"Blessings of Baptism"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday to you.

Would you open your Bibles, please, to Acts chapter 2? You may want to limber up your fingers a little today because we’ll be looking at several passages of Scripture together.

Over the past few days, we’ve seen quite a bit of rain here in Texas. Some popup storms, some longer stretches of rain — it’s May in Texas after all. Rain truly is a blessing. It nourishes the earth, refreshes creation, and reminds us of God’s provision.

But

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"Rest and Be Thankful"

Good morning and a most blessed Thursday to you.

Yesterday, I was listening to hymns, and one that came on was by a Celtic worship band called Rest and Be Thankful. It was a beautiful hymn, but what especially intrigued me was the story behind it.

There is actually a place in Scotland known as Rest and Be Thankful. After a very arduous climb, travelers would reach the top and stop there to rest and give thanks to God for bringing them safely through the journey. While it is

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"Ascended and Reigning"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you.

Would you open up your Bibles with me for our time in God’s Word to Acts, the first chapter—the Book of Acts, chapter 1.

Today is a wonderful day in the life of the Church. It is Ascension Day, and we remember when Jesus ascended into heaven. Scripture tells us that He appeared for forty days after His resurrection, and then He ascended into heaven.

You’ll recall that this is why we have the large Christ candle lit beginnin

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"What a Beautiful Promise!"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

I was reflecting on some of the various adult education classes I’ve had the opportunity to teach, and I commented to Pastor Eibel on Sunday that I have had so much fun—so much fun teaching Galatians, so much fun teaching the Confessions, and now I am having so much fun teaching Romans.

He looked at me and said, “Well, it’s good material.”

And how true that is.

What a wonderful, wonderful gift we have from God—that we have His

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"Made Clean in Christ"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

In our time of devotion together, we are going to look at two nineteenth chapters—one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. We will look at Numbers chapter 19 and John chapter 19.

So, if you would, please open your Bibles to Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible—the fourth book in the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses—and turn to chapter 19.

This chapter is part of the laws concerning cleanliness and uncleanness

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"Love One Another"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you in our time of devotion. This morning we turn to the Gospel of John, the 13th chapter.

In John 13, we find Jesus with His disciples at the Last Supper. There, Jesus takes off His outer garments, ties a towel around His waist, and washes the feet of His disciples. He then speaks of the one who will betray Him—Judas—and Judas leaves. After that, Jesus gives a new command to the remaining disciples.

In John 13:34–35, Jesus says:

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"Citizens of Heaven"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you.

Would you please open your Bibles to the third chapter of Philippians—Philippians chapter 3—for our time in God’s Word today.

What a joy it is to live in this Easter season. In fact, because the tomb is empty, each and every one of our days really falls into the category of the Easter season, doesn’t it?

What joy we have in knowing that the tomb of our Lord is empty—that the sacrifice for sin has been accepted. The Lord Jes

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"Christ is Risen!"

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. What a beautiful sound—what beautiful words those are.

We are in the Easter season, and it is truly a joy to know that Christ has indeed risen, that our sins have been forgiven, and that we are promised eternal life in Him.

In our chapel time at Love One Another Preschool yesterday, we entered into the sanctuary—the Lord’s house. Before we went in, I told the children, “You’re going to see something different than what is normal

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"It is Finished"

Good morning, and a blessed Maundy Thursday to you. What a rich week we find ourselves in. Holy Week began, of course, last Sunday with Palm Sunday. Tonight, Maundy Thursday worship; tomorrow evening, Good Friday worship.

A beautiful cantata with adult choir and orchestra. And then, of course, this coming Sunday, Easter Sunday—8:45 and 11:00. What a wonderful, wonderful week. We are in a rich time of worship.

I want to focus with you for a moment on Good Friday.

Such an inter

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"The Faithful Word of God"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you.

Would you please open your Bibles with me to Matthew, the 20th chapter—Matthew chapter 20—for our time in God’s Word.

Today, we are on the precipice of entering into such a beautiful and meaningful week in the life of the Church—Holy Week.

This coming Sunday, it all begins with Palm Sunday, as we remember our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But we also remember why He came to Jerusalem: to die and rise for us.

We then

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"Seasons of Life"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

We find ourselves in the middle of Lent—a very important season in the church year. It is a time when we come face to face with the reality of our sin and our mortality. Yet even in this, we look ahead to the season to come—Easter—where we see that Christ is victorious over our sin.

We all go through seasons of life. In a very real sense, we cannot escape seasonal change.

We can look outside and see that we are just a few days

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"Wisdom from God"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you open your Bibles for our devotion this morning to Ephesians, the fifth chapter—Ephesians chapter 5. I’d like to begin in verse 15. I’d like to share with you this morning on the topic of being wise. You know, there is a difference between earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom, so we’re going to talk about that wisdom that comes from God—heavenly wisdom.

So we’ll start in chapter 5 of Ephesians, the 15th verse. Ther

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"The Lord's Prayer"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

In our time of devotion together in God’s Word, we’re going to look at the Lord’s Prayer. We could certainly study it in great depth—examining each petition and exploring the richness of what Jesus teaches us to pray. But this morning, I’d like for us to view the Lord’s Prayer through the lens of simplicity.

During Lent, we take time to consider and meditate on the simple truths of our spiritual lives—which, of course, encomp

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"The Glory of the Cross"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.  We are now in the Lenten season—a time when we journey with Christ to the Cross, reflecting on our sin and on the great love of God that led Him to the Cross to die for our sin and to rise victorious over it.

In a devotional series I enjoy reading over the course of two years, there is a meditation on the Cross that has become one of my favorites. I keep it marked so I can return to it whenever I feel the need to reflect mo

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" A Glimpse of His Glory"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you open up your Bibles, please, to Mark, the ninth chapter—Mark chapter nine—for our time in God’s Word today.

This coming Wednesday, we will be entering into the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. That is such a rich, rich time in the life of a congregation.

Prior to the beginning of Lent, the church remembers the Transfiguration of our Lord. That’s where Mark 9 comes into view. Look at that with me, please—verse 2

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