The Child in the manger, born of the Virgin Mary, is the very Word of God, the only-begotten Son of the Father, "whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world" (Heb. 1:2). As "all things were made through Him" (John 1:3), so are all things redeemed and made new in Him.
In His body of flesh and blood, we behold "the radiance of the glory of God" (Heb 1:3), "glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He dwells among us in peace that we might have life and light and salvation in Him. For by His Word of the Gospel, we are born again as the children of God, bearing His name and sharing His eternal life.
Hail, O ever blessed morn!
Hail, redemption’s happy dawn!
Sing through all Jerusalem:
Christ is born in Bethlehem!
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Christmas
Heaven and earth rejoice because the glory of the Triune God is manifested in the human birth of "our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). In Him, the Father's grace, mercy and peace rest upon the world. The silence of death is broken by this "good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10).
And all we who have gone astray like lost sheep, who have "walked in the darkness" of doubt and fear and sinful unbelief, behold "a great light" in the birth of Christ (Is. 9:2). In Him "the grace of God has appeared" (Titus 2:11). For this Child of Mary who is born for us, this dear Son of God who is given to us, will bear the burden of our sin and death in His own body on the cross. He thereby establishes a government of peace which shall have no end.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
And all we who have gone astray like lost sheep, who have "walked in the darkness" of doubt and fear and sinful unbelief, behold "a great light" in the birth of Christ (Is. 9:2). In Him "the grace of God has appeared" (Titus 2:11). For this Child of Mary who is born for us, this dear Son of God who is given to us, will bear the burden of our sin and death in His own body on the cross. He thereby establishes a government of peace which shall have no end.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Advent 4
The Fourth Sunday in Advent turns our attention toward the Nativity of Our Lord. With the Blessed Virgin Mary we await the coming of the Christ, her Son, conceived in her womb by the Word and Spirit of God.
This fulfillment of the sign once given to the House of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It is the way and means by which the Lord our God is “Immanuel,” God-with-us in the flesh. He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; wherefore He is called “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
As St. Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24), we also live by faith in this Holy Gospel.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
This fulfillment of the sign once given to the House of David, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Is. 7:14), is now given to us in the Gospel. It is the way and means by which the Lord our God is “Immanuel,” God-with-us in the flesh. He comes in this way to save us with His own flesh and blood; wherefore He is called “Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
As St. Joseph received this sign in faith and immediately “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him” (Matt. 1:24), we also live by faith in this Holy Gospel.
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Advent 3
Sometimes life requires the astonishing patience of Job. Like him, we are to rejoice in the midst of affliction, be grounded in repentance under the cross of Christ, hope relentlessly in His resurrection, that we might see “how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (James 5:11). In the promise of the Gospel, therefore, “be patient” and “establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:7, 8).
Like St. John, the Baptizer, whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you. For as “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,” so is the good news of Jesus preached to you, also (Matt. 11:5).
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Like St. John, the Baptizer, whatever your own kind of prison or suffering may be, call upon Jesus and receive the strength of His Word from those He sends to you. For as “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up,” so is the good news of Jesus preached to you, also (Matt. 11:5).
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Advent 2
“John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent’” (Matt. 3:1–2). His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins prepared people for the coming of Christ into the world. His vital ministry continues in preaching Law and Gospel. The Son of God has come in the flesh, “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots” (Is. 11:1), and continues to bear the fruits of righteousness.
His good tree of the cross is “a signal for the peoples” (Is. 11:10), by which He calls the nations to repentance. “With the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips” (Is. 11:4), He slays the wicked and brings the dead to life. So also the “root of Jesse,” Jesus, comes to us, that “we might have hope” and be filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:4, 13).
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
His good tree of the cross is “a signal for the peoples” (Is. 11:10), by which He calls the nations to repentance. “With the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips” (Is. 11:4), He slays the wicked and brings the dead to life. So also the “root of Jesse,” Jesus, comes to us, that “we might have hope” and be filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:4, 13).
These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.
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