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Preparing for Worship - February 20, 2022

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday is from Genesis 45:3-15 and tells us how forgiving Joseph was toward his brothers, though they had treated him so badly and finally sold him to be carried away as a slave to Egypt. He suffered much, but was also greatly blessed by God and knew that God allowed and guided all this to “preserve life” for many, including his own Israelite family, from whom eventually the Savior of the whole world would come.

Psalm 103:1-13, a psalm of David, emphasizes  the forgiving love of God and how He does not judge us on the basis of our many sins, but removes our sins and shows us mercy and compassion, as we seek to fear, love, and trust in Him. He is a compassionate heavenly Father who dearly loves His children.

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 6:27-38, another part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain, Jesus call us to have love and mercy toward others, including those who are enemies and treat us very badly. This is a very hard message, until we remember that God has already been very loving and merciful to us, in Christ our Savior. He now wishes us, as His children, to be merciful to others, even “the ungrateful and the evil,” as He has not condemned us, but forgiven us, in what Jesus has done for us.

The Epistle lesson is 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42 - the last of six readings from 1 Corinthians 12-15. We hear again of the certainty of our eternal future in Christ, and His return on the last day to do away with sin and Satan and death, and to raise and change  our bodies into glorified, imperishable, heavenly bodies. In the meantime, we are reminded that “bad company ruins good morals,” and to keep battling sin in our own lives, as we await His return.

Bible Study - Book of Jonah Part 3 - Jonah 1:4-17

We begin our study this week with Jonah on board a ship, trying to escape from the Lord and His will that he go to the Gentile, pagan city of Nineveh and share God’s message with the people there. God quickly interfered with Jonah’s plans by “hurling a great wind” and “tempest” on the Mediterranean Sea, so that the ship is in danger of breaking apart (Jonah 1:4).

The mariners, from a number of places and backgrounds, were very frightened by the storm and began to pray to their gods for help. This was a merchant ship, and so they also began to throw their cargo into the sea to lighten the load and keep the ship more stable. Jonah, though, went below deck and had fallen into a deep sleep.

It is not said how much he knew about the storm or why he was sleeping as he was. Some think he was exhausted from trying to run from God and just fell asleep. Others think he finally had some peace, having escaped God, and could more easily fall asleep. Still others think that he was feeling so bad about what he had done that his sleep was an escape from guilt and sorrow. (Jonah 1:5). (See how Luke said in Luke 22:45-46 that the disciples of Jesus were “sleeping for sorrow” in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus wanted and needed them to stay awake and watch and pray with Him.)

The captain of the ship needed the help of everyone, though, and woke up Jonah so that he could at least pray to his own god, too, for help. Maybe someone’s god would help them, so that they would not perish (Jonah 1:6). The sailors also decided that they should “cast lots” to see if they could tell who was responsible for their trouble. (This was a common practice in the ancient world, where people drew out stones or sticks or something else, to see who was the guilty person or the chosen person for a certain responsibility. God even allowed this at times or worked through such a process. See the story of Saul and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:41-45 and Proverbs 16:33 and even the choosing of the apostle to take the place of Judas in Acts 1:21-26. The Acts passage is the last time that “casting lots” is mentioned in the Bible. That is not the recommended way to make choices, as the Scriptures go on. We pray that God will guide us and then make the best choices we can, using our minds and the advice of others and being guided by the Word of God, above all.) In Jonah 1:7, though, God brought the truth and “the lot fell on Jonah.”

The sailors then began throwing all sorts of question at Jonah. You can read what they were asking in Jonah 1:8. They wanted to know how Jonah was related to this great evil storm that had come upon them. Jonah answered them very honestly and accurately: “I am a Hebrew” (a name going all the way back to Abram in Genesis 14:13, and his descendants, sometimes in a disparaging way, as in Genesis 39:14,16).

Jonah also said, “I fear the Lord (Yahweh) the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land,” and also admitted that “he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord.” This made the sailors “exceedingly afraid.” Most ancient people thought their gods only had power in certain places and ways, but Jonah described a God who had control everywhere - in the heavens and on land and even the sea that was giving them so much trouble. They wanted to know what they could do to Jonah, so that the sea would calm down, as it was becoming even “more and more tempestuous” (Jonah 1:9-11).

The ancients often thought they needed to appease their gods by making some sort of sacrifice to them. What would it take to get this god to make things calm down? Jonah answered, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea… for I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” Only then, he thought, “the sea would quiet down” (Jonah 1:12).

Nevertheless, surprisingly, the sailors did not immediately throw Jonah overboard. They tried again to save themselves and Jonah by rowing even harder to get the ship back to dry land. The Hebrew says that they tried to “dig” their way through the sea, but it did not work, for the sea became even more and more stormy “against them” (Jonah 1:13). The next verse, Jonah 1:14, seems to indicate that they did not want to feel responsible for killing Jonah, even if all this trouble was his fault. They called upon Jonah’s God not to hold them accountable for helping take Jonah’s life, for, they said, “You, O Lord, have done as it pleased You.” Jonah’s God was ultimately responsible for all this, they wished to say.

Finally, “they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea” and immediately, it seems, “the sea ceased from its raging” (Jonah 1:15) and  “then the men feared God exceedingly.” They were likely very afraid of this amazing, powerful God and what he could do. They also seemed to have awe and respect for this great God. “They offered a sacrifice to the Lord,” this God of Jonah, and even “made vows,” promises of some sort to Him (Jonah 1:16).

Many ancient people believed that there were many gods and goddesses, soo it would not be unusual to take in one more god that they respected. However, this was the one True God, the Lord, at work here, and maybe some of these pagan sailors actually came to faith in Him, by His grace, through what Jonah said and God did. Jonah did not want to witness to pagans, but God worked it out that Jonah was beginning to do just that, on this ship. God was going to get His will carried out, even if it was sometimes in spite of Jonah and his rebellious ways. (See Isaiah 65:1, where God had predicted that He would be seeking and finding people who were not seeking Him, including people of other nations. His plan, His desire was to be the Savior for all nations.)

Note also how the Lord’s care for people on the sea was a way of describing His concern, as the Creator of all, for people in other circumstances, as well.

• See Psalm 107:23-32, as part of a whole psalm about God’s steadfast love in a variety of situations.
• Think about how Jesus, in His ministry, more than once calmed the Sea of Galilee and rescued His disciples.
• See Mark 4:35-41. The disciples asked, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” Clearly, Jesus was the Savior, God become man to rescue people.
• See also Mark 6:45-51, etc.

Finally, the Lord spared Jonah in a miraculous way, by “appointing a great fish to swallow up Jonah.” The sailors did not have to fear that they had killed Jonah. God still had work for Jonah to do in Nineveh, and so He rescued him from certain death in the sea, by having the great fish swallow him (Jonah 1:17).

Note that the Hebrew does not say “a whale” but “a great fish,” whatever kind God chose. Some have argued that whales cannot swallow people, and that there are very few whales in the Mediterranean Sea. Some whales can swallow people, though, and there are cases of this happening in the last few centuries. Large sharks can swallow people, too. People have survived this sort of thing, also. I can give you sources, if you want to read about such cases.

Also note that in Hebrew, three days and three nights can simply mean parts of three days. There is a story in Esther 4, in the Old Testament, where Queen Esther asks Jewish people to fast and “not eat or drink for three days, night or day.” On the third day, then, Esther approaches the King and is helped by him and fellow Jews are spared, though he could have killed her, for not waiting for him to call her, first. She does not wait three days and three nights. (See especially Esther 4:15-5:1.)

Jesus also refers to the story of Jonah as paralleling His own story. Jesus was only in the grave parts of three days. We will look at this more closely in another lesson. Finally, if God is God, as He is, the only one true God, He can do all things. He could and did provide the right “great fish” to swallow Jonah and kept Jonah safe and well for whatever time he was in the belly of that fish. Could God also provide for us, too, in difficult situations in our lives? He certainly can, if that is His plan and will.

Next week, we will hear what Jonah was thinking and praying about while in the great fish, and the way that God changed his attitude, at least to some degree. As you read Chapter 2, think also about what part of the Scripture his prayer sounds like.

Preparing for Worship - February 13, 2022

The Psalm and the Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday are very similar to each other. Psalm 1 pictures a person who delights in the Lord and in His Law, His Word, and is like a tree planted by streams of water, which prospers and bears fruit and does not wither away. In contrast, the wicked walk and stand and sit in the way of evil and sin and scoff at the Lord and His will for them. They will be like chaff, like straw that blows away with the wind in God’s judgment against them.

Jeremiah 17:5-8, the Old Testament Lesson, also pictures the one “whose trust is in the Lord” as like a tree planted by water, who does well and bears fruit in good times and even in times of heat and drought. The Lord is his Fountain of Living Water (see v. 15 and John 7:37-38), and he is blessed. In contrast, the one who turns away from the Lord and trusts in himself and other human beings and human accomplishments will be like a parched and dying shrub in the wilderness. He is under a curse, because “all flesh is like withering grass” (Isaiah 40:6-8) on its own, and the human heart, by itself, is “deceitful” and “desperately sick.” Only the Lord can “save” and “heal” (Jeremiah 17:9,14).

The Gospel Lesson, Luke 6:17-26, is a part of Jesus’ sermon on a “level place,” a plain, in contrast with His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), though both are similar in some of the content. Jesus helped and healed many, and He taught that those who are spiritually “poor” and “hungry” and “sorrowful,” who know that they need Him, and who are “hated” and “reviled,” because of their trust in Him, will have heavenly blessings. In contrast, there will ultimately be woes and trouble for those who are “rich” and “full” and “laugh” and are “spoken well of,” only in terms of this sinful human world and its desires.

The Epistle, 1 Corinthians 15:(1-11)12-20, continues a series of readings from this later part of 1 Corinthians. Paul speaks of the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, because hundreds of people saw Jesus alive after He rose from the dead. Without the resurrection of Jesus, forgiveness and new life and hope for the future for us and our loved ones who have died would be gone. But, “in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, as the Firstfruits,” guaranteeing our resurrection and eternal future in Him. Paul knows this because he himself also saw the risen Lord and knows His promises. (See also Paul’s own words in Romans 10:9-11.)

Words of Comfort & Hope in the Loss of a Loved One

Words of Comfort and Hope in the Loss of a Loved One

John 11

Matthew 28:20

Hebrews 13:5

Philippians 4:4,13-14

Preparing for Worship - February 6, 2022

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday is Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13). Isaiah sees a vision of God Himself in heaven in great glory, with angels singing of His holiness. Isaiah knows that he is in big trouble, as a poor miserable sinner in the presence of the King, the Lord of hosts. An angel comes and touches his lips with a burning coal, bringing God’s forgiveness for his sin and guilt. Only then can he respond to God’s call: “Here am I. Send me."

The Gospel lesson, Luke 5:1-11, is the parallel to the Old Testament lesson. Simon (Peter) is a fisherman, and Jesus borrows his boat and teaches from there. Then Jesus enables Peter to catch a huge number of fish. Peter can only think of how sinful and unworthy he is to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. Jesus takes away Peter’s fears and calls him to be “catching men,” and Peter is now able to follow Jesus.

The Psalm is Psalm 138, a psalm of David. David praises God for helping him again in a difficult situation. His whole heart is full of thanks, and there is no room for false gods - only God’s Name and Word. David humbly knows that the Lord will somehow carry out His purposes for him; and one day (with the coming of the Messiah) other kings who hear the Words of God’s mouth will give Him thanks and praise, as well.

The Epistle continues readings from 1 Corinthians 12-15, from chapter 14:12b-20. Paul talks about worship and how important it is to focus not on what makes us feel good as individuals, but what builds up the body of believers and helps instruct even “outsiders” in Christ and the faith, using our spirits and minds in prophecy (sharing the Word of God.) Then we can all pray and sing praise and say “Amen” to our Lord together, in thanksgiving.

Bible Study - Book of Jonah Part 2 - Jonah 1:1-4; 4:2

We begin our study with a little more background on the Book of Jonah. As you read through it, notice that most of it is a narrative, a story of what happens with Jonah and God and the people of Nineveh. It is like the stories of earlier prophets like Elijah and Elisha. There are prophecies, but most of them come through the events in the lives of these real and true prophets, like Jonah. Contrast that with later prophetic books like Isaiah, where there are many direct prophetic passages and fewer stories of events. This ties Jonah in more with earlier prophets and their true stories.

I mention this because many modern commentators say that Jonah was written very late in Old Testament times and is not a true story, but only a parable to make a point, sort of like Aesop’s Fables. Such thinking is entirely wrong and comes because too many people today deny that there can be miracles or anything that cannot be proven in a scientific way. These people reject many other things in the Bible, too, on the same faulty basis.

As Christians we believe that God is God and with Him, nothing is impossible, including the miracles in the story of Jonah and in the rest of the Scriptures. It is very important that our Lord Jesus also speaks of Jonah as a real person who experienced what is said of him in the Book of Jonah. In fact, as we will see in a later lesson, Jesus spoke of Jonah’s experience as prophetic of His own in a very special way.  

Every Word of Scripture is important, and that is evident as the Book of Jonah begins, as well. Turn again to Jonah, Chapter 1. In the original Hebrew language, the first word is one that is usually translated, “Now.” Unfortunately, that word is omitted in the NIV and other modern translations. It is in the ESV translation of Jonah 1:1 : “Now the Word of the Lord came to Jonah…” But the ESV is not consistent in translating this word, either. The only translation that seems to include it regularly, from the Hebrew, is the old King James translation from hundreds of years ago. If you looked at a King James Bible, you would find the word “Now” in Joshua 1:1, Judges 1:1, Ruth 1:1, 1 Samuel 1:1, and others places.

One commentator (Keil) says, “This was the standing formula with which historical events were linked on to one another.” The historical events of the five books of Moses are given, “and now” the historical book of Joshua follows, and so forth. The fact that Jonah starts with this same Hebrew word indicates that it is also one of the same “historical books,” following those of earlier days. It is not a fable or parable, but true history.

Jonah 1:1 continues: “the Word of the Lord came to Jonah.” This is a phrase used 100 times or more in the Old Testament when God had something to say to one of the prophets. His Words are recorded in verse 2, as He communicates with Jonah, the son of Amittai. This is clearly the same Jonah we heard about last week in 2 Kings 14:25, who had the same father. Jonah is called to “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city.”

Nineveh was truly a “great city,” about 500 miles to the East of Jerusalem and the capital of the Assyrian Empire, and the largest city of the known Western world of that time, according to ancient historians. Three other cities were very close and were often considered part of Nineveh. Together, the length of the city was about 25 miles and the breadth about 15 miles.

Jonah was to “call out against it, for their evil has come up before Me,” the Lord said. We are not told in this book what the nature of their evil was, but other Biblical prophets tell us much. The prophet Nahum speaks of the Assyrians “plotting evil against the Lord,” great cruelty and plundering in the way they treated conquered people, prostitution and forms of witchcraft, commercial exploitation, and of course, false gods and idols that they worshipped. There was much evil to warn against.

Jonah did “arise,” but to flee “away from the presence of the Lord,” to Tarshis (Jonah 1:3). It is possible that Jonah was trying to go to the city of Tarsus, to the Northwest, the city where much later Saul (Paul) was born. More likely, Jonah was trying to go as far to the West as one could go in the ancient Western world, to Tartessus, a port in Spain, at the other end of the Mediterranean Sea.

As a prophet, he stood before the Lord to do His will. (See what Elijah said in 1 Kings 18:15. He had to obey the Lord, “before whom he stood,” and go to see King Ahab, who wanted to kill him.) Maybe Jonah imagined that if he was far away from God’s presence, he would no longer be obligated to do what God wanted.

That was foolish thinking, of course. Jonah surely knew of the Psalms of David, already written and used for a long time among God’s people. In Psalm 139, David had spoken of how the Lord knew all about him and that there was no place he could go to get away from Him. See Psalm 139:2-5 and 7-10. Jonah was determined to get away from God, no matter what, though. So, he went to Joppa, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and paid for a fare to go by boat to Tarshish. (This was likely a cargo ship, not a passenger ship, as we will hear, but Jonah takes this opportunity to get far away from God.)

Why was Jonah so unwilling to go to Nineveh? Look ahead to Jonah 4:2. The Assyrians were the most dangerous enemies of Israel, even though in Jonah’s time they were preoccupied with other things and were not such trouble. The Jews greatly feared them, though, and they were obviously not part of God’s chosen, special people. Jonah did know the truth about the Lord’s love and mercy for people, but seemed to want it just for the Jews. He did not want to help the Assyrians, just in case they would listen and repent of their evils and receive mercy if he went to them as God wanted. Some think that he was even fearful that if God paid too much attention to Gentiles, to non-Jews, He might forget about His own people.

God would not do that, but He did give and would continue to give strong warnings to His chosen people that if they kept resisting Him and His will, judgment could come for them, too. See, for example, God’s Word of warning through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 18:7-11, to the people of Judea, See also their evil response, which would eventually lead to the Babylonian Captivity for the Jews.

Already this early in the Book of Jonah, we can begin to see, from a New Testament perspective, what the prophesy of this Book of Jonah was about. God did care about all people, and if the Jews, like Jonah, kept resisting and rejecting God’s plans, there would only be more trouble for them, but more blessings for the Gentiles, many of whom would listen to the Lord.

This is seen in a New Testament story in Acts 10:5ff. The early Christian leader, Peter, was in Joppa, the same city from which Jonah fled so long before. Peter is a Jew who is now following Christ the Savior, but even he is having trouble reaching out to non-Jews. God gives him a vision of many animals that Jews considered unclean and would never eat.  God tells him to kill and eat some of this food, because He has made all foods clean. About this time, people come from a Gentile, non-Jewish, Roman centurion, who wants Peter to come and talk with him. Peter goes, though it is very hard for him, because it had been “unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit anyone of another nation.” Peter said, “God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean” (Acts 10:27-28). Peter preaches the Good News of Jesus to these non-Jews and many came to faith and were baptized. The Good News really was for everyone of every nation, not just for the Jews.

God was teaching this message to the Jew, Peter, even as He had been trying to teach it to Jonah, so long before. If you look back to Jonah 1:4, then, God had not given up on the Jews or Jonah. He is not going to let Jonah get away, but “hurls a great wind“ that stops the ship that Jonah is on from making progress.

We will pick up with the story next week. The Lord “is a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,” even for rebellious Jonah (Jonah 4:2). That means there is hope for us, too, even in our struggles and for others we are concerned about.

Sermon for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany - January 30, 2022

Sermon for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany, based on:

Jeremiah 1:4-10 

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Luke 4:31-44

Sermon originally delivered February 3, 2013

Bible Study - Book of Jonah Part 1 - Jonah 1:1-3

We have studied several New Testament books in a row, and I thought it might be good to go back to the Old Testament again, at least for a short study. I chose the Book of Jonah, one of the twelve Minor Prophets, found near the end of the Old Testament.

The term “Minor Prophets” does not mean that these writings are less important or less valuable than others. All of Scripture is God’s Word and is valuable for us. This term simply means that this writing is shorter than more extensive books of prophecy, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which are much longer. In fact, the Book of Jonah is very short - only 4 chapters and 48 total verses - not what we would normally call a “book” today.

If I asked what people remember about the Book of Jonah, many would talk about Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. Actually, only three of the 48 verses say anything about the great fish and Jonah. The primary emphasis of this book is upon God and His wanting His message to be shared - and how well Jonah did and did not do with that sharing.

This is a good study for the Epiphany season of the church year that we are now in. Epiphany has to do with letting light shine, so that hidden things can be revealed. Jesus does that in the Scripture readings we hear this season between Christmas and Lent. Jesus is “the Light of the world,” and He is constantly showing who He is and the plan of rescue coming to us, through Him, as our Savior, through His Words and deeds.

Epiphany is also a time that encourages us to let the light of Christ shine through us to others, too. As we hear what Jonah did, we can think about how we are doing as witnesses for our Lord and His Word. We are reminded that God really does want His message of repentance and forgiveness shared with the whole world, including us when we fail in our own lives.

We’ll begin with some background on Jonah and the time when he was a prophet of God. We don’t know a lot, since Jonah is only mentioned one time in the Old Testament, other than what is in the Book of Jonah itself.

The high point of the one nation of God’s people was under Kings David and Solomon, who reigned from about 1000 BC to 930 BC. After that, there was disagreement and struggle about who should be king, and the nation split into two kingdoms, Israel to the north, with its capital in Samaria, and Judea to the south, with its capital in Jerusalem. The Southern Kingdom stayed more faithful to the one true God for a longer time, but not the Northern Kingdom. Many of their kings allowed and even encouraged much evil and supported worship of false gods and drifted far away from God and His will.

God sent many prophets to both kingdoms, calling them to repentance and faithfulness to God, but kings and people often did not listen. God still kept reaching out to them, though, wanting them to awaken to Him and wanting to show His mercy to them.

Turn now in your Bibles to 2 Kings 14:23-29, after the Books of Moses and just after 1 and 2 Samuel. In verse 23, we hear that Jeroboam II had become king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and reigned for 41 years (from about 793-753 BC). Notice what kind of king he was, in verse 24 - “evil in the sight of the Lord” and sinning in ways, like kings before him, that “made Israel to sin,” too.

Now read verses 26-27. It was a terrible situation for the Northern Kingdom; and yet God still had care and mercy for His people, in such bad times, and with no one to help them. God was not ready to give up on them and chose to use evil King Jeroboam II to assist them by giving them more prosperous times, at least for a while. In verse 25, we hear that God sent the prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, to prophesy that Jeroboam II could and would expand the Northern Kingdom all the way to Damascus to the north and to Hamath to the south. (See also v. 27-28, where it is said that the Lord “saved” the people through what Jeroboam II did in a military way. The Assyrians were the great power in the Middle East at this time, but became preoccupied with other enemies and troubles and left Israel alone during Jeroboam’s reign, for the most part. This made for better and more peaceful and prosperous times in Israel for a while, and for an expanded kingdom.)

Unfortunately, underneath better times, spiritual rot continued in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. God sent other prophets, too - Amos to Israel and Isaiah to Judea, and they spoke very much to these spiritual concerns and rebellion against God and His will, in both kingdoms. (Clearly, the 2 Kings passage also indicates that Jonah was prophesying during this time in the Northern Kingdom, too.) Likely Jonah was also sharing God’s warning to His own people, but we have no record of that in the Old Testament.  What we do have is a surprising call from God to Jonah, recorded in the Book of Jonah.

Turn to Jonah, Chapter 1, verses 1-3 now, near the end of the Old Testament. God did not send Jonah to the chosen people of Israel and Judah, but to their enemies, the Assyrians and to their capital city of Nineveh, far to the east, to confront them about their great evil. That God could care also about the Assyrians was a shock to many Jews, including Jonah, it seems. Verse 3 tells us that he headed west, not east, farther away from the Assyrians and the voice of God. That is the real issue of the Book of Jonah, and what we will be studying more, next week.

Could we be like Jonah at times, ourselves - running away from God and His will for us? How does God respond and what does He do? The Book of Jonah is short enough that you could read it all by next week and be thinking about what all of this book means also for us. 

Preparing for Worship - January 30, 2022

An old man writes Psalm 71. He has followed His Lord from his youth, with hope and trust in the Lord as His Rock of refuge. The Lord has watched over him even before his birth and from his mother’s womb, he says. He is having difficult times and threats from wicked and unjust people, though, right when his “strength is spent.” He prays that the Lord will not forsake him, but help him, as he always has in the past.

In Jeremiah 1:4-10 (17-19), a young man, Jeremiah, maybe still a teenager, speaks when the Lord has called him to be a prophet. He cannot do it, he says. He is too young and not a good speaker. The Lord strengthens and assures him and puts into his mouth what the Lord wants him to say. The Lord had picked him out for this work, even before he was born.

In Luke 4:31-44, we see examples of the ministry of Jesus, teaching the Word of God with authority, casting out evil spirits and not allowing them to speak, and healing many people, including Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. People want Jesus to stay with them, as He is doing so much for them. He knows His purpose, though - not to stay where He is popular, but to keep sharing the Good News of God’s Kingdom wherever He can, in as many places as possible.

The Epistle continues readings from 1 Corinthians 12-15. Here we hear the famous chapter, 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13, where Paul speaks of having and sharing the “higher gifts” of God - faith, hope, and love. These gifts bless us, but are not self-centered, and allow us to be a blessing to others, and especially as we build one another up in the body of Christ, the church. These gifts last into eternal life, when we will see “face to face” the greatness of our perfect Lord.

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany - January 23, 2022

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, based on:

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a 

Luke 4:16-30

Sermon originally delivered January 27, 2013