it: You shall love your
             neighbor as yourself.
        40   On these two commandments depend all the Law and
             the Prophets.''  (ESV)

        On Monday of Holy Week, the week Jesus died and rose again,
   He was in the Temple debating with the Sadducees and Pharisees.
   A Pharisee, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question in an attempt to
   catch Jesus with either a lie or a contradiction.  ``Teacher,
   which is the great commandment of the Law?''

        And he said to him, ``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.''


        Rather than list one of the 613 laws of the Jewish religion,
   Jesus summarized the entire Law.  We love God above all things,
   we love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.  The dietary
   laws, the Sabbath laws, the ceremonial laws, and even the civil
   laws are contained in these short words.

        This was the only answer Jesus could give which would not
   cause controversy and arguments.  This was the only answer Jesus
   could give which could destroy the evil intent of the lawyer's
   question.

        May our Lord grant us faith to understand the Law as being
   given in love so that we may reflect God's love.  Amen.

October 20, 2025

Broadcast

                        Two Questions - Part 1
                           Matthew 22:34-36
                              10/20/2025

        34   But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced
             the Sadducees, they gathered together.
        35   And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to
             test him.
        36   ``Teacher, which is the great commandment in the
             Law?''  (ESV)

        The Church Year is quickly coming to a close.  Next Sunday
   we will celebrate the Reformation, where the Church rediscovered
   the truth of the Gospel.  After that comes All Saints' Day, an
   ancient festival of the Church which commemorates all those who
   now rest from their labors.  That leaves the three last Sundays
   of the Church Year as we ponder the last days of this earth and
   the coming of Christ Jesus to judge the living and the dead.

        Therefore, we will take this final week of what some call
   ``ordinary time'' to review the two questions which determine if
   we understand the purpose of Jesus' incarnation, death, and
   resurrection.  How we answer the questions shows our
   understanding of the purpose of the Church, the purpose of God's
   Word, and the grace of God.  The two questions are simple.  What
   is our condition as we compare ourselves to God's Law?  Who is
   Jesus?

        On Monday of Holy Week, the day after Jesus triumphantly
   rode into Jerusalem to the shouts of palm-waving crowds, the
   Sadducees and Pharisees, the rulers of the Temple, attempted to
   trick Jesus with a series of question.  What sounds like a
   legitimate question was actually meant as a trap.

        But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the
        Sadducees, they gathered together.  And one of them, a
        lawyer, asked him a question to test him.  ``Teacher,
        which is the great commandment in the Law?''


        This is a legitimate question when you consider that there
   are 613 laws which are observed in the Jewish religion.  But this
   question was meant as a test, so that whatever answer Jesus gave
   could be twisted.

        May our Lord grant us faith and wisdom to answer questions
   about Jesus.  Amen.

October 17, 2025

Broadcast

                          The Feast - Part 5
                              Luke 14:11
                              10/17/2025

        11   For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
             and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  (ESV)

        Jesus was invited to a Sabbath dinner at the home of a ruler
   of the Pharisees.  He told a parable about a wedding feast,
   giving the advise to not seek the place of honor, but a place of
   humility.  This advise was not only about a banquet, not only
   about dealing with others, but about our relationship with God.

        ``For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he
   who humbles himself will be exalted.''

        Each Sunday we confess our sins, that we are by nature
   sinful and unclean.  In this confession, we pray for God's grace
   and mercy for the sake of the suffering, death, and resurrection
   of Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for all our
   transgressions.  It is very hard to be prideful and arrogant when
   you confess that you have failed to obey God and to love your
   neighbor.  You do what is wrong, you don't do what is right.
   That is very humbling.

        Yet the Church is not for the person who believes they are
   perfect, that they are worthy of God's rich and abundant
   blessings.  The Church is for the humble tax collector who beats
   his chest saying, ``God, be merciful to me, the sinner.''

        Jesus Christ says to all who trust in Him alone for
   redemption from sin and eternal death, ``Friend, come up
   higher.''  How can you not desire to hear the good news of God's
   grace, love, and mercy?  Your sins are forgiven for the sake of
   Christ Jesus.  Join us at Trinity Lutheran Church each Sunday
   morning at 9:00 a.m. to learn more of this amazing gift of grace.

        May our Lord grant us faith to confess our sin and receive
   His blessing of forgiveness.  Amen.

October 16, 2025

Broadcast

                          The Feast - Part 4
                             Luke 14:7,10
                              10/16/2025

        7    Now he told a parable to those who were invited,
             when he noticed how they chose the places of
             honor, saying to them...
        10   ``But when you are invited, go and sit in the
             lowest place, so that when your host comes he may
             say to you, ``Friend, move up higher.'' Then you
             will be honored in the presence of all who sit at
             table with you.''  (ESV)

        Jesus was invited to a Sabbath dinner at the home of a ruler
   of the Pharisees.
        Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when
        he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying
        to them...  ``But when you are invited, go and sit in
        the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may
        say to you, ``Friend, move up higher.'' Then you will
        be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with
        you.''


        We have related this parable to the practice of Closed
   Communion, where the Sacrament of the Altar is reserved for those
   people who hold a common confession of faith.  Since the time of
   the Reformation, the three major branches of Western Christianity
   have been divided over the word ``is'' when Jesus said, ``This is
   my body, this is my blood.''

        What is the purpose of the Lord's Supper?  Is it to show a
   unity of faith even if we disagree on the meaning of Jesus'
   words?  Jesus, Himself, said,``for the remission of your sins.''

        When we confess our sin, we declare ourselves unworthy of
   God's rich grace and blessing.  Yet it is the repentant sinner
   who hears the words, ``Friend, move up higher.''  It is the
   repentant sinner who accepts God's grace, who trusts in the death
   and resurrection of Jesus for redemption from sin and death.
   They trust not in their works, but in God's love.  They trust
   Jesus' words, even if the words are a mystery of faith.

        May our Lord grant us the humble heart to receive His gift
   of salvation, to trust in Christ Jesus alone.  Amen.

October 15, 2025

Broadcast

                          The Feast - Part 3
                             Luke 14:7,10
                              10/15/2025

        7    Now he told a parable to those who were invited,
             when he noticed how they chose the places of
             honor, saying to them...
        10   ``But when you are invited, go and sit in the
             lowest place, so that when your host comes he may
             say to you, ``Friend, move up higher.'' Then you
             will be honored in the presence of all who sit at
             table with you.''  (ESV)

        Jesus was invited to a Sabbath dinner at the home of a ruler
   of the Pharisees.
        Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when
        he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying
        to them...  ``But when you are invited, go and sit in
        the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may
        say to you, ``Friend, move up higher.'' Then you will
        be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with
        you.''


        For the last few weeks we have been looking at the Christian
   life, at the works which show our faith.  We can summarize the
   teachings of the church as salvation by grace through faith for
   the sake of Christ.  Because we cannot earn our salvation,
   because even the best of our good works cannot balance our sin,
   we stand humble before God.

        What is the evidence of faith as we are guests in a
   congregation to which we do not belong?  Humility respects the
   teachings and practice of the host congregation.  If the
   congregation says, ``Members of sister congregations are welcome
   to join us in the Lord's Supper, however please talk to the
   pastor first,'' we talk to the pastor.  In fact, that is a
   delightful conversation, both for the pastor and the guest.  As
   guests, we do not make demands, but we may make requests.

        May our Lord help us to overcome pride and arrogance, that
   we may truly receive His gifts of forgiveness and mercy.  Amen.