tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17961251247611054542023-06-20T07:54:00.671-06:00Seeds of Faith by St. Paul's Lutheran ChurchThese Seeds of Faith are sown on KNEB radio, Scottsbluff, Nebraska by St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
This blog will also include other theological ramblings by her Pastor, Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-85926367598829928282011-02-24T11:59:00.000-07:002011-02-24T11:59:12.596-07:00Epiphany 8Listen Here:<br />
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Whatever good things we have, we have received them from the Lord. He freely provides all that we need for this body and life, and especially for our body and soul to life everlasting. <br />
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Therefore, Jesus says, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on” (Matt. 6:25). As our heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the field, much more will He feed and clothe us. <br />
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Though we may be faithless and forgetful yet the Lord remains faithful, and He “will not forget you” (Is. 49:15). As He has comforted His people in the past, He also has compassion on us in all our afflictions. He favors us and helps us in the day of salvation, which has appeared in the flesh and blood of Christ. <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-34615105913448034882011-02-18T11:26:00.000-07:002011-02-18T11:26:11.010-07:00Epiphany 7Listen Here:<br />
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God reveals His perfect holiness in compassion as “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45). By His grace in Jesus Christ we are holy just as He is holy (Lev. 19:2) and we are “God's temple” in whom “God's Spirit dwells” (1 Cor. 3:16). This gift of holiness begins with fearing, loving, and trusting God above all things and leads us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Lev. 19:18). <br />
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Though we were His enemies, our Lord Jesus Christ has loved us and forgiven us. Nourished and sustained by His holy body and blood under the bread and wine of His holy Supper, we “shall be holy” (Lev. 19:2) even as the Lord our God is holy. <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-25761039647735593542011-02-17T21:02:00.000-07:002011-02-17T21:02:34.201-07:00Epiphany 6Listen Here:<br />
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The God who reveals Himself in His incarnate Son promises life and blessing to all who obey His commandments. However, we are “people of the flesh” and “infants in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1) among whom “there is jealousy and strife” (1 Cor. 3:3). <br />
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Jesus must teach us against the human ways of anger, adultery, divorce, and false witness (Matt. 5:21-37), because all who live in these ways “shall surely perish” (Deut. 30:18). On the cross He died to forgive our sins and free us from the ways of curse and death. <br />
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Since Jesus Christ is our “life and length of days” (Deut. 30:20), we can be reconciled to our brother, live in chastity and marital faithfulness, and speak with honesty. He who serves from His cross also offers His gift of reconciliation at His altar, and we can be at peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-27801184256234264132011-02-08T15:53:00.000-07:002011-02-08T15:53:47.071-07:00Epiphany 5Listen Here:<br />
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Jesus warns that you have to be better than the most perfect person you know or “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20). Yet He also calls His imperfect people “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13, 14). That's because the Lord Jesus came not to abolish the Law, “but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17) in perfect faith and love. <br />
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Since He does and teaches all of God's commandments, He is “called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19). God manifests His “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” in “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2-4). Christ gives this perfect righteousness to His people and it leads them “to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house” (Is. 58:7)<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-52352584433869885022011-01-26T15:39:00.000-07:002011-01-26T15:39:49.198-07:00Epiphany 4<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="400" height="52" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="flashvars" value="audio_duration=DURATION&external_url=http://www.stpaulsbridgeport.org/seeds/Epiphany4music.mp3" /><param name="src" value="http://cdn.techknowl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/audio_player_standard_gray.swf" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400" height="52" src="http://cdn.techknowl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/audio_player_standard_gray.swf" wmode="transparent" flashvars="audio_duration=DURATION&external_url=http://www.stpaulsbridgeport.org/seeds/Epiphany4music.mp3"></embed></object><br />
Listen here:<br />
The Lord tells His people, “I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery” (Micah 6:4). By the sacrifice of His beloved Son He has redeemed us from our slavery of sin and death; He has forgiven our transgressions by the shedding of His blood. <br />
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We boast only in the Incarnate and Crucified Lord Jesus. He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24). He is our life and salvation, <br />
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Now He opens His mouth and teaches us His wisdom. By His Cross and Passion the kingdom of heaven is ours, we receive mercy and are satisfied, we see God, and we are called sons of God in Christ. <br />
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“Blessed are you,” therefore, on account of Christ (Matt. 5:11).<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-88745800045431292662011-01-20T11:11:00.006-07:002011-01-20T20:24:09.759-07:00Epiphany 3Listen here:<br />
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It can be one of the most heated battles in childhood games. To be the first to get that checker all the way across the table and get to cry out…. “King Me!” Your kingdom is at hand.<br />
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In Matthew 4:17 Jesus says, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This isn’t some childhood game of checkers where Jesus marched across a table and claimed an earthly crown. <br />
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Although the world was seeing some earthly consequences to the kingdom of God being at hand in Jesus. The deaf hear, the lepers cleansed, the blind see. <br />
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This is just a small glimpse at the true Kingdom of God. Jesus did march, not across a table but up a tree, to die to take away all sin. By doing so He opened up the eternal Kingdom of God to all believers where there is no more sickness and death.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-22640161361993412622011-01-13T11:14:00.001-07:002011-01-13T11:14:51.908-07:00Epiphany 2During the Civil War a company of Confederate irregulars known as the Bushwackers were arrested by Union soldiers. Because they were not in uniform, they were not recognized as prisoners of war but were sentenced to be shot. A courageous boy in the Union Army touched his commanding officers arm and pleaded, “I know one of the condemned men. He has a large family who needs him badly. Please let me take his place. My parents are dead and I have few friends. No one will miss me. Let me take his punishment.” Hesitant, the officer finally consented. His marker reads: “Sacred to the memory of Willy Lear. He took my place.”<br />
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Behold the Lamb of God, Jesus, who takes our punishment of eternal death onto himself so that we no longer must face the wrath of God, but rather have his good pleasure. He took my place.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-28039104401606066412011-01-10T21:38:00.003-07:002011-01-10T21:38:20.138-07:00The Baptism of Our LordThis is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Which one? The one standing in the muck of the Jordan River? The one who had water wash over his head by God’s servant, John? The one who the Spirit descended on in the form of a dove? Yes this one! The Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present there to attest to it!<br />
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Well, that’s nice Jesus, just go and dry off now and let us ponder more important things.<br />
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Woah! Put on the brakes for a moment. Let us not hurry too quickly past this seemingly small event in Jesus’ life. If the Father is well pleased with His Son, that means he is pleased with all those who are baptized into Jesus. You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-89862421103279210702011-01-06T13:48:00.001-07:002011-01-06T13:48:51.683-07:00The Epiphany of Our LordToday is the celebration of Epiphany*, that is, the coming of the Wise Men to see the infant Jesus. It was made clear to them that God had indeed brought about everything He had prophesied would take place. The Wise Men were shown the King of the World wrapped in diapers. God told it. They saw it with their eyes and their eyes of faith. It is certain. <br />
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We call these men wise, not because they had any greater knowledge than anyone else but rather because they knew to listen to God’s direction to see Jesus. Oh to be wise like the Wise Men who followed the light of the star. <br />
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We don’t need astronomical skills to be wise like the Wise Men. Simply put, open God’s Holy unerring Word. Its light will always point you to your Savior, Jesus.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.<br />
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*To make clear or certain by showing or displayingAllenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-82004079978547710912011-01-02T21:04:00.001-07:002011-01-02T21:04:39.224-07:00Christmas 2How quickly in the church year that we depart from the infant Jesus. We aren’t saved in Jesus’ infancy. The Lord Jesus "grew and became strong" (Luke 2:40); He "increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). As His body grew and developed, His mind also increased in knowledge and understanding. <br />
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As our brother in the flesh, Jesus lived by faith in the Word of His Father. Thus, He was taught by His parents, who took Him up "to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover" (Luke 2:41); and when He was of age, He gave attention to the Holy Scriptures in His Father's house (Luke 2:46, 49). Christ Jesus is still found in His Church, in "the Word of truth, the Gospel," by which we are adopted by His Father and sealed with His Spirit (Eph. 1:5, 13). <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-50751589195319818912010-12-29T20:24:00.002-07:002010-12-29T20:24:50.614-07:00Christmas 1The 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. <br />
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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.<br />
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Hail, O ever blessed morn!<br />
Hail, redemption’s happy dawn!<br />
Sing through all Jerusalem:<br />
Christ is born in Bethlehem!<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-60280518608847378752010-12-23T15:53:00.002-07:002010-12-23T15:53:10.344-07:00ChristmasHeaven 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). <br />
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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.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-61732896240974687842010-12-20T16:48:00.003-07:002010-12-20T16:48:39.313-07:00Advent 4The 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. <br />
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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). <br />
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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.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-81003821744588949282010-12-20T16:48:00.001-07:002010-12-20T16:48:13.829-07:00Advent 3Sometimes 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). <br />
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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). <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-56255763010759943762010-12-04T17:19:00.000-07:002010-12-04T17:19:14.528-07:00Advent 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. <br />
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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).<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-14502723084988348142010-11-29T15:37:00.001-07:002010-11-29T15:37:24.090-07:00Advent 1The Lord Jesus enters Jerusalem “humble, and mounted on a donkey,” riding on “a beast of burden” (Matt. 21:5), as He Himself bears the sins of the world in His body. Now He comes by the proclamation of the Gospel to save us from sin, death, the devil, and hell. <br />
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Therefore, we sing, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 21:9). By His Word, we “walk in the light of the Lord” (Is. 2:5). That is to live in love, which “does no wrong to a neighbor” (Rom. 13:10). We “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light”. <br />
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Hence, the entire Christian life is a time to wake and watch, “for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:42). We wait in hope for our Advent King.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-30470228006086922472010-11-27T11:23:00.002-07:002010-11-27T11:23:51.125-07:00Day of National ThanksgivingThe nation resounds with thanksgiving for the earth's bountiful harvest, crops of wheat and grains, all beneath the canopy of God's almighty care. But “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. It is this divine Word that penetrates the world with its Law and Gospel which proclaims Jesus as the sole source of life, health, and wholeness. <br />
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It is Jesus who heals lepers with His Word. Of the ten cleansed, only one expresses thanksgiving back to Jesus. But true gratitude proceeds from a heart sustained by faith. Jesus bids this one to “rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” So also, we are sent from the Divine Service, bolstered in our faith by the Word to be thankful in our circumstances of plenty and hunger, abundance and need.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-44793309617647366422010-11-23T09:36:00.001-07:002010-11-23T09:36:40.089-07:00Last Sunday in the Church YearJesus reigns in love among those who are baptized in His name. He says, “They shall be mine.” In the proclamation of His Son, God makes His justice clear defining “the distinction between the righteous and the wicked”. He truly is “the King”, who governs His Church with all authority in heaven and on earth. He has come into His Kingdom by His cross, and He graciously remembers us in Paradise. <br />
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Therefore, do not weep for Him, but with repentant faith “weep for yourselves and for your children”. Then the mountains and hills of Jerusalem, His holy Church, shall cover you with His righteousness and peace. For “All things were created through him and for him”, and “all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” bodily in Him, reconciling all things to Himself “by the blood of His cross”. <br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-12512018202979518052010-11-17T09:08:00.002-07:002010-11-17T09:08:06.610-07:00Proper 28The temperature is getting colder. The leaves are falling. Harvest is done or almost done. Wars and worldly strife. Broken families. Wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes that tear the world apart and take life. <br />
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What do all of these things have in common? They tell us a change is about to take place. Unfortunately the change isn’t as tame as fall turning into winter. But it is just as obvious. When we see all the pain, suffering, and death, Jesus says then we know that the Kingdom of God is near.<br />
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But for those who are in Christ, they need not fear all of the calamity. Jesus says, “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” His words of promise and salvation are for all who trust in Him. When you are in Him, eternity is yours.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-21678413980310693352010-11-10T09:19:00.002-07:002010-11-10T09:19:12.040-07:00All Saint's“A great multitude from all tribes and peoples and languages,” cry out “salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne”. Faith-filled saints from every place and time “shall see him as he is” and with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, 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.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-88125736786672880152010-11-01T09:55:00.004-06:002010-11-01T09:55:32.111-06:00All Saint's Day“Get’s out dried in stains, wine, and even blood,” says the commercial for cleaning products. Blood is something to be cleaned out, not cleaned with. But John writes in Revelation 7:<br />
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“They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.”<br />
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The blood of the Lamb, Jesus, is the greatest detergent of all. It cleanses every filthy stain of sin from our life. Jesus delivers that cleansing blood to us through water and word, bread and wine.<br />
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For this we rejoice for those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Jesus; who’s trust was in the true Christian faith and now rest from their labors in death. <br />
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But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;<br />
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;<br />
The King of Glory passes on His way.<br />
Alleluia!!<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-89604160644586848392010-11-01T09:55:00.002-06:002010-11-01T09:55:07.303-06:00ReformationWe are coming upon the celebration of the posting of 95 statements of debate on a door at a church in Germany some 490 years ago. Who could imagine that a German monk named Martin Luther would still have an impact today. Time magazine placed him in the top ten most influential people in the entire world! <br />
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But if it were really about a man named Luther, we would have forgotten about him long ago. The day labeled the Reformation is really about Jesus. <br />
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For 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”<br />
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By hearing this Gospel of Christ Jesus, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-26186905632858713622010-11-01T09:54:00.002-06:002010-11-01T09:54:34.364-06:00Proper 23Ten lepers cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”<br />
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Jesus says: "Go show yourselves to the priests." You only did that after the flesh quit rotting and was restored. Jesus speaks to them as if they are healed already. And in Him they are. <br />
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So they go and on the way they are healed! You’d think it would be easy to remember to turn around and give thanks, especially when you get what you ask for. But alas, even after their heartfelt cries for salvation, “mercy,” thanksgiving wasn’t on their mind.<br />
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Except for one heathen Samaritan. "Arise. Your faith has saved you." What Jesus does for the Samaritan, He does for us. “Arise!. Go your way. Your faith in Jesus has saved you.” For anyone who is in Christ is a new creation; the old has passed the new has come.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-27942296746902825052010-09-30T14:23:00.002-06:002010-09-30T14:23:34.446-06:00Proper 22Increase our faith! Is the call of the disciples. Forgive your neighbors. If he keeps doing things against you and he keeps admitting it, keep on forgiving him. <br />
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Don’t lead anyone astray with your actions. <br />
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Indeed! Increase our faith because surely I don’t have enough to do that.<br />
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And what is Jesus’ response to the plea of increase our faith? If you have faith the size of a mustard seed. In other words, “Size doesn’t matter!” Faith receives the gift Either you have faith or you don’t. No faith building exercises can make it bigger or better. <br />
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Faith in Jesus grants you forgiveness and a new life with His good gifts given to you. No special mathematics can increase it. It’s as good as it gets. If this faith in Jesus is good enough to sustain you into eternity, how much more for the trials of this world.<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1796125124761105454.post-51967070996756418542010-09-23T16:23:00.002-06:002010-09-23T16:23:25.392-06:00Proper 21Surely if my long dead relative just came back and told me what I needed to know, or whispered comforting words then…. <br />
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Jesus tells us in the story of the rich man and Lazarus that, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”<br />
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Once this physical life ends, earthly work is done. Any messages that need to be given won’t come from the grave. No ghost will come back to tell you to straighten up your life to give you an earthly second chance. <br />
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But someone did rise from the dead with a perfect message and people still don’t listen to Him! Jesus offers eternal life as a free gift won for the world on the cross. Nothing more, nothing less. Are you listening? This message is for you!<br />
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These Seeds of Faith have been sown by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Bridgeport, NE. I’m Pastor Allen Strawn.Allenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14619392602228164261noreply@blogger.com0