Author: admin

September 18, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 5
                            Matthew 6:33-34
                              09/18/2026


        33   But seek first the kingdom of God and his
             righteousness, and all these things will be added
             to you.
        34   Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for
             tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient
             for the day is its own trouble.  (ESV)

        This week we have prayed:
        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness.


        The answer to this prayer is found in Christ Jesus, who
   lived, died, and rose again to reconcile us with the Father.  For
   the sake of Christ Jesus, our heavenly Father continues to bless
   and preserve us.

        Therefore, Jesus told His disciples:
        But seek first the kingdom of God and his
        righteousness, and all these things will be added to
        you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for
        tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the
        day is its own trouble.


        The world does not teach us about God's grace and mercy.
   The world does not tell us that we are declared holy and
   righteous in God's sight for the sake of Christ Jesus.  You learn
   of His love through the proclaimed Word of God and the properly
   administered Sacraments.

        Please join us this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran
   Church as we are invited into God's presence to receive from Him
   the gift of the forgiveness of our sins which brings us eternal
   life.

        May our Lord grant us faith which seeks first the kingdom of
   God for our temporal and eternal blessing.  Amen.

September 17, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 4
                            Matthew 6:31-32
                              09/17/2026


        31   Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ``What shall
             we eat?'' or ``What shall we drink?'' or ``What
             shall we wear?''
        32   For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and
             your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
             (ESV)

        The prayer this week acknowledges that our only help is
   found in the Triune God.  The Father created us, the Son redeemed
   us, the Holy Spirit creates the faith which accepts God's rich
   grace, love, and mercy.  Therefore we pray:
        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness.


        The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh conspire to
   blind us to God's infinite mercy.  They would have us doubt His
   goodness, His loving provision of all things we need to sustain
   this body and life.  Yet Jesus reminds us:
        Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ``What shall we
        eat?'' or ``What shall we drink?'' or ``What shall we
        wear?''  For the Gentiles seek after all these things,
        and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.


        As we worry about food and drink and clothing we lose the
   joy of God's creation.  As we put all our effort into grasping
   that which is temporal, we harm ourselves, our families, and our
   neighbors.  That worry gains us nothing.

        As we trust in God's goodness and mercy, we come to know
   that He provides us all we need in this life, for He desires that
   we live eternally with Him.

        May our Lord grant that we trust in Him alone, that we love
   the Creator above all things created.  Amen.

September 16, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 3
                            Matthew 6:26-30
                              09/16/2026


        26   Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor
             reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
             Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
             they?
        27   And which of you by being anxious can add a single
             hour to his span of life?
        28   And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider
             the lilies of the field, how they grow: they
             neither toil nor spin,
        29   yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was
             not arrayed like one of these.
        30   But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
             which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into
             the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you
             of little faith?  (ESV)

        The Church asks God to continue to keep her in faith, that
   in teaching and practice we may serve God and neighbor according
   to His holy will.
        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness.


        As we fear, love, and trust in God above all things, we come
   to know that the Creator will continue to protect and bless His
   creation.  The Father, who gave His Son to redeem us from sin and
   eternal death, certainly will preserve this body and life.

        Jesus told His disciples:
        Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap
        nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father
        feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And
        which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to
        his span of life?  And why are you anxious about
        clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they
        grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even
        Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of
        these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
        which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the
        oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little
        faith?


        May our Lord grant us faith to see Him as the One who
   preserves all of creation.  Amen.

September 15, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 2
                             Matthew 6:25
                              09/15/2026


        25   Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your
             life, what you will eat or what you will drink,
             nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not
             life more than food, and the body more than
             clothing?  (ESV)

        For almost three quarters of a century, Mad Magazine has
   amused us with irrelevant and irreverent humor.  Although the
   magazine is no longer sold in book stores, it is still available
   by subscription from DC Comics.  The cover still has the picture
   of Alfred E. Neuman saying, ``What, me worry?''

        We are often bombarded with the message, ``Don't worry, be
   happy.''  However, there is no substance to the message, for the
   world does not give us any reason not to worry.  How can we relax
   when no one is on our side, no one is looking out for our best
   interest?

        However, the Church prays:
        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness.


        The world offers pious platitudes.  Jesus offered His
   disciples something more.  He pointed His disciples to the
   Creator, God the Father, who brought everything into being by the
   sound of His voice.

        Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your
        life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor
        about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more
        than food, and the body more than clothing?


        When the Son of God tells us not to be anxious, by faith we
   listen.  We remember that the One who created us, who sent His
   Son to redeem us from sin and death, will not abandon us.  May
   our Lord grant us faith which holds to God's rich promise of
   grace, love, and mercy, for the sake of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

September 14, 2026

Broadcast

                       What, me worry? - Part 1
                             Matthew 6:24
                              09/14/2026


        24   No one can serve two masters, for either he will
             hate the one and love the other, or he will be
             devoted to the one and despise the other.  You
             cannot serve God and money.  (ESV)

        In this week's prayer we ask God to preserve the Church,
   both in our doctrine and in our practice.  We also confess that
   we, on our own, do not desire to serve Him.  Only as the Holy
   Spirit creates faith which trusts in God can we seek Him and live
   according to His commandments.

        O Lord, we implore You, let Your continual pity cleanse
        and defend Your Church; and because she cannot continue
        in safety without Your aid, preserve her evermore by
        Your help and goodness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son,
        our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy
        Spirit, one God, now and forever.


        Jesus told His disciples:
        No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate
        the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
        the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God
        and money.


        Both our prayer and Jesus' words remind us of the First
   Commandment, ``You shall have no other gods before me.''  Without
   the Holy Spirit creating and sustaining our faith in Jesus Christ
   as our Redeemer from sin, death, and the power of the devil, we
   flee from God's infinite grace and mercy.  Without the work of
   the Holy Spirit, we worship creation and not the Creator, thus we
   put our faith into things temporary and not eternal.

        This week we will look at the benefit of trusting in God
   above all things.

        May our Lord grant us faith so that we receive His rich
   blessings.  Amen.

August 28, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 5
                               Mark 7:37
                              08/28/2026


        37   And they were astonished beyond measure, saying,
             ``He has done all things well. He even makes the
             deaf hear and the mute speak.''  (ESV)

        This week we prayed that God would give us the faith and
   opportunity to serve Him by serving our neighbor.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        In this miracle of healing, of Jesus restoring the deaf and
   mute man's hearing and voice, we see the effect our prayers can
   have for the good of others.  The friends or family who brought
   the deaf man to Jesus were rendering true and laudable service.

        ``And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, `He has
   done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute
   speak.'''

        Christians desire that their friends, family, and neighbors
   also know the grace and mercy of God.  In love, they invite those
   who are spiritually deaf into God's presence so that, through
   Word and Sacrament, their ears may be opened to the truth that
   our help is only found in the name of the Lord.

        Salvation by grace through faith for the sake of Christ
   Jesus alone is the true healing that lasts for eternity.  He bore
   our sins on the cross, overcoming death so that we may have life
   with Him.

        Please join us each Sunday morning at Trinity Lutheran
   Church at 9:00 a.m. to hear the life-giving Gospel, the truth
   that your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ Jesus.

        May our Lord grant us ears to hear and mouths to proclaim
   His goodness.  Amen.

August 27, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 4
                               Mark 7:36
                              08/27/2026


        36   And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the
             more he charged them, the more zealously they
             proclaimed it.  (ESV)

        Faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer from sin, death, and
   the power of the devil leads to good works.  As we ask God to
   enable us to help and serve our neighbor, we are asking for a
   steadfast and robust faith which trusts in Jesus alone.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        Loving friends or family of a man who was deaf and mute
   brought him to Jesus for healing.  The man's ears were opened,
   and he began to speak plainly.  Jesus spoke, and the man was
   healed, his health restored.  God's Word has power, the power to
   create, the power to heal, the power to save.

        Certainly the crowd, the witnesses of this miracle, reacted.
   ``And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged
   them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.''

        As important as the miracles are to show that Jesus is truly
   God made man, the message of Christianity is not in healing the
   sick or raising the dead.  Everyone who Jesus healed later went
   the way of all people, for the wages of sin is death.  Jesus came
   to give eternal life by earning the forgiveness of our sins.

        Often our prayers treat God as if He is there to serve us by
   giving us all we desire.  The crowd spoke of the miracle, not the
   grace of God which brings us the forgiveness of sins and life
   everlasting.  May our Lord fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
   perfecter of our faith, that we see Him as our Redeemer.  Amen.

August 26, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 3
                             Mark 7:33-35
                              08/26/2026


        33   And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he
             put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting
             touched his tongue.
        34   And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to
             him, ``Ephphatha,'' that is, ``Be opened.''
        35   And his ears were opened, his tongue was released,
             and he spoke plainly.  (ESV)

        Our prayer this week asks God to enable us to do the good
   works which serve Him by serving our neighbor.  It reflects the
   love of the friends and family of the deaf man in this week's
   Gospel lesson.
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        Loving friends and family brought a deaf man with a speech
   impediment to Jesus for healing.  Saint Mark recorded:
        And taking him aside from the crowd privately, [Jesus]
        put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting
        touched his tongue.  And looking up to heaven, he
        sighed and said to him, ``Ephphatha,'' that is, ``Be
        opened.''  And his ears were opened, his tongue was
        released, and he spoke plainly.


        Jesus used gestures to show the man that He was going to do
   something to open his ears and to enable him to speak.  The
   healing came by the word spoken by Jesus, a word that was spoken
   after Jesus acknowledged the power of the Father to restore
   creation.  God's Word is powerful.  It creates, it restores, it
   brings what God promises, namely life everlasting for the sake of
   Christ Jesus.

        May our Lord grant that our ears may be opened to hear the
   good news of salvation by grace through faith for the sake of
   Christ.  Amen.

August 25, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 2
                             Mark 7:31-32
                              08/25/2026


        31   Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
             through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region
             of the Decapolis.
        32   And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had
             a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay
             his hand on him.  (ESV)

        Last Sunday we prayed:
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory.


        In this prayer we acknowledge that only God can call us to
   faith and enable us to do works of faith towards Him and love for
   one another.  Without faith in Christ Jesus, all our works are,
   as Isaiah says, ``Filthy rags.''[1]

        ``And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a
   speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.''

        The deaf and mute man could not have heard about Jesus.
   Only those who loved him thought that this miracle worker could
   restore the man's hearing and loosen his tongue.  In the same
   way, those who love you brought you into God's presence so you
   could receive the healing which comes from the forgiveness of
   your sins.

        The Holy Spirit uses God's Word to bring us to faith.  We
   stand condemned as we hear His Law, that we have sinned against
   God and neighbor in thought, word, and deed.  We stand redeemed
   as we hear His Gospel, that Christ Jesus suffered, died, and rose
   again to pay the price of our transgressions.

        May our Lord grant us hearts willing to share His love with
   those who do not yet know the peace of God's forgiveness.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. Isaiah 64:6

August 24, 2026

Broadcast

                            Healed - Part 1
                             Mark 7:31-32
                              08/24/2026


        31   Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
             through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region
             of the Decapolis.
        32   And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had
             a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay
             his hand on him.  (ESV)

        How does yesterday's Prayer of the Day, the Collect, reflect
   the truth that we cannot come to know Christ Jesus by our own
   reason or works?
        Almighty and merciful God, by Your gift alone Your
        faithful people render true and laudable service.  Help
        us steadfastly to live in this life according to Your
        promises and finally attain Your heavenly glory;
        through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and
        reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
        forever.


        The theme for the next several weeks is the righteousness of
   God's kingdom as shown in works of faith and love.  We believe,
   teach, and confess that our works of love, our good works, are
   the result of our faith in Christ Jesus as our Redeemer from sin
   and death.

        Our appointed Gospel reading is from Saint Mark's account of
   Jesus healing a deaf and mute man.
        Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went
        through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of
        the Decapolis.  And they brought to him a man who was
        deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him
        to lay his hand on him.


        This text serves as a reminder of how we come to know Jesus
   as our Savior, how we are brought to faith.  It also is a
   reminder that each of us who believe in Christ Jesus have a
   responsibility to invite our friends, family, and neighbors to
   learn of His great love and mercy.

        May our Lord grant us willing hearts to invite others to
   hear of Jesus Christ.  Amen.