Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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I. Background

A. Introduction to the Season

Today begins a new season on the church's calendar. Today we begin the season of the Sundays after Pentecost. Today is the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost and the season will continue until we get to the 27th Sunday after Pentecost, which takes us into November.

The color of the season is green. This is the time for grazing in green pastures and lying down beside quite waters to eat and drink God's Word so that our faith in God may be strengthened and our love of His Word grow and increase and bear fruit.

As with every season on the church's calendar, the path that we follow is marked out for us by the appointed readings—the Psalm, Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings. Beginning today and continuing for the next 17 Sundays, the appointed Epistle reading will be from St. Paul's letter to the Romans. Beginning today and continuing through the summer, we're going to focus our attention on the Epistle to the Romans. (more…)

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When the witnesses on hand asked for an explanation of the strange phenomenon they had just observed, Peter deferred to Joel. 500 years before it happened, Joel spoke about a time when God would do some pretty strange things to get your attention. Visions, dreams, prophesy, blood, fire and smoke. Keep in mind that all this happened 2000 years ago when this kind of stuff would still grab your attention. Today, we've so seen it all that we're so not shocked by anything. Today, we'd probably say that it was all just special effects and conclude that we've seen better.

Peter said that the purpose for these bizarre happenings was that you might recognize that the Lord was at work and "that it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (more…)

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"Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple blessing God."

An important aspect of the life of the believer is that we observe the important events of the life of our Lord by the holidays that mark them, such as Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. We would certainly question the sincerity of faith of anyone who claims to be a Christian, yet who fails to observe these significant events that define our salvation. Even unbelievers typically stop and join in 2 out of 3.

Yet, what even we devout believers sometimes fail to realize, is that among the significant events in the life of our Lord, there are not just 3 but 5. His birth, death, resurrection and His ascension into heaven, and then one that hasn't happened yet, His 2nd coming. The first three we wouldn't think of missing and the fifth one sells lots of books, but the Ascension of our Lord, seems to slip on by hardly noticed. How many of you got off from work this past Thursday to celebrate Ascension Day? I dare not ask for a show of hands of how many of you did your annual Ascension day shopping and had the traditional Ascension day ham for dinner with the family. (more…)