Oculi Sunday (Lent 3)| Luke 11:14-28| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 12, 2023 The unbelievers blaspheme Jesus for doing a good work of casting out a demon, so that a poor mute man can speak, saying that He casts out demons by Beelzebub the prince of demons. Jesus immediately points out the…
Reminiscere Sunday (Lent 2)| Genesis 32:22-32 (Matthew 15:21-28)| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church The story of Jacob wrestling God and the Canaanite woman pleading with Jesus are parallel stories. They seem disturbing to us, because it’s hard to understand why God can be so mean! Yet, if you are a Christian, you are…
Invocavit Sunday (Lent 1)| Matthew 4:1-11| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 26, 2023 When God commanded Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, He sent him to Pharoah saying, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son, and I say to you, “Let my son go that…
Sexagesima| Luke 8:4-15| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 12, 2023 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that…
Quinquagesima 2019| Luke 18:31-43| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 3, 2019 Natural science seeks to determine how the world and universe around us work through observation and experimentation. The natural scientist uses his senses to observe and test nature in order to come to conclusions. When I was a young student my…
Septuagesima| Matthew 20:1-16| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 5, 2023 Jesus’ parable for this Sunday teaches us of the first conflict in the Christian Church. As you know, God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Israel out of all the people in the world to make for Himself a special nation, which would be…
Matthew 17:1-9| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| January 29, 2023 When we consider the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, that magnificent moment when His divine nature was not hidden and His three closest disciples witnessed Him in all His splendor as He spoke with Moses and Elijah, and God the Father declared…
Epiphany 3| 2 Kings 5:1-14| Matthew 8:1-13| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| January 22, 2023 Throughout the Bible, God’s people are engaged in military conflicts with other nations. The land given to them by God is frequently invaded by pagan nations. Scripture is filled with tales of heroes of the faith conquering enemies…
Epiphany 2| John 2:1-11| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| January 15, 2023 “This, the first of His signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him.” John 2:11 When Jesus turned water into wine, He manifested His glory, that is, His divine glory. That means, that…
Epiphany 2023 (Observed)| Matthew 2:1-12| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| January 8, 2023 The Epiphany story of the wise men, or literally translated magi visiting Jesus is filled with the unexpected. It is unexpected that Gentiles, foreigners from the east would come to Jerusalem seeking to worship the “King of the Jews.” It…