Monthly Archives: May 2009

Sermon for Exaudi

  Today is an in-between Sunday. The Ascension was this past Thursday, and Pentecost is next Sunday. Jesus left the disciples, and the Spirit had not yet come. They were left to themselves. What happens when you are left to … Continue reading

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More Luther on how the Holy Spirit comforts

Again from Luther’s House Postil (vol. 2, p147): In what way, then, does the Holy Spirit comfort? The Lord says, He will witness of me. In other words, my dear child, the devil will intimidate and frighten you, the world … Continue reading

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Luther on Exaudi: Why Christ sends the Comforter

Pastor Juhl has a good quotation from Luther on Exaudi here. The following is the preceding paragraph from his quotation, taken from Luther’s House Postils, vol. 2, p145: The world, [Christ] says, will throttle you as heretics. Then your conscience … Continue reading

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Our Suffering Savior, Part V: Five Lenten Sermons on Isaiah 53

So how does Christ, the victorious One, give us the fruits of His death? Our Passion reading drops two hints: blood and water. After Jesus died, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and out came blood and water. If you’ve seen the DVD, “The Passion of the Christ,” I hope you noticed how the soldier who pierced Jesus’ side was then sprayed and covered with the water and blood flowing from Jesus’ body. Indeed, he is nearly drowned in Jesus’ water and blood! This soldier is an image of you and me as we receive the blood and water. The water that flowed from Jesus’ side has pooled in baptismal fonts. Our sins are drowned in that baptismal water, killing the Old Adam and giving us clean hands and a pure heart. The blood that flowed from Jesus’ side has collected in the holy chalice, where it is given to you and me to drink in the Lord’s Supper. We receive the fruits of His passion as the spoils of forgiveness and eternal salvation are given to us. Blood and water; baptism and the Lord’s Supper – these are the means by which Jesus gives us the fruits of His blessed cross. Continue reading

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Our Suffering Savior, Part IV: Five Lenten Sermons on Isaiah 53

Silence. It’s nearly non-existent in our day, especially in the big city. Those squeaky breaks on the MTA busses; the constant hum of construction equipment; the perpetual shouting we do at one another–these are constant reminders of how we have filled our lives with noise and have forgotten about the value of silence. But silence was so important to Jesus’ Passion that it is mentioned in the Suffering Servant passage: “And like a ewe that is silent before her shearers, so He did not open His mouth.” Tonight, then, we see how the silence of our Suffering Savior shapes the silence of our Lenten piety and our journey from death to life. Continue reading

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