Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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"We appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain."

The grace of God is the opposite of the justice of God. It is the grace of God that God DOES NOT give you what you deserve. And it is the grace of God is that God DOES give you what you do not deserve. What you deserve is to be punished for your sin, disowned by God and cast out of His Kingdom and suffer eternal death. But that He does not give you.

What you do not deserve is to be called 'sons and daughters of God,' 'saints,' 'my beloved,' and 'heirs of all the treasures of heaven.' You do not deserve to hear your Creator say to you, "I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you always." But that He gives you.

The grace of God is perfect grace. There are no strings attached. No preconditions necessary to qualify. And no half measure of grace that depends on you to do your half. The grace of God is the fullness of God's love poured out on you for no other reason than God loves you and wants to do it. As soon as you start looking inside yourself for a reason for God's grace to you, you've missed the whole thing. (more…)

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What happens to you after you die? What happens to your soul? What happens to your body? Where do you go? These may sound like the kind of dreamy, ethereal questions that are nice to ponder but aren't all that practical. Our minds are so filled with the practical questions of getting through today and on to tomorrow, that we hardly give any thought to our life after death.

C.S. Lewis, in his "Mere Christianity" made the insightful observation that "when you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one." (Mere Christianity. Chapter 10).

If you can't answer these questions about your life after death, your life will be swallowed up by hopelessness and despair, and the only meaning and purpose and direction that makes any sense will be to 'eat, drink and be merry' while you have the chance.

The Bible has much to say about your life after you die. And it's all focused in on the life and death and life after death of Jesus Christ. What happens to Christ happens to all who are in Christ. (more…)

Dr. Just offers some excellent insights into the nature of worship and the way it's true nature is carried out in the Divine Service. A wonderful introduction to the biblical theology of worship.

Click here to go directly to Issues Etc. for a broad range of discussion on some great topics concerning the life of faith from a truly Lutheran perspective. Click on either of the "Subscribe" buttons for a complete listing of programs you can download. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LISTENING!

Art Just Interview: Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.

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A wonderful discussion about the work of Jesus Christ and His obedience to the will of His Father in His life and death. Very helpful in understanding the nature of our salvation through faith in Jesus.

Click here to go directly to Issues Etc. for a broad range of discussion on some great topics concerning the life of faith from a truly Lutheran perspective. Click on either of the "Subscribe" buttons for a complete listing of programs you can download. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LISTENING!

Rod Rosenblat Interview:

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"Grace Upon Grace" For anyone reading the excellent book, "Grace Upon Grace" by John Klenig, here is a very nice interview with the author from Issues Etc.

Click here to go directly to Issues Etc. for a broad range of discussion on some great topics concerning the life of faith from a truly Lutheran perspective. Click on either of the "Subscribe" buttons for a complete listing of programs you can download. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED LISTENING!

John Kleinig Interview:

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"Dry bones. Hear the Word of the Lord!" You say, 'our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost, we are clean cut off.'" It is truly good, right and salutary for you to say such a thing – before God and before one another.

But it's not God who has cut you off. It's you who have cut yourself off from God. You cut yourself off from God by cutting yourself off from His Word, for that is your only connection to Him. His Word, preached and read into your ears and eyes. His Word in and under the water of holy baptism and in and under the bread and wine of His holy Supper. Cut yourself off from these and you've cut yourself off from Him, for He is the Word. But you say that you have no time for His Word, to meditate on it, inwardly digest it, pray in response to it. But you have time to listen to the word of talk show hosts and to read the latest novel and you spend hours surfing the internet.

He calls you through His Word telling you to "honor your father and mother, don't murder, or commit adultery, or steal, or gossip, or covet." But you cut Him off quicker than a telemarketer.

You cut yourself off from God every time you make His Word say what you want it to say rather than what God means it to say. He says, "You shall honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy." And you say that means that if Sunday belongs to God then Monday through Saturday must belong to me. He says, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." And you think you've got that one covered because you don't call on the name of the Lord at all. He says, "You shall no other gods besides Me." And you say that must mean that God wants to be the most important God among the many gods that you worship. Slice the pie into as many pieces as you'd like, just be sure God gets the biggest piece and He'll be satisfied.

No wonder you say, "our bones are dried up." Cut off from God, everything gets dried up. Not only your bones, but your heart too. It's been broken in several places, and cut off from God, you don't know how to reset it so that it will heal properly. You've been living like this for a while now, hoping it will just heal on its own. And while you've waited, your love has dried up. (more…)