Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church - Olive Branch, MS

Set Apart to Serve Sunday 

 

New Testament: Acts 15:12-22a
Psalm 133 (antiphon: v. 1)
Epistle: James 1:1-12
Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58

St. James of Jerusalem, Brother of Jesus and Martyr
"A prophet is not without honor except in His hometown and in His own household" (Matt. 13:58). James the Just was once offended at Jesus' wisdom and mighty works. But He came to faith following His resurrection, when Jesus appeared to Him (1 Cor. 15:7). He then became a leader of the early Church in Jerusalem, present at the council recorded in Acts 15. There James recognized from the prophets that Jesus was the Lord known from of old and returned to rebuild David's fallen tent and restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord and all the Gentiles who are called by My Name (Acts 15:16-18). "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2-3). Josephus and other historians record that James was martyred by stoning in the 60s AD. "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him" (v. 12).

Zephaniah 

The World of the Reformation 

Practical Issues of the Lord’s Supper and the Table of Duties 

Introit: Ps. 78:1-3, 4b; antiphon: Ps. 35:3b; 34:17a, 6b; 48:14a
Gradual: Ps. 141:1-2
Old Testament: Gen. 28:10-17
Psalm 84 (antiphon: v. 8)
Epistle: Eph. 4:22-28
ProperVerse: Ps. 98:1a
Gospel: Matt. 9:1-8

Jesus' Incarnation Secures for Us Life, Forgiveness, and Healing
The Lord does not require us to ascend to Him; in mercy He descends to us (Gen. 28:10-17). The ladder in Jacob's dream was not for climbing; it was the means by which the Lord came to bless Jacob. This event finds its fulfillment in Christ who descended from His throne to save and bless us. By His incarnation He is the eternal bridge between heaven and earth. "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 9:1-8). The Lord was present in the flesh to absolve the paralytic. Jesus also healed and restored this man's body. "For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation" (Small Catechism). The Lord still has power on earth to forgive sins. In holy absolution He raises up the new man (Eph. 4:22-28) and bestows the healing medicine which will bring about our resurrection on the Last Day. Thus we say with Jacob, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!" (Gen. 28:17)

Finishing Habakkuk and starting Zephaniah 

Timeline of the reformation

Closed Communion and practical issues in the Lord’s Supper

Introit: Ps. 122:1, 6, 8-9; antiphon: Eccl. 36:16-17a
Gradual: Ps. 122:1, 7
Old Testament: Deut. 10:12-21
Psalm 34:8-22 (antiphon: v. 19)
Epistle: 1 Cor. 1:(1-3) 4-9
ProperVerse: Ps. 117:1
Gospel: Matt. 22:34-46

In Life and Death, Christ Fulfills the Law of God
The Pharisees ask a Law question. Jesus asks a Gospel question. The Pharisees seek to test Jesus in His own words. Jesus seeks to "test" them in the saving reality of who He is as the Messiah (Matt. 22:34-46). The Law requires you to "fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul" and to "love the sojouner" (Deut. 10:12-21). Failure to keep the Law perfectly brings judgment. On the other hand, the Gospel brings the grace of God given by Jesus Christ, that you may be blameless in the day of His return (1 Cor. 1:1-9). Jesus is David's Son yet David's Lord, true God and true man. He is Love incarnate who fulfilled all the demands of God's Law on our behalf, that we might be saved from the Law's condemnation and sanctified in the Gospel's forgiveness. Thereby we see that "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:9).

key passages from Habakkuk