Greetings in Christ,

This weekend is the second weekend in our series on the “I am” statements of Jesus. Last weekend Pastor Troup preached on the phrase “I AM” and why it’s so important.

This weekend was supposed to be. Yes, you read that right…supposed to be…about Jesus’ statement “I am the door….” Unfortunately, I made an error in my preparations, so my sermon will be on Jesus’ statement in John 6 about being the bread of life. So I apologize because all of the hymnody and such is revolving around the door statement, but I’ll be preaching about a different “I am.” Pastor Troup will, instead, preach on Jesus as the door to life next weekend. So I apologize again for the thematic discontinuity that you’ll experience this weekend. It’s all about Jesus but it won’t have the same interconnectedness we usually strive to create.

In preparation for service this week, I encourage you to take a look at a few passages of Scripture.

Those passages will help set the stage for our sermon this weekend.

As you prepare for the Divine Service this weekend, you can take a look at the Service Folder to find the readings, prayers, and other parts of the service that will help to guide your reflection and prayer for the upcoming week.

While we’re in a sermon series rather than following all of the liturgical nuances of the readings this weekend, you can dig into all of those with this segment from Issues, Etc.

Here’s the Lectionary Summary for the upcoming weekend that ties the themes of the weekend together:

The Ministers of Christ Are Sent with His Authority to Forgive Sins and Give Life

The prophet Ezekiel was raised up by the Spirit of the Lord and sent to speak an unpopular Word to the rebellious house of Israel. As a prophet, he was not to speak his own word, but to preach the Law and the Gospel: “Thus says the Lord God,” whether the people “hear or refuse to hear” (Ezek. 2:4–5). So, too, in the footsteps of the prophets before Him, the Lord Jesus “went about among the villages teaching” (Mark 6:6). In His hometown, as elsewhere, “many who heard him were astonished,” marveling at His wisdom and at the “mighty works done by his hands,” and yet “they took offense at him” (Mark 6:2–3). The offense culminates in His cross, which is, ironically, the heart and center of His “authority over the unclean spirits” (Mark 6:7). It is by that authority of His cross that those He sends preach repentance, “cast out many demons” and heal the sick (Mark 6:12–13). Thus, the apostle Paul boasts in the cross of Christ and in his own weaknesses, knowing that God’s grace is sufficient and that the power of Christ “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8–9).

If you weren’t able to join us for service last week, you can catch up now.

Published by pastordemski