The lutheransermons's Podcast

Sermon for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost - September 12, 2021

Sermon for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 50:4-10

James 3:1-12

Mark 9:14-29

Sermon originally delivered September 16, 2012

Preparing for Worship - September 12, 2021

The Psalm for this Sunday is Psalm 116:1-9. The writer is not identified, nor are the specific problems he has been dealing with; but he “loves the Lord” because when he “was brought low, the Lord saved him,” and “delivered his soul.” This is a good Psalm for any of us, when we are struggling. It reminds us that “the Lord is gracious… and merciful,” and he will hear our “pleas for mercy.” We can trust Him and call on Him all our life.

The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 50:4-10. In prophecy, the coming Servant of the Lord, our Lord Jesus, says that he will “not be rebellious” but will listen to and do what He has been “taught” by His Heavenly Father, even if it means being “struck” and “disgraced” and “spit upon.” He says, “The Lord God helps me; who will declare Me guilty?” Yet he will be declared guilty, as He suffers and dies in our place to pay for our sins, in His love for us. 

In the Epistle lesson, James gives a very strong indictment of us and our human condition. He uses the example of our tongues. “We all stumble in many ways.” None of us is perfect, even if we are teachers. We can sometimes create a “forest fire” of trouble with our tongues, as if we were speaking  words from hell instead of words from heaven.
“No human being can tame the tongue.” How much we all need the mercy and forgiveness Jesus came to bring to us.

The Gospel lesson is from Mark 9:14-29. A boy is possessed by a terrible evil spirit; but the disciples cannot cast out that spirit, even though they have been given such power, through Jesus. It seems as if they were trying to use their own power and forgetting to pray and ask Jesus for His help and power. Jesus then called His generation a ”faithless generation.” The boy’s father admits his lack of faith, crying out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” No one has perfect faith; but Jesus is the perfect Savior. He is able to and does cast out the evil spirit from the boy, and He brings us to new life and hope and faith in Him, too, by His mercy and His Word and promises.

Bible Study on 1 Thessalonians - Part 4 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:13

We began this lesson with prayer and then remembered what Paul had been discussing as we ended last week - the persecution that had happened at the hands of Jewish religious leaders. Jesus had warned of this. Read Matthew 23:31-34. Note the predicted crucifixion of Christ Himself and “persecution from town to town” in the early Christian church, by people who were like “serpents” and “vipers," images of servants of Satan.

Paul had, in fact, been chased out of Thessalonica by Jewish opposition, as we have heard. In 1 Thessalonians 2:17, Paul described it as being “torn away” from the group of people who had come to faith in Jesus in Thessalonica. His heart was still with them, though he could not be with them in person. He used a Greek word that meant that he was “orphaned” from the believers there - the only time I think this particular
word is used in the New Testament.

The Bible speaks of God’s concern for literal orphans and widows and the very vulnerable situations they were often left in, with the troubles of this life. (See James 1:27 and Psalm 146:9, for example.) Jesus also promised that He would not leave us as spiritual orphans, even though He would have to leave His disciples, with His suffering and death to pay for our sins. He would be raised to life again, though, and even when He returned to his Father in heaven at His ascension, He would “still be with us always, to the end of the age.” (See John 14:18-19 and Matthew 28:20.)

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul had already called the Christians there his “brothers," part of his Christian family. He had spoken of working with them as “a nursing mother” and as “a father with his children” (2:7,9,11); but now he felt and was “orphaned” from them. “Satan was hindering him,” though he tried to return to them (1 Thess. 2:17-18).

We don’t know just what other barriers Paul had at this point, though he had been chased far away from Thessalonica, into Athens and then Corinth, in a different Roman province. Some think that he would have endangered Jason and others who had hosted him in Thessalonica if he tried to come back, too. Remember again Acts 17:5-9, where Jason and others had to put up money as security, as a kind of bond, as protection from more trouble for Paul. If Paul returned and trouble broke out, many people could be in big trouble.

In 1 Thess. 2:19-20, Paul also called the Thessalonian believers his “hope” and “joy” and “glory” and “crown of boasting” on the last day, when Christ returned. This was not “self-boasting” by Paul at what he had done. It was simply rejoicing in more believers standing firm in faith, who would also have eternal life in heaven, by God’s grace.

We look forward to seeing loved ones again in heaven, some of whom we have not seen for a long time. Won’t it be great, too, to see believers we have worshipped with and prayed for and maybe helped and encouraged in the faith or taught Sunday School to, together with us on the last day? (See how Paul spoke of other believers in the same way in 2 Corinthians 1: 12-14 and in Philippians 4:1, about fellow believers still alive.)

As Chapter 3 of 1 Thess. began, Paul admitted that he could finally not wait any longer to hear what was happening with the people in the Thessalonian church. He decided to send Timothy to Thessalonica to strengthen and exhort the people in their faith, even though that meant leaving him alone to do what he could in Athens and then in Corinth.

Paul knew that the believers faced continuing affliction and suffering for their faith. He had warned them of such dangers in the short time he had been with them and told them, “We are destined” for this kind of trouble (1 Thess. 3:1-4). (There are many other Scriptures where we hear the same message. Here are just a few examples from Jesus and others: Matthew 5:10-12, 10:21-22, Mark 4:17, John 16:33, Acts 14:22.)  At the same time, God assures us that He is working for our good and the good of the church and sharing of the Gospel, even through times of trouble and persecution. (See Acts 11:19, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, 4:16-18. Ephesians 6:18-20, etc.)

Paul often taught Christians not to worry; but he struggled with his own fears and worries at times. Would the believers in Thessalonica be able to withstand temptations of the tempter (Satan, again) as Jesus had to handle just such temptations? (See Matthew 4:1-11, for example.) Could they have fallen away and all the work in Thessalonica been in vain? (1 Thess. 3:5)

Finally, Paul reported that Timothy had made it to Thessalonica and spent some time with the church there and encouraged them and returned with “good news” about their faith and love in the Lord. This may be the only time in the New Testament when Paul used the term “good news” to refer to anything other than the Gospel of Jesus our Savior. In this case, though, too, faith is only there in the Thessalonians because of hearing and being brought to trust in the good news of Jesus as Lord and Savior. Remember what Paul had said earlier about the power and trustworthiness and effectiveness of the Word of God, working in people through the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 2:13 and 3:6).

This good news from Timothy brought great comfort to Paul. The ministry of Paul and Silas and Timothy had not been in vain. (See 1 Corinthians 15:58.) In fact, Paul spoke as if he were really alive, because these Thessalonians were “standing firm in the faith” (1 Thess. 3:7-8). Paul talked then about giving great thanksgiving to God for what He had done for these people and the joy that is restored to him.

Paul had been praying again and again for this church, that he could one day see them again in person and he could continue to teach and “supply what is lacking in their faith” (1 Thess. 3:9-10). This does not mean that the people did not have saving faith, as a gift from God. They knew and trusted their Savior; but there was always room for growth in their understanding and confidence in the Lord and in dealing with practical concerns for their Christian life. We will see more of that as we get into Chapter 4, next week. That is a good reminder that we all can grow in what is lacking in our own faith and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, above all. See 2 Peter 3:18.

As happened in other letters, Paul then broke into a spontaneous prayer to God the Father and to the Lord Jesus Christ. (Clearly Jesus is God, together with the Father, and can be addressed in prayer, too!) He prayed that he could eventually have the way open to see the Thessalonians again. That prayer did seem to be answered later on, if you look at Acts 20:1-4. At least a few of the people of the Thessalonian congregation were with Paul.

Paul also prayed for the Thessalonians to have increasing love and hearts firmly “established “ in Christ. That word “established” is used by Paul in 3:2 and again in 3:13. In classical Greek, that word was used to speak of building buttresses to strengthen and support buildings. By the time of the New Testament, that word was used for strengthening many other things, including spiritual life, as Paul did here.

Paul would continue to do what he could, by prayer and by this letter and by sending help; but finally, only God could “establish hearts blameless in holiness before God at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” Even as Christians, we are not blameless in our life and actions. Only through the perfect life of Jesus for us and His forgiveness of every one of our sins, by His sacrificial death on the cross in our place, are we counted as acceptable to God on the last day. We wear by God’s grace, received through the gift of faith, the robe of righteousness earned for us by Jesus. The “saints” are not the especially good people who have merited God’s grace by their good deeds and actions. The saints are simply those who trust in the Triune God and His saving work for them through Jesus. That means that you are a “saint,” too, in God’s definition, as you keep on trusting in what Jesus has done for you. (See 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 1 Thessalonians 3:13.)

We will hear more about this and being ready for that last day, as our study continues next week.

Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost - September 5, 2021

Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 35:4-7a

James 2:1-10, 14-18

Mark 7:24-37

Sermon originally delivered September 9, 2012

Preparing for Worship - September 5, 2021

The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 35:4-7a, where God calls His people to “Be strong; fear not!” because He will “come and save” them, bringing healing and joy and a new creation, where it is as if even the desert is transformed. This is a prophecy of the coming of God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, and what He will eventually bring to all believers in eternal life.

Jesus is “a Son of Man” in Whom there is salvation, as the Psalm of the Day, Psalm 146, predicts. He is God become man to help and give hope to all, including the  widow and fatherless and sojourners (even non-Jews). We praise Him, because he is One in Whom “we can put our trust” now and always.

In the Gospel lesson, Mark 7:(24-30) 31-37, Jesus shows that He is the Promised One, the Lord and Savior, as He fulfills portions of the Old Testament lesson and Psalm. He heals a deaf man who also is mute and cannot speak; and He meets a non-Jewish woman who has faith that even a few crumbs from Jesus would be enough to help her little daughter - and a demon is cast out of the little girl by Jesus. Jesus does all things well - exactly what is said of God at Creation, too.

In the Epistle lesson, James 2:1-10, 14-18, we are called to show no partiality, but to love the people God has placed around us, no matter who they are, as Jesus taught us. God has chosen us to be rich in faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. That faith shows itself in words and deeds of mercy for others.

Bible Study on 1 Thessalonians - Part 3 1 Thessalonians1:9-2:16

We began this week’s study with prayer and a quick review of last week’s lesson. In Chapter One, Paul is so thankful to God that some people in Thessalonica had come to faith in Jesus and were continuing in that faith by the grace of the Triune God. News of their faith and love and hope was already spreading to other places, as a good witness and example to people. Thessalonians had been turned away from idols to serve the “living and true God” and were now “waiting” for the return of His Son, Jesus, on the last day (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

Paul talked about the second coming of Jesus here and in each chapter of I Thess., because there apparently had been questions from the Thessalonian believers about the when, and how, and the judgment and the “wrath of God” and what happens to those who had already died before Jesus came back.

Jesus and John the Baptist had already spoken about the wrath of God in the Gospels. Sin is evil and is rebellion against God and His will and deserves punishment. (See passages like Matthew 3:7, John 3:14-18 and 3:36.) Paul assured the believers of Thessalonica, though, in I Thess. 1:10, that Jesus had delivered them and us from that wrath to come, because of His payment of that debt of sin on the cross and brought  His forgiveness and faith to us.

In Chapter Two of 1 Thess., Paul asked the Thessalonian believers to remember how he had come to them and had presented the Gospel in a sincere and honest way. He called them “brothers” here and 27 other times in the two letters to Thessalonica. They, both men and women, had become part of the “family” of faith by trusting in Jesus. (There were many “preachers” traveling around in those days, supporting many gods and goddesses and philosophies of life. Often these people did so for personal gain or honor and in dishonest ways.)

Paul then reminded the believers in Thessalonica of how he had come to their city. He and Timothy and Silvanus had already suffered and been shamefully treated in Philippi, by Jewish authorities and public officials, just for telling people of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior, as we heard in the introduction to this letter. They were falsely accused and beaten and imprisoned and then forced to leave the city. If Paul and the others were imposters and false teachers, would they have then continued to preach the same message that got them in such trouble and gave them no benefit? Yet, Paul and the others spoke “boldly” of God and his “good news” in Jesus, even when it brought them “much conflict” in Thessalonica, too. It was not “in vain,” though,  because a church of believers was established there (1 Thess. 2:1-2).

Paul went on to give a long list of what false teachers did that he did not do, in presenting the Gospel. His message did not spring from “envy or impurity (uncleanness) or with deception.” He did not speak just “to please” others and give them what they wanted to hear, or to “flatter” them or to “seek glory from” them and not “with a pretext for greed” and personal gain. He simply wanted to ”please God, Who tests the hearts of all.”

Paul knew well his owns unbelief and sin against God in earlier times. Only by the grace of God was his life turned around and he “was judged faithful” through Christ. See 1 Timothy 1:12-17. His goal now was simply to love and serve God and share His good news, as he was doing in Thessalonica and wherever he went, by God’s power and grace (1 Thess. 2:3-6).

Paul went on to explain that he could have expected help and support from the people in Thessalonica, as an “apostle." He chose instead to work (likely in his earlier “vocation” as a tent maker) and support himself in that way, so as not to be a “burden” on the Thessalonians. He and the others worked “night and day” at their jobs, while still “proclaiming the Gospel of God.” He and the others truly cared about the people they were serving, and the people became “very dear” to them (1 Thess. 2:6-9).

Paul also used the picture image of being like “a gentle nursing mother who takes care of her children, in love” and yet also being like “a father with his children, exhorting and encouraging and calling them to walk in a manner worthy of God, Who had now called them into His own Kingdom and glory" as they were brought to faith. In Lutheran terms, Paul laid down the Law, when needed, but also gave them the Gospel of God’s love and grace and forgiveness and hope. Paul and the others sought to do all this with as much good and righteous conduct as they could, too (1 Thess. 2:7-8, 10-12).

Paul went on to make two more very important points. He was especially grateful that the Thessalonian believers had heard and accepted the words of Paul, “not as the words of men,” but as they really are, the very “Word of God” (1 Thess. 2:13). That means that all of the Old Testament and New Testament, all of the Bible, including this letter of Paul that we are studying, is the Word of God. (See, for example, also, 2 Timothy 3:14-17.) The Bible does not just contain God’s Word, and then we have to try to figure out what is true or not or what we like or not. All of it is inspired, breathed out by God, and all of it is His Word, to be heard and trusted by us.

Paul also added one more very important point about the Word of God. The Word of God is at work in us who believe (1 Thess. 2:13). It is not just ordinary words, but the Holy Spirit is at work in us through that Word,  whenever we read or hear the Word. Read again what Paul said in 1 Thess. 1:5, in what we heard last week. Look at Ephesians 6:17. “The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.” See also 1 Corinthians 2:12-13. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in Words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” The Word of God is effective and can accomplish what God wants, when we use it.

This does not mean that understanding the Word is always easy. See 2 Peter 3:16, where Peter says that there are some things in Paul’s writings that are “hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people can twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.” That is why it is important to pray and ask for the Spirit’s wisdom, as we study, and let Scripture interpret Scripture for us, and be willing to ask questions, if we do not understand, and look at other good resources to help us, as study Bibles do.

Paul adds, in 1 Thess. 2:14, that through the powerful Word of God, the Holy Spirit has also made the believers in Thessalonica “imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea.” They by faith in the Word are truly “brothers” in Christ and members of the one Holy Christian Church, with all the promises of God.

That also means that they will have some suffering and trouble just for being Christians, as others in the early Christian church and even our Lord Jesus had suffering. In the early days, much of that came from Jews who rejected Jesus and His Word and claims to be Lord and Savior. See 2 Timothy 3:12-13 and 1 Corinthians 2:8, for example.

Paul is telling the Thessalonians not to be surprised that following Jesus and His Word might bring even more persecution and other challenges. If Jewish people helped kill Old Testament prophets and Jesus Himself and drove away Paul and others from city after city, then who knows what else might happen. Most sadly, Paul said that opponents of Jesus were really opposing “all mankind” because they did not want the good new of God’s love to get also to non-Jews (Gentiles) so that they also could be saved through faith in Jesus, or to get to their own fellow Jews! This was a tragic, sinful situation, and God’s wrath would eventually come upon Jews and the Jewish nation, if they kept rejecting the Jewish Savior, Jesus, Paul concluded. (1 Thess. 2:14-16. See also passages like Mark 13:1-2, and 14-18, and Romans 9:30-10:4.) But there is still hope for all, in listening to Jesus and His Word.

Sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost - August 29, 2021

Sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9

Ephesians 6:10-20

Mark 7:14-23

Sermon originally delivered September 2, 2012

Preparing for Worship - August 29, 2021

Moses has just been given a glimpse of the Promised Land to which he had been leading the people of Israel for forty years. He will die before Joshua will lead them into the land; but his work, now, is to prepare Joshua and the people and call them to be faithful to the Lord and His Word and will, as they live in the land that the Lord is giving them. The Old Testament lesson, Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9, summarizes the message of God, delivered through Moses. The people are to listen and follow the Word of God and not add to or subtract from it, or forget it. They are to teach it to their children and future generations. This Word will give them the “wisdom and understanding” that they need and enable them to be a witness to the nations around them, too, of the One True God.

The Psalm is Psalm 119:129-136, part of the longest psalm in the Old Testament, celebrating the greatness of God’s Word. His Word gives “light and understanding” as it is “unfolded” and listened to. The Law “keeps steady our steps” and the Gospel shows God’s gracious redeeming work for us, as His “face shines upon His servants who trust His “promise.”

Jesus reminds us, though, of the difficulty of following God and His will, in the Gospel lesson, Mark 7:14-23. We have a sinful nature, and out of our sinful hearts come many “evil things” that “defile a person.” The problem is not what we eat, but what we are. We need forgiveness and new life and hope that will not come from us and our efforts.

The Epistle lesson, Ephesians 6:10-20, points us away from ourselves and to our Lord and His “strength and might” and the spiritual gifts He provides for us: “truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, (the sword of the Spirit Who fights with and for us), and prayer.” These are pictured as “armor” that will help and protect us, defensively and offensively, as we are battling not only our old sinful nature, but the “spiritual forces of evil” that are more than “flesh and blood.”

Much of the “armor” we need is described in the Old Testament as what God used and uses as the Lord, for our sake, and what His promised Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, our Lord Jesus would use to bring salvation to us. In Him and His power, we can stand firm in faith, even in “evil days.” Paul needed this power from God, too, as he asked the Ephesians to pray for him to be able to speak boldly about his Lord, even while in prison “in chains.” We need and have that power, too, in Christ and His Word.

Bible Study on 1 Thessalonians - Part 2 1 Thessalonians1:1-10

We began this portion of our study with prayer and then looked at 1 Thessalonians 1:1. The Apostle Paul is the author of this letter, but Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy are also mentioned, as they had helped with the founding of the church in Thessalonica to which Paul writes.

You can find more information about Silvanus in Acts 15:22-23, 30-32, 40-41. He was a Jew who became a Christian and then became an important leader in the early Christian church, telling others of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, and then helping Paul and Peter and others. From what we read in 1 Peter 5:12, Silvanus had written down what Peter dictated to him in 1 Peter. See also 2 Thessalonians 3:17, where Paul says he wrote the “greeting” with “his own hand.” This may indicate that Silvanus or someone else may have written down what Paul dictated to him in that letter, too, except for Paul’s signature of its genuineness. The Lord God was behind and guiding the writing of every part of the Scriptures, though, so that we have exactly what God wanted us to hear - in 1 Thessalonians, too.

You can also read more of Timothy and his background in Acts 16:1-5. Timothy had a Jewish mother but a Greek father. He had come to faith through the ministry of Paul (1 Corinthians 4:17, 1 Timothy 1:2) and he then served as a pastor with Paul.

Paul wrote to the church, the gathering of believers, in Thessalonica, who were there in the name of God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 5,6). This is how the one true Triune God is often presented in the New Testament. There is no neat description of God - just God at work through His Word to bring people to faith in Jesus and to strengthen them in that faith and life.

Do think about the meaning and significance of every word used in these Scriptures. God is our heavenly “Father,” the Father and Creator of all things. We may not always have an earthly father with us, but we have a heavenly Father. God the Son is also “Lord” - the special name for God in the Old Testament. God the Son came into this world to become the promised Messiah (the Christ, the Anointed One of God), Jesus, (the Savior), true man and the son of Mary (1 Thess. 1:1). The Spirit is also God, “Holy” and coming with “power” and “joy” (1 Thess. 1:5,6).

Paul then wishes for the church at Thessalonica what God does bring to them (and to us, still today) - “Grace.” Grace is the gift, the undeserved and unearned love and favor that come to people through Jesus and what He has done for them and the whole world by His saving work. No one can earn and no one deserves God’s grace. Receiving that grace also brings “Peace” - peace with God, in spite of our sins, and greater peace with one another, as well.

Paul then gives thanks to God for every single person in the church at Thessalonica. Paul does not thank the church, because he knows the churches are the creation of God; but he thanks God for all, because Christ died for all, and everyone is important to Him. Paul also prays for the church regularly, again and again. He cannot pray for everyone all the time, because he is not God; but God does know us by name and Jesus is praying for us from heaven (1 Thess. 1:2, Romans 8:34). How often do you pray for your church and your fellow believers?

Paul goes on to remember before God in prayer the “faith” and “love” and “hope” of the believers in Thessalonica. These are all gifts and fruit of God’s Holy Spirit, as people are connected to our Lord Jesus Christ. It all begins as people are brought to faith in Christ and are turned away “from idols” and turned to "the living and true God." That faith in Jesus is living and active in believers and produces “works” and “labors of love” in them, where they “serve” the Lord and one another. They also have “hope” about themselves and their future and “wait” in hope because of what Jesus did, dying for them and rising from the dead and promising to return from heaven for them. All this helps them to be “steadfast” in faith even in times of trial and trouble. See how that faith and love and hope are described in the believers in 1 Thess. 1:3 and repeated again, using different words, in verses 9-10.

All this is evidence that these believers in Thessalonica are “brothers” in the faith, related to each other as the family of God, “loved by God,” and “chosen,” selected and elected by God Himself to be His believing people (1 Thess. 1:4). (The word “brothers” is used 28 times in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, usually describing this family of all believers in Christ.)

All this happens because the Word of the Gospel is not just ordinary speech, but the very Word of God, in which the Holy Spirit works with power and conviction. God not only calls people to faith through the Word, but also enables and empowers them to come to faith, by His grace, through that same Word of Good News in Jesus and the Word connected with water in baptism (1 Thess. 1:5, Ephesians 5:25-27). See the difference between mere talk and words, which Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 4:20, and his preaching “Jesus and Him crucified” in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, by “the Spirit and power” of God. It is not smooth talk or lofty human wisdom by a powerful speaker, but the power of God’s own Word and promises at work.

As a result of God’s work and power, even though they “received that Word in a time of “much affliction” (the trouble they received from Jews who rejected Jesus and His teachings, as we heard in the Introduction last week) the believers in Thessalonica received the Word “with the joy of the Holy Spirit” and began to “imitate” the faith of Paul and Silvanus and Timothy and what the Lord wished for them. Over time, word about their faith spread to others and “went forth everywhere” as another witness to and “example” of the power of God in Christ. It even went to the Roman province of Achaia, in the southern part of Greece, where Athens and Corinth were located, and from where Paul was now writing this letter of encouragement to them (1 Thess. 1:6-9).

What Paul describes was truly a witness to God’s grace and peace in Christ and the power of His Word and the “steadfastness of hope” for the believers at Thessalonica and for us still today, even in difficult times. Read, in closing, these promises of God also for us who are believers in Christ, in Romans 8:18-26 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and Romans 5:1-5. Next week, we will also begin to hear more of the ultimate  deliverance that Jesus brings to the believers at Thessalonica and to us, in His return from heaven (1 Thess. 1:10 and verses in the chapters that follow in this letter of Paul).

Sermon for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost - August 22, 2021

Sermon for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, based on:

Isaiah 29:11-19

Ephesians 5:22-33

Mark 7:1-13

Sermon originally delivered August 26, 2012