He is still risen!

He is still risen, indeed! Alleluia!

This weekend Pastor Troup is preaching on the Gospel text from Luke. Luke gives us one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances that highlights the physical nature of Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus was no mere spirit. He didn’t come back half dead or something. Instead, he bodily rose from the grave. (Here’s a great apologetics discussion on the validity of the resurrection)

The comfort of this news is that as he has been raised (physically), so we will be raised (physically). Paul tells us in Romans 6 that we have been buried with Christ in the waters of baptism and now we walk in that new life given to us as we look forward to being raised as Christ has been raised when he returns on the last day. We don’t need to fear death. Death has lost its sting. He has already given us eternal life by grace through faith and now we look forward to seeing that eternal life in its physical fullness in the resurrection.

Dear saints, Christ is still with you. He comes to you in His Word and Sacrament each weekend and he hears your prayers every moment of the day as he reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen!

If you have questions, want to chat, or anything, please just let me know.

Have a great day and God bless!

In Christ,
Pastor Merritt

Take a few minutes to look through the Service folder. Read the Psalm and prayers, take a glance through the readings and meditate on the words of the hymns we are singing this weekend.

You can also dig deeper into the liturgy with Issues, Etc.

Lectionary Summary for the weekend:

The Preaching of Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins Makes Us Pure

The risen Lord Jesus taught His disciples “that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead” and “that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:46–47). Therefore, St. Peter preaches repentance and forgiveness to the people of Jerusalem. As he proclaims that Jesus fulfilled all that “God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets” (Acts 3:18), he also convicts the people of their sin, because they “delivered over and denied” this Lord Jesus and “killed the Author of life.” Yet God “glorified his servant Jesus” and raised Him from the dead (Acts 3:13–15). St. Peter calls the people to repent, so that their “sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19–20). Through this forgiveness of sins and by faith in this forgiveness, the Father shows His love for us in order that “we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). Thus, we hope in Him and are made pure even “as he is pure,” because “he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:3, 5).

If you had to miss last week’s service, you can catch up now…

 

Published by pastordemski