Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church - Olive Branch, MS

November 20, 2022 - Last Sunday of the Church Year Sermon

Introit: Ps. 39:4-5, 7-8; antiphon: Isaiah 35:10
Gradual: Ps. 45:14-15
Old Testament: Is. 65:17-25
Psalm 149 (antiphon: v. 2)
Epistle: 1 Thess. 5:1-11 
ProperVerse: Rev. 21:2
Gospel: Matt. 25:1-13

By Faith We Are Prepared for Christ's Return
"The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:1-11). The arrival of the bridegroom will be sudden and unexpected. Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins. "For you know neither the day nor the hour" when the Son of Man is to return. (Matt. 25:1-13). The lamps are the Word of Christ. The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure. The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. The flame of faith endures to the end. By God's grace they are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Is. 65:17-25).

November 20, 2022 - Bible Study - Rehoboam Continued

Rehoboam in Judah 

November 16, 2022 - Lutheranism 101 - Baptism (Final Part)

Finishing up our study of Baptism 

November 13, 2022 - Trinity 22 Sermon

Introit: Ps. 130:1-2, 7-8; antiphon: Ps. 130:3-4
Gradual: Ps. 133:1, 3b
Old Testament: Micah 6:6-8
Psalm 116:12-19 (antiphon: v. 13)
Epistle: Phil. 1:3-11
ProperVerse: Ps. 147:3
Gospel: Matt. 18:21-35

Walking humbly with our God and forgiving one another
With what shall we come before the Lord (Micah 6:6) who forgives all our sins, and how often shall our fellow Christians sin against us and we forgive them (Matt. 18:21)? Our gracious God on high does not need our "burnt offerings" or "thousands of rams" (Micah 6:6-7), which we could legitimately offer in thanksgiving. He is the Savior who gave His only-begotten Son for our transgression. He offers the fruit of His body, once hanging dead on a cross but now living and giving life in His holy Meal, for the sin of our souls (Micah 6:7). Because He releases us from our enormous debt of sin against Him, we need not imprison our fellow sinners with our lack of love and refusal of forgiveness (Matt. 18:24, 27, 30). As partakers of His grace, we yearn for one another "with the affection of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:8). As forgiven sinners, "filled with the fruit of Christ's righteousness," our "love may abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment" (Phil. 1:11, 9), for He leads us "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with [our] God" (Micah 6:8).

November 13, 2022 - Bible Study - Rehoboam

1 Kings 12-14; 2 Chronicles 10-12

November 9, 2022 - Lutheranism 101 - Baptism and the Bible Continued

Baptism and Scripture Alone 

November 6, 2022 - All Saints Sermon

First Reading: Revelation 7:(2-8) 9-17
Psalm 149 (antiphon: v. 4)
Epistle: 1 John 3:1-3
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
Saints Are Blessed in the Eternal Presence of Christ

"A great multitude from all tribes and peoples and languages," cry out "salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne" (Rev. 7:9-17). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we too, "shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-3). Joined with the throng of angels and a myriad of saints, we shall "serve him day and night in his temple" (Rev. 7:9-17). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits, and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, and the persecuted are all blessed and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1-12).

November 6, 2022 - Bible Study - Reformation Part 2

Where we’re from and why it matters

November 2, 2022 - Lutheranism 101 - Baptism in the Bible

Baptism in the Bible

October 30, 2022 - Reformation Sermon

First Reading: Revelation 14:6-7
Psalm 46 (antiphon: v. 7)
Epistle: Romans 3:19-28
 Gospel: John 8:31-36 or
     Matthew 11:12-19\r
The Son of God Has Set Us Free from Sin and Death by His Grace
"Wisdom is justified by her deeds" (Matt. 11:19), and the true Wisdom of God, Christ Jesus the incarnate Son, justifies us by His deeds. He prepares His way by the preaching of repentance, but He has suffered the violence of the Law and voluntarily handed Himself over to violent men, that we might eat and drink with Him in His Kingdom and "remain in the house forever" (John 8:35).  For He is "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt. 11:19), and He has rescued us by His grace from the slavery of sin and death. By the proclamation of His eternal Gospel "to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people" (Rev. 14:6), "the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law" (Rom. 3:21), "that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26). And by hearing the Gospel of Christ Jesus, "whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith" (Rom. 3:25), "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).