Category: Uncategorized

February 18, 2026

Broadcast

                      Going to Jerusalem - Part 3
                             Luke 18:32-33
                              02/18/2026


        32   For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and
             will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit
             upon.
        33   And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on
             the third day he will rise.  (ESV)

        Today, the first day of Lent, we pray:
        Almighty and everlasting God, You despise nothing You
        have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.
        Create in us new and contrite hearts that lamenting our
        sins and acknowledging our wretchedness we may receive
        from You full pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus
        Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with
        You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.


        The excesses of Mardi Gras yesterday lead to the repentance
   of Ash Wednesday.  Today many people will wear the ashes which
   symbolize our sinful nature.  As the ashes are applied, the
   pastor intones, ``Ashes to ashes, dust to dust'' to remind us of
   the wages of sin.

        Yet, even today, as we confess our sins, we have hope.
   Jesus told His disciples:
        For [the Son of Man] will be delivered over to the
        Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and
        spit upon.  And after flogging him, they will kill him,
        and on the third day he will rise.


        The torture and death of the sinless Son of God paid the
   price of our transgressions.  Because of the cross of Jesus,
   because of His empty tomb, we have the assurance of the
   forgiveness of our sins.

        Please join us this evening at Trinity Lutheran Church as we
   begin the season of Lent with confession, absolution, and the
   Word of God.

        May our Lord grant you a blessed Lent as you come to learn
   of God's rich love, grace, and mercy.  Amen.

February 17, 2026

Broadcast

                      Going to Jerusalem - Part 2
                              Luke 18:31
                              02/17/2026


        31   And taking the twelve, he said to them, ``See, we
             are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is
             written about the Son of Man by the prophets will
             be accomplished.  (ESV)

        On Sunday we prayed:
        O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers and having set us
        free from the bonds of our sins deliver us from every
        evil.


        Today is Shrove Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras, where
   people take the opportunity to eat and celebrate before the fast
   of Lent begins.  It is also known as ``Fat Tuesday'' because
   housewives would use all the shortening in the house before it
   was banned as part of the Lenten regulations.

        Does God set us free from the bonds of our sins and deliver
   us from every evil because we give up dairy products, fats, and
   meat during Lent?  Such restraint may help us focus on the truth
   that Jesus died and rose again to pay the price of our sin, but
   giving up a beloved item does not earn us God's love.

        And taking the twelve, [Jesus] said to them, ``See, we
        are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is
        written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be
        accomplished.


        During the coming forty days we will seek to know more about
   the Father's love which caused Him to sacrifice His only-begotten
   Son to redeem us from sin, death, and the power of the devil.
   From the first pages of the Bible and throughout the Old
   Testament, we find the promise of salvation because of God's
   love.

        May our Lord bless us as we ponder Jesus' suffering and
   death as we prepare for His glorious resurrection.  Amen.

November 19, 2025

Broadcast

                       Sheep and Goats - Part 3
                           Matthew 25:37-40
                              11/19/2025

        37   Then the righteous will answer him, saying,
             ``Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
             or thirsty and give you drink?
        38   And when did we see you a stranger and welcome
             you, or naked and clothe you?
        39   And when did we see you sick or in prison and
             visit you?''
        40   And the King will answer them, ``Truly, I say to
             you, as you did it to one of the least of these my
             brothers, you did it to me.''  (ESV)

        The Gospel reading for this week, the Second Last Sunday of
   the Church Year, concerns the judgment, when Christ returns and
   the angels separate all people into two groups.  On His right
   hand are the sheep, on His left the goats.  Jesus invited the
   sheep on His right to enter into the kingdom prepared for them
   from before the foundation of the world.

        Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ``Lord,
        when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and
        give you drink?  And when did we see you a stranger and
        welcome you, or naked and clothe you?  And when did we
        see you sick or in prison and visit you?''  And the
        King will answer them, ``Truly, I say to you, as you
        did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you
        did it to me.''


        We do not earn our salvation from sin, death, and the power
   of the devil.  Those on the right protest that they are not
   worthy of heaven, that they did not do the good works attributed
   to them.

        Jesus, however, says that the way they treated His brothers,
   the ones He sent to proclaim the forgiveness of sins for the sake
   of His suffering, death, and resurrection, is the same as doing
   it directly to Him.  Earlier in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus said
   essentially the same thing: ``Whoever receives you receives me,
   and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.''[1]

        Good works, the way we respond to the message of God's love,
   grace, and mercy, are the result of our faith in Christ Jesus.
   We are declared holy and righteous in God's sight for the sake of
   Christ.  How we support the Office of the Ministry reflects God's
   love for each of us.

        May our Lord grant that we hear His word and grow in faith
   towards Him.  Amen.


   ____________________

   1. Matthew 10:40 (ESV)

August 20, 2025

Broadcast

Faithful in Little, Faithful in Much – Part 3
Luke 16:11
08/20/2025

11:
If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? (ESV)

Jesus was teaching His disciples about stewardship, the faithful use of our time, talent, and treasure. Our response to temporal blessings is a direct reflection of our spiritual understanding. If we truly believe that we own our time, talents, and treasures, we will use them for our own benefit. If we truly believe that we are managers who are entrusted with God’s gifts, then we will seek to grow His investment.

Jesus told His disciples: ‘‘If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?’’ Our actions reflect our understanding of our relationship to God and neighbor.

Several times Jesus reflected on the words of Moses as quoted in the New Testament:

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]

How we use that which is temporary, which has no eternal value, reflects our beliefs and priorities. Do we selfishly hoard that we are given, or do we use it to serve God and our neighbor? When we suffer a setback such as fire or flood or other disaster, do we panic or do we trust in God? Are we willing to go out of our way to help our neighbor, or are we focused strictly on our own interests.

May our Lord grant that we use His gifts wisely and according to His will. Amen.

May 6, 2025

Broadcast

                      The Good Shepherd - Part 2
                             John 10:12-13
                              05/06/2025


        12   He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who
             does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and
             leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches
             them and scatters them.
        13   He flees because he is a hired hand and cares
             nothing for the sheep.  (ESV)

        If Jesus is the Good Shepherd, what are the other shepherds
   like?  Jesus tells us:
        He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not
        own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
        sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and
        scatters them.  He flees because he is a hired hand and
        cares nothing for the sheep.


        The false shepherds, the hirelings, give the sheep a false
   sense of security, a false message of hope.  The devil, the
   world, and our own sinful flesh hold the glitz and glamour of
   created things before our eyes.  They claim if we work hard
   enough and sacrifice enough, we might obtain power or wealth or
   some future life of leisure.

        False shepherds demand that we be strong, that we be perfect
   in every way.  There is no room for weakness, there can be no
   letting up.  Failure is not an option.  Those who do not measure
   up are cast by the wayside, abandoned, and left alone.

        Our selfish ambition cares nothing for others, reflects no
   love, and uses people even as we are used by others.  The wolf,
   be it natural disaster or health issues or some other danger out
   of our control, finds us defenseless.

        The Good Shepherd, however, protects His sheep.  He gives
   His life for the sheep, covering their sins with His
   righteousness, strengthening them in weakness, and binding their
   wounds.  He is not a hireling.

        May our Lord give us faith to know and trust in the Good
   Shepherd for our eternal blessing.  Amen.