Living Savior Podcast

Everyone has some kind of Christmas list. On that list are things that we both want and need. And parents know that, although our needs might not be as glamours, we still need them. At Christmas our heavenly Father gives us what we need. Superseding our biggest dreams and our greatest imagination, God has made us his children. He accomplished this through his Son so that we would be his sons and d...

"Oh, come, O Root of Jesse, free  Your own from Satan’s tyranny;  From depths of hell your people save,  And bring them victory o’er the grave." For nine centuries Christians have been singing this hymn during the season of Advent, urging Jesus Christ to come and set them free from the tyranny of Satan, death, and hell. We still live in that confident hope, so we still invite him to come. True, th...

Perhaps more than any other holiday, Christmas is predictable. That includes the food, the decorations, the music, the date, even some of the emotions we feel. Yet the fact is, what God foretold before the first Christmas is much better than any human being could have imagined. As a result, God’s “unpredictable Christmas” brings us gifts beyond compare.

When we were young, our parents taught us to say “thank you.” We do the same with the next generation. Yet thankfulness means so much more than merely saying the right words. It’s an attitude of the heart, a condition of the spirit. One might even say that it’s a conscious way of looking at all things, regardless of your circumstances. Today we begin a special week of thanksgiving. As we do, we re...

When we were young, our parents taught us to say “thank you.” We do the same with the next generation. Yet thankfulness means so much more than merely saying the right words. It’s an attitude of the heart, a condition of the spirit. One might even say that it’s a conscious way of looking at all things, regardless of your circumstances. Today we begin a special week of thanksgiving. As we do, we re...

God teaches us to give our offerings thoughtfully, generously, cheerfully, and thankfully,   always mindful of the needs of others. But he never forces such offerings. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Our heavenly Father sets us free for giving such gifts of love through the “indescribable gift” of his own Son, our Savior Jesus.

God teaches us to give our offerings thoughtfully, generously, cheerfully, and thankfully,   always mindful of the needs of others. But he never forces such offerings. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Our heavenly Father sets us free for giving such gifts of love through the “indescribable gift” of his own Son, our Savior Jesus.

What do you need more than clothing and food, more than health, even more than your family? You need God’s Word. Jesus says it plainly, calling his Word “the one thing  needed!” For good reason. After all, God uses his Word to reassure you that he is “all in” with his promises to provide for all your other needs. Pray with his apostle Paul, then, that you and those you love will find rest in God’s...

Commitment can be scary. It’s hard to know what we will gain and what we will lose. Will the reward outweigh the risk? God’s approach is very different. When it comes to God’s commitment to us, he doesn’t hold back. At all. In fact, he’s ALL IN! With seemingly reckless grace, he gave his own Son, Jesus. And since he gave his Son for us all, how will he not also give us all that we need now and for...

Jesus tells us that our sins and our inability to escape them is evidence of an oppressive spiritual slavery. Left to ourselves, we are unable to live in the freedom for which God designed us. Yet that is why Son of God came, to free us from the slavery of sin and to save to be his own forever. He grants God’s saving grace through faith in his teachings as they are recorded for us in the Holy Scri...

Jesus tells us that our sins and our inability to escape them is evidence of an oppressive spiritual slavery. Left to ourselves, we are unable to live in the freedom for which God designed us. Yet that is why Son of God came, to free us from the slavery of sin and to save to be his own forever. He grants God’s saving grace through faith in his teachings as they are recorded for us in the Holy Scri...

Faith is not a decision we’ve made. It’s not a choice we’ve arrived at. It is a free gift that God gives as the Holy Spirit works through God’s Word. The power of God’s Word rests on the authority of God. Therefore, no matter what our problem might be, we trust in God’s power. That’s what Jesus calls “great faith”!

Faith is not a decision we’ve made. It’s not a choice we’ve arrived at. It is a free gift that God gives as the Holy Spirit works through God’s Word. The power of God’s Word rests on the authority of God. Therefore, no matter what our problem might be, we trust in God’s power. That’s what Jesus calls “great faith”!

Christians in the modern world are tempted to think too little about the struggles that truly plague us. We easily point to worldwide, national, even local issues and all-the-while overlook the issues that threaten our heart and soul. What about your heart makes you right with God? Answer: nothing on your own. But while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Jesus came to seek and to save the l...

The economists are right! Every financial upswing is always followed by a financial downturn. Every monetary gain inevitably leads to monetary loss. So those who find security in earthly wealth eventually will be gravely disappointed, especially when they die and realize they can’t take anything with them. God alone gives true security. God alone gives the good things that last forever. God alone...

Throughout this series we have seen that one cannot have a neutral opinion when it comes to Jesus. He gave more than mere advice. He staked a claim on reality with his life, death, and resurrection. But the more we know how good the news about Jesus is, the more we realize which side we want to be on. That’s true today in our final Sunday in this series. Even though Satan will never be done with h...

Throughout this series we have seen that one cannot have a neutral opinion when it comes to Jesus. He gave more than mere advice. He staked a claim on reality with his life, death, and resurrection. But the more we know how good the news about Jesus is, the more we realize which side we want to be on. That’s true today in our final Sunday in this series. Even though Satan will never be done with h...

We believe in heaven. Heaven is ultimately the presence of God. We are made for eternity in the presence of God where love and joy are boundless, and where pain and frustration do not exist. Therefore, all that we possess in this life should never get in between us and God. Furthermore, our Savior calls us to use our wealth wisely and to even win others over for eternal dwellings. Since we are chi...

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” Jesus’ dying on the cross and his rising from the tomb are true. His saving grace for sinners is true. So our following him in faith and love is of infinite importance. No one must come between us and our Savior. Is such allegiance worth it...

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” Jesus’ dying on the cross and his rising from the tomb are true. His saving grace for sinners is true. So our following him in faith and love is of infinite importance. No one must come between us and our Savior. Is such allegiance worth it...

Human nature sees humility as something the loser has to suffer. After all, who of us hasn’t been humbled by a crushing defeat? Yet Jesus speaks a different language. In our Savior’s Book, those who humble themselves will be exalted. So as one of his disciples, you can easily afford to give generously to those who cannot pay you back. They may not even give you the satisfaction of thanking you for...

Human nature sees humility as something the loser has to suffer. After all, who of us hasn’t been humbled by a crushing defeat? Yet Jesus speaks a different language. In our Savior’s Book, those who humble themselves will be exalted. So as one of his disciples, you can easily afford to give generously to those who cannot pay you back. They may not even give you the satisfaction of thanking you for...

Many people will try to get into heaven, but they will be left on the outside. Why?  Because the door is narrow, Holy Scripture teaches, and God doesn’t allow anyone to enter except through faith in Jesus Christ. Yet while the door is narrow, it is open to all. Believers will come from east and west and north and south. With Jesus as their Mediator, forgiven sinners from all nations will take thei...

It seems counterintuitive that the Prince of Peace would bring division. But consider the kind of peace Jesus came to bring. Peace from this broken world. Peace with God. Therefore, when Jesus would go through his second, figurative baptism, i.e., his sufferings and death, the world would never be the same. This division is eternally good for us as Jesus saves us for himself from all that would ha...

Last week we heard God’s warnings against all kinds of greed. In the very words out of Jesus’ mouth in our Gospel lesson today, he warns against all kinds of worry over earthly matters. What is worry after all? Isn’t it just the fear that what we do, what we have, and who we are will never be enough? Yet elemental to the Christian is Spirit-given faith which holds onto our Father’s promises to pro...