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August 13, 2025

Broadcast

                        False Prophets- Part 3
                            Matthew 7:19-20
                              08/13/2025


        19   Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut
             down and thrown into the fire.
        20   Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
             (ESV)

        Jesus told His disciples: ``Beware of false prophets, who
   come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous
   wolves.''  What is the fate of those who teach salvation by works
   rather than salvation through Christ Jesus alone?  What happens
   to those who trust this message that our actions, hopes, and
   desires can make up for the sins we have committed against God
   and our neighbor?

        Those who were listening to Jesus teach heard Him say:
   ``Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
   into the fire.  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.''

        What are some of the warning signs of a false prophet?  If
   they teach that there is no God, nothing beyond this life, that
   all things exist without purpose or design, that definitely is a
   false teacher.  If they teach that the Bible contains not only
   the Word of God, but stories, myths, or errors, they may be a
   false teacher.  If they demand that you eat certain foods, wear
   certain clothing, give a certain amount of money to their
   ministry, they may be a false teacher.  If they refuse to accept
   the ancient teaching of the Church as confessed in the creeds
   which condemn heresies about God, they may be a false teacher.
   The fruit of a false teacher is doubt.  You doubt the source of
   the teaching, you doubt God's love, you doubt your salvation.

        What is the message of a true prophet?  You and I are born
   in sin and desire nothing to do with God.  Yet God, in His mercy,
   knowing that we cannot, by our own reason or strength, believe in
   Him or please Him, sent His Son to redeem us from sin and death.
   You have the promise of eternal life because Jesus paid the price
   of your sin.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom to know of His love and mercy.
   Amen.

August 12, 2025

Broadcast

                        False Prophets- Part 2
                            Matthew 7:16-18
                              08/12/2025


        16   You will recognize them by their fruits. Are
             grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from
             thistles?
        17   So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the
             diseased tree bears bad fruit.
        18   A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a
             diseased tree bear good fruit.  (ESV)

        Jesus told His disciples: ``Beware of false prophets, who
   come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous
   wolves.''  How do we recognize these false teachers who come to
   us in the name of Jesus?  There certainly are signs which help us
   recognize those who pervert the good news of salvation from sin
   and death by God's rich love alone for the sake of the death and
   resurrection of Jesus.

        There are only two ways to look at obtaining eternal life,
   of receiving the reward of heaven.  The first is to perfectly
   keep God's Law in every respect, to earn the right to live in
   eternal paradise.  That is unobtainable, but that is the message
   of most religions.  The second is to rely completely on God's
   rich grace, love, and mercy.  This is the true teaching of Christ
   Jesus, that God sent His Son to pay the price of our sin.

        Jesus continued:
        You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes
        gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  So,
        every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased
        tree bears bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad
        fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.


        If the teacher, if the pastor, insists on certain actions
   for you to be saved from the guilt of your sin, that is a false
   preacher.  The fruits of teaching about works is despair and
   hopelessness.  Following the rules doesn't help, because we know
   we cannot reach the standard of perfection the Law demands.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom to recognize the fruits of
   false teaching so that we may hold firmly to the truth of God's
   grace.  Amen.

August 11, 2025

Broadcast

                        False Prophets- Part 1
                             Matthew 7:15
                              08/11/2025


        15   Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
             sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
             (ESV)

        How does a Christian act in this world?  That is the
   question we have been looking at for the past few weeks as we
   study the righteousness of the Christian faith.  We know that we
   are redeemed from sin, death, and the power of the devil because
   Jesus took our sins upon Himself, paying the price of our
   rebellion against God.

        Faith, which is knowledge of Jesus, agreement that the
   message about Jesus is true, and trust in that message, is a gift
   of God.  Without faith in Jesus the Christ as our Redeemer from
   sin and death, we have no hope, either in this world or the next.

        Jesus told His disciples: ``Beware of false prophets, who
   come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous
   wolves.''  If we are to hold firmly to God's rich grace as found
   in Jesus, we need be be certain that the words we hear, the books
   we read, the videos we watch, teach the fullness of God's Word.

        This week we will study Jesus' warning so that we may learn
   about the signs of a false prophet.  We will also discover that
   some false prophets and teachers freely use Jesus name even while
   denying the truth of God's Word.

        As always, I invite you to contact me at Trinity Lutheran
   Church if you have any questions, comments, or concerns about
   this broadcast or anything else you desire to know about
   Confessional Lutheran teaching.

        May our Lord continue to bless and keep you in the one true
   faith unto life everlasting.  Amen.

August 8, 2025

Broadcast

                          Compassion - Part 5
                               Mark 8:9
                              08/08/2025


        9    And there were about four thousand people. And he
             sent them away.  (ESV)

        This week we have been looking at Jesus' miracle of feeding
   4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and several small fish.
   We have come to know that our Lord provides for our physical
   needs.  Jesus had compassion on the crowd, He has compassion on
   you.

        Saint Paul reminded the congregation in Rome: ``He who did
   not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not
   also with him graciously give us all things?''[1]

        Jesus, who fed 4,000 people because of His great love and
   compassion, cares for you both physically and spiritually.  God
   would have all people to be saved and come to the knowlege of the
   truth of His love.  Our redemption from sin and eternal death is
   the gracious gift because of the life, death, and resurrection of
   Jesus Christ.  God's physical care shows His eternal desire that
   we should be with Him forever.

        The message you hear each week at Trinity Lutheran Church
   brings you the hope which comes from knowing our Lord's love and
   compassion.  Please join us each Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. to
   hear the good news of salvation by grace through faith for the
   sake of Christ.  Like the 4,000 people who were fed in the
   wilderness, you need do nothing to receive this gift of God's
   grace and mercy.  Merely sit down, receive the compassion of
   Jesus, and depart knowing your sins are forgiven.

        May our Lord grant that we receive His grace and blessings
   for our eternal benefit.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. Romans 8:32 (ESV)

August 7, 2025

Broadcast

                          Compassion - Part 4
                               Mark 8:9
                              08/07/2025


        9    And there were about four thousand people. And he
             sent them away.  (ESV)

        Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowds.  For three days
   the crowds had followed Jesus into the wilderness to hear Him
   proclaim the grace, love, and mercy of God.  For three days,
   Jesus taught that the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  This kingdom
   is the love of God which caused the Father to send His only-
   begotten Son to pay the price of your sins and mine.

        These crowds had not expected to stay in the wilderness.
   Eventually their food ran out and they were hungry.  There was no
   earthly way to feed the crowd in the wilderness.  Jesus taught
   where there were no markets, no bakers from whom to purchase
   bread, no fishermen from whom to purchase fish.

        Yet the crowd desired to stay and listen to Jesus rather
   than leave when their provisions were exhausted.  They acted
   according to Jesus' words, ``Seek first the kingdom of God and
   His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto
   you.''[1]

        Each day, maybe several times a day, when we pray the prayer
   given to us by Jesus, we ask, ``Give us this day our daily
   bread.''  We fear, love, and trust in God to provide all we need
   to sustain this body and life.  Even when tragedy strikes, be it
   fire or flood or storm, God provides for our physical needs.
   When the sorrows and troubles of life overwhelm us, He provides
   for our spiritual comfort.

        ``And there were about four thousand people. And he sent
   them away.''

        May our Lord grant that we receive His grace and blessings
   for our eternal benefit.  Amen.














   ____________________

   1. Matthew 6:33

August 6, 2025

Broadcast

                          Compassion - Part 3
                               Mark 8:8
                              08/06/2025


        8    And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up
             the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
             (ESV)

        Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowds.  Not only did He
   nourish their souls by teaching them about the love of God for
   three days, he nourished their bodies by multiplying seven loaves
   of bread and several small fish to feed over 4,000 people.  His
   love extended from their eternal well-being to their physical
   well-being.

        God richly and daily supplies all we need to sustain this
   body and life.  This is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray,
   ``Give us this day our daily bread.''  What does this prayer
   mean?  Martin Luther explained:
        God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all
        wicked men; but we pray in this petition that He would
        lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with
        thanksgiving.[1]


        What was the result of this miracle?  Saint Mark recorded:
   ``And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken
   pieces left over, seven baskets full.''  These seven baskets were
   not small picnic baskets, but large containers.  Mark uses the
   same word for basket that Luke used to describe the container in
   which the apostle Paul was lowered from a window in the wall of
   Damascus.[2] These baskets, according to scholars, could hold up
   to fifty loaves of bread.  To say the least, Jesus provided for
   the crowd because He had compassion.

        May our Lord grant that we recognize His abundant gifts and
   blessings given to us because of His love.  Amen.














   ____________________

   1. Small Catechism, Lord's Prayer, Fourth Petition

   2. See Acts 9:25

August 5, 2025

Broadcast

                          Compassion - Part 2
                              Mark 8:4-7
                              08/05/2025


        4    And his disciples answered him, ``How can one feed
             these people with bread here in this desolate
             place?''
        5    And he asked them, ``How many loaves do you
             have?'' They said, ``Seven.''
        6    And he directed the crowd to sit down on the
             ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having
             given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his
             disciples to set before the people; and they set
             them before the crowd.
        7    And they had a few small fish. And having blessed
             them, he said that these also should be set before
             them.  (ESV)

        Jesus saw a problem and had compassion on the crowd.  These
   Gentiles had been listening to Jesus teach in the wilderness for
   three days.  All the supplies that the crowd brought were gone,
   their food baskets were empty.  Without divine intervention, the
   crowds would be in distress as they traveled back to their homes.
   Jesus desired to feed the crowds before leaving them.

        And his disciples answered him, ``How can one feed
        these people with bread here in this desolate place?''
        And he asked them, ``How many loaves do you have?''
        They said, ``Seven.''  And he directed the crowd to sit
        down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and
        having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his
        disciples to set before the people; and they set them
        before the crowd.  And they had a few small fish. And
        having blessed them, he said that these also should be
        set before them.


        In compassion, Jesus provided for the crowds by multiplying
   seven loaves of bread.  As the disciples served the people, bread
   and fish miraculously grew to fill each person until they were
   completely satisfied.  There was no limit on the blessing of food
   given to those who hungered to hear the good news that the
   Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

        Mark, in saying that Jesus gave thanks, uses the same words
   as he later used to describe the institution of the Lord's
   Supper.  Here Jesus gives us His body and blood under the bread
   and wine in the same abundance as in this miracle.  There is no
   lack to His compassion.

        May our Lord grant us grace to receive our daily bread and
   our spiritual blessings with thanksgiving.  Amen.

August 4, 2025

Broadcast

                          Compassion - Part 1
                              Mark 8:1-3
                              08/04/2025


        1    In those days, when again a great crowd had
             gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called
             his disciples to him and said to them,
        2    ``I have compassion on the crowd, because they
             have been with me now three days and have nothing
             to eat.
        3    And if I send them away hungry to their homes,
             they will faint on the way.  And some of them have
             come from far away.''  (ESV)

        The two most familiar verses of the Bible, Psalm 23 and John
   3:16, speak of God's love, grace, and mercy.  This week's Gospel
   lesson, the Feeding of the 4,000 as recorded by Mark, builds on
   the theme of Jesus' words, ``I have compassion on the crowd.''
   This miracle, which is similar to the Feeding of the 5,000, took
   place in the region of the Decapolis, Gentile territory.  Unlike
   the more famous miracle, which led to the famous ``bread of
   life'' discourse, the focus of this account is simply Jesus
   feeding all people.

        In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered,
        and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to
        him and said to them, ``I have compassion on the crowd,
        because they have been with me now three days and have
        nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to
        their homes, they will faint on the way.  And some of
        them have come from far away.''


        In the same way Jesus fed the 5,000 Jewish followers in
   Galilee, He had compassion on the Gentiles in the Decapolis.  As
   Saint John wrote, and this miracle demonstrates, ``For God so
   loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.''[1] It
   didn't matter if the crowds were the children of Israel or
   Gentiles, Jesus gave them the good news of salvation by grace.
   He showed His deep love and compassion, both for their physical
   and spiritual well-being.

        May our Lord show you His compassion as you receive your
   daily bread and as you hear His holy Word.  Amen.
   ____________________

   1. John 3:16

August 1, 2025

Broadcast

                    Fulfilling God's Word - Part 5
                            Matthew 5:17-18
                              00/01/2025


        17   Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law
             or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them
             but to fulfill them.
        18   For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth
             pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from
             the Law until all is accomplished.  (ESV)

        Jesus told His disciples:
        Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
        Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
        fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven
        and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass
        from the Law until all is accomplished.


        Because Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, what is
   our relationship to God's Law?  Insofar as we are sinners, we
   need God's Law to act as a curb against sin.  We need God's Law
   to act as a mirror to drive us to repent of our sin and to cling
   in faith to Jesus and His righteousness.

        Insofar as we are saints, we delight in God's Law, for it
   clearly shows us those things which are pleasing to Him.  Jesus
   once told one the Pharisees:
        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.[1]


        Please join us each Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. at Trinity
   Lutheran Church to hear the good news that Jesus fulfilled the
   Law and Prophets for your redemption from sin and eternal death.
   Come to hear that our only hope is in Christ Jesus, not our own
   goodness.  Depart in peace, knowing that your sins are forgiven.

        May our Lord grant us wisdom and faith to hear His Word, to
   join with those who are saved by His grace alone, for the sake of
   Jesus Christ alone.  Amen.








   ____________________

   1. Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)

July 31, 2025

Broadcast

                    Fulfilling God's Word - Part 4
                            Matthew 5:17-18
                              07/31/2025


        17   Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law
             or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them
             but to fulfill them.
        18   For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth
             pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from
             the Law until all is accomplished.  (ESV)

        Jesus told His disciples:
        Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
        Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
        fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven
        and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass
        from the Law until all is accomplished.


        There are two answers to the question, ``How do you get to
   heaven?''  The first answer, which is the basis of every religion
   except Christianity, an answer based on logic, says we must live
   to balance the evil we do by doing good works.  The problem is
   simple, we can never do enough good to balance the evil.

        The second answer, the heart of being a Christian, is
   redemption from sin and death because of God's rich love, grace,
   and mercy.  When Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, when
   He cried out from the cross, ``It is finished,'' that fulfillment
   was complete.  Our relationship with God changed, for we can, in
   faith, point to Jesus' righteousness as our own.

        As people declared holy in God's sight for the sake of the
   death and resurrection Jesus, what is our relationship to the
   Law?  Now it becomes a guideline, a way of life in response to
   God's love.  Because we have received God's grace, we honor Him
   above all things even as we reflect His love to our neighbors.
   Our good works do not earn us a place in heaven, but are the
   result of having a place in heave.

        May our Lord grant that we receive His grace, love, and
   mercy for our eternal life with Him.  Amen.