St. Peter Lutheran Church, Arlington Heights, Illinois

In today’s text, Jesus reaches the end of His earthly ministry. In a mountain scene, Jesus ascends in resurrected glory from earth to the Father’s right hand. As the disciples were gazing into heaven, two angels in white robes stood by them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go...

When 10 disciples tell Thomas that they saw Jesus alive on Easter evening, he proves the most unyielding skeptic. In the strongest possible way in Greek (ou mn + subjunctive), He refuses to believe their testimony that Jesus lives; he even puts a demand to God before he will believe for himself. The cross had obviously shattered Thomas’ messianic world to pieces. One week later, however, Jesus app...

In the darkness of Easter morning, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’ tomb and sees the stone has been removed. She runs to tell Peter and John who also run and verify the empty tomb, but they return to their homes. Mary, however, stands outside Jesus’ tomb and weeps. In her evaluation, everything with Jesus just went from bad to worse, for someone must have removed Jesus’ body and laid it in an unknow...

The appearance of the resurrected Jesus on the Emmaus road to Cleopas and an unnamed disciple is one of Luke’s most vivid and dramatic tellings. Three themes dominate today’s text: (1) the irony that the empty tomb had not yet created excitement among Jesus’ closest followers; in fact, the two travelers express deep disappointment in Jesus’ death, which they view as a big setback. (2) Jesus – stil...

Some time between Day 9-40 after Easter, Jesus gives seven of His disciples a miraculous catch of fish and breakfast-on-the-beach. Following breakfast, Jesus has one-on-one time with Peter. Jesus begins by addressing Peter exactly as He did when He first called and renamed him in John 1:42, “You are Simon, the son of John.” Jesus is deliberately working to help Peter pick up the pieces from his tr...

John beholds quite a sight: he turns and sees the exalted Son of Man in full glory in the midst of the seven lampstands (i.e., the seven churches which also represent the universal church)...meaning this Jesus is right here among us. His picture in Revelation 1 is nothing short of stunning. Jesus has a robe reaching to His feet (Priestly), a golden sash girded across His chest (King), head and hai...

This letter from Jesus has the harshest tone of them all and is the only church in which Jesus finds nothing to commend. An aqueduct from hot springs in the south brought water rich in minerals to the city; however, because the hot springs themselves were 5 miles away, the waters were lukewarm by the time they reached Laodicea. In His concerned love, Jesus condemns the church in Laodicea for its i...

Inscriptions in Philadelphia mention the worship of Zeus and Hestia; the Roman imperial cult was present too. A nearby inscription mentions a synagogue as well. Jesus, who holds the key of David, sets before His church an open door – a phrase in the NT for spreading the gospel and giving witness to Christ. Though they have little power in themselves, probably for lack of numbers, He commends them...

Sardis’ ‘s capture twice in its history while watchmen neglected their duty became a cautionary tale of misguided complacency and lack of vigilance. As a result, while Sardis once enjoyed a famed past, its glory had since faded. Jesus comes in the presence of the Holy Spirit (the seven spirits of God) and warns His church that they face a similar predicament. He separates their reputation from the...

Thyatira was a politically and culturally marginalized city, finding its identity economically, with guilds dealing in metals and fabric (Acts 16:14). Guilds celebrated their patron deities in periodic festivities, so Christians may have been tempted toward the message of a “prophetess” who advocated participation in illicit sex and food sacrificed to idols, both staples of the social scene. Excav...

The church at Ephesus resisted false teaching, and Smyrna endured persecution. Believers at Pergamum battled both fronts. Twice Jesus acknowledges Satan’s throne and presence in their midst (the only city where Satan is said to have his throne!). Pergamum was the first city in Asia Minor to build a temple for emperor worship, boasting of itself as a “temple-warden.” As such, it became a leading ce...

In this service for Ash Wednesday, we are drawn to Calvary to receive forgiveness. In word and song, we contemplate how to live lives of forgiving one another as we have been forgiven by Christ. through the cross.

Following the prologue, John greets the seven churches on behalf of the Father, Spirit, and Son, whose redemptive work has released us from sin and given us new status as a kingdom and priests to God (1:4-6). For the church to persevere in the midst of tribulation and culture’s pressure to compromise, we need God’s grace and peace. Moreover, despite overwhelming odds and difficulties which try fai...

Ezekiel closes his book with a description of God’ new city. The city is described as a perfect cube (a new Holy of Holies) with gates assigned to each of the 12 tribes – 3 gates per side. Moreover, Ezekiel saves the best for last. The city has a remarkable name: “The LORD Is There.” (Heb: YHWH Shammah). The name indicates its true character and recalls the observation in the introduction to this...

The LORD God brings Ezekiel back into the inner court of the temple where he sees water flowing from below the threshold of the temple which goes down into the Arabah and brings the Dead Sea to life. “Wherever the river flows, everything lives!” So says Ezekiel (v9). Where is this river of life today? Ezekiel’s river flows into John’s gospel (and Revelation). From Jesus, the ultimate temple (Jn 2/...

Ezekiel 43 essentially begins: “Behold, the glory of the God of Israel.” These eight words will change one’s life forever. The return of God’s glory to the temple is one of the most dramatic moments in the book–the undoing of its prior departure in 10:18-22 and 11:23. After all, the only thing lacking from this sacred space was God Himself. This temple transformation signals a new beginning, a new...

Ezekiel – whose name means “God strengthens” – lives out his prophetic ministry among God’s people while they are exiled in Babylon. Ezekiel’s vision likens the Israelites in captivity to very dead, very dry bones. The Spirit of the LORD asks him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Then the Spirit tells Ezekiel to speak the word of the LORD upon them, and when he does, this valley of dead, dry bo...

So far, Ezekiel’s focus on God’s work of restoration has been externally focused (i.e., new shepherd, new covenant). In Ezekiel 36, God’s work of making “all things new” encompasses the internal too. What God’s people in Babylon really need is a new heart! True transformation happens only by divine intervention from the inside-out. Through His Spirit, God promises His people heart surgery – removi...