Oculi Sunday (Lent 3)| Luke 11:14-28| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 7, 2021 There has been a debate within the Lutheran Church concerning whether the Baptismal rite should include a rite of exorcism or not. An exorcism is when the minister casts a demon or Satan out of a possessed person, as Jesus did in our…
Reminiscere Sunday (Lent 2)| Genesis 32:22-32| Pastor James Preus| February 28, 2021 In our Old Testament lesson, we meet Jacob at the climax of his struggle with God and men. In order to understand the significance of this wrestling match, we must go back a few chapters to when Jacob first fled his family home. Jacob…
Invocabit (Lent 1)| Genesis 3:15| Matthew 4:1-11|Pastor James Preus| February 21, 2021 “The Lord God said to the serpent, … ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise his heel.’” (Genesis 3:15) When Adam sinned, he plunged the entire human race…
Advent 4| Pastor James Preus| John 1:19-28| December 20, 2020 John the Baptist confesses and, in his confession, he teaches us how to confess. To confess means to speak the same. John repeats back the same message that God gives him to speak. And we, by repeating the words of John the Baptist, confess…
Quinquagesima| 1 Corinthians 13|Pastor James Preus| February 14, 2021 “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” How can St. Paul say such a thing about faith? Jesus himself is the one who said that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you…
Advent 3| Matthew 11:2-10 | Rev. James Preus| 2020 “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me?” Why would someone be offended by Jesus? Indeed, Jesus is the most offensive man in human history. He was crucified, because he was so offensive. And his Gospel is rejected, maligned, and perverted by many around…
Advent 2 | Luke 21:25-36| Pastor James Preus Trinity Lutheran Church| December 13, 2020 “Now when you see these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Our Lord Jesus tells us that there are appointed signs for the coming of the Son of Man in glory. For those…
Advent 1| Matthew 21:1-11| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| November 29, 2020 “O Lord, how shall I meet You, How welcome You aright?” What a good question! How can we welcome the Lord Almighty? The crowds in Jerusalem from our Gospel lesson give us a wonderful example. They took off their cloaks and cut down branches from…
Sexagesim|Luke 8:4-15|Rev. James Preus|February 7, 2021 When we consider these four types of earth into which the seed is sown: the path on which the seed is trampled and eaten by birds; the rocks where the seed dries out for lack of moisture; the thorns, which choke out the sprouting plant; and finally, the…
Christmas 2 | January 3, 2021 | Rev. James Preus | Matthew 2:13-23 “We resist evil with the ministry of Word and sword, and yet, the evils which cannot be averted we bear to our great advantage but to their detriment and destruction.”, wrote Martin Luther in meditation on our Gospel lesson. And indeed, our Gospel…