Wrestling with Theology

Apology of the Augsburg Confession II on Original Sin and Article III on The Two Natures of Christ

Amen, that is, so shall it be. Make strong our faith in You, that we may doubt not but with trust believe that what we ask we shall receive. Thus in Your name and at Your Word we say, "Amen, O hear us, Lord!" (LSB #766.9) Amen Amen. It shall be so. We end each prayer with the sure and certain confidence that God has heard and will answer our prayer. This confidence leaves all doubt about God's exi...

From evil, Lord, deliver us; the times and days are perilous. Redeem us from eternal death, and, when we yield our dying breath, console us, grant us calm release, and take our souls to You in peace. (LSB #766.8) Deliver Us In the final petition of the Lord's Prayer, Jesus encourages us to pray for the hope of all creation. We seek to be delivered from eternal death. Eternal death is the eternal t...

Lead not into temptation, Lord, where our grim foe and all his horde would vex our souls on every hand. Help us resist, help us to stand firm in the faith, a mighty host, through comfort of the Holy Ghost. (LSB #766.7) Temptation God tempts no one (James 1:13). God is incapable of tempting anyone. God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Why would He want to make our lives more miserable by...

Liturgical Date: First Sunday in Advent Calendar Date: November 29, 2020 Location: Triune God, Brooklyn Center, MN Order of Service: Divine Service 2 Hymns:  #331, "The Advent of Our King" #332, "Savior of the Nations, Come" #355, "O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide" Sermon Theme: Salvation Is Nearer Sermon Text: Romans 13:11-14 Other Lectionary Readings:  Jeremiah 23:5-8 Matthew 21:1-9

Liturgical Date: First Sunday in Advent (Year B) Calendar Date: December 3, 2017 Location: Trinity, Slayton, MN Order of Service: Divine Service 4 Hymns: #343, "Prepare the Royal Highway" #332, "Savior of the Nations, Come" #346, "When All the World Was Cursed" #627, "Jesus Christ, Our Blessed Savior" #338, "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus" Sermon Theme: You Are Unclean Sermon Text: Isaiah 64:6 We...

Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, that they may trouble us no more; we, too, will gladly those forgive who hurt us by the way they live. Help us in our community to serve each other willingly. (LSB #766.6) Forgive Our Sins Forgiveness is the most difficult gift we ask for in our prayers. Oh, certainly, we might be eager to receive our own forgiveness of sins. But being able to forgive others whe...

Give us this day our daily bread, and let us all be clothed and fed. Save us from hardship, war, and strife; in plague and famine, spare our life, that we in honest peace may live, to care and greed no entrance give. (LSB #766.5) Daily Bread In the Lord's Prayer, daily bread does not just concern the loaf of bread on the table. It covers the entirety of everything we need to support this body and...

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Your gracious will on earth be done as it is done before Your throne, that patiently we may obey throughout our lives all that You say. Curb flesh and blood and every ill that sets itself against Your will. (LSB #766.4) Gracious Will "God's [good and gracious] will is done when He breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose of the devil, the world and our sinful nature, which do not want us to...

Your kingdom come. Guard Your domain and Your eternal righteous reign. The Holy Ghost enrich our day with gifts attendant on our way. Break Satan's power, defeat his rage; preserve Your Church from age to age. (LSB #766.3) Kingdom Come God's Kingdom is not a kingdom of this world. God's Kingdom is a proclamation of the Gospel. It is the Church in its purest form. The one holy, catholic and apostol...

Your name be hallowed. Help us, Lord, in purity to keep Your Word, that to the glory of Your name we walk before You free from blame. Let no false teaching us pervert; all poor deluded souls convert. (LSB #766.2) Hallowed Name Jesus' name needs not to be hallowed, kept holy, by us. It is holy in itself. The glory of His name leads us to walk blameless before Him. Each Christian has been baptized i...

Liturgical Date: Last Sunday of the Church Year [Proper 29A] Calendar Date: November 26, 2017 Location: Trinity, Slayton, MN Order of Service: Matins Hymns: #850, "God of Grace and God of Glory" #348, "The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns" #677, "For All the Saints" Sermon Theme: When Did We Sermon Text: Matthew 25:31-46 Other Lectionary Readings:  Psalm 95:1-7a Ezekiel 37:11-16,...

Our Father, who from Heaven above bids all of us to live in love as members of one family and pray to You in unity, teach us no thoughtless words to say But from our inmost hearts to pray. (LSB #766.1) Our Father In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches His disciples to call God "our Father". Through faith He promises that we are all one members of one family. In this family, He calls for us to live in...

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." (Matthew 5:43-45) Love Your Enemies Taking sides is in our very nature. You are e...

This week we Dig Deeper into the well-known story of the Golden Calf and the aftermath that takes on a life of its own throughout the Wilderness Wandering.

"Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you." (Matthew 5:42) Give Freely Everything you have isn't yours. Everything you have was given to you. Given to use. To manage. To steward. "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). Why should you be stingy with the abu...

"If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matthew 5:39) Turn the Other Cheek Although our natural inclination is to seek revenge, Jesus tells us to refrain. In fact, we're to take it and let it roll off of us like water off a duck's feathers. Jesus gives three instances where we're not only to take what is given to us but be willing to accept more. If someone slaps you...

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" (Matthew 5:38) Eye for an Eye Revenge is so exacting. So exact. When we're wronged, we want to pay back just as much as was done to us. If a dollar is stolen, we want to take a dollar back. If our dog is run over, we want to run over the driver's dog. We understand this "eye for an eye" mentality. Jesus quotes what God...

Liturgical Date: Second-Last Sunday of the Church Year (Proper 28A) Calendar Date: November 19, 2017 Location: Trinity, Slayton, MN Order of Service: unknown Hymns: Sermon Theme: Happiness from a Hard Man Sermon Text: Matthew 25:14-30 Other Lectionary Readings:  Zephaniah 1:7-16 Psalm 90:1-12 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white...

"It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell." (Matthew 5:29) Throw It Away "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Perfection is perfection. Everything that hinders you from attaining perfection needs to be thrown away. If your eye can't help its lustful stares, tear it out of its socket and throw it in t...

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matthew 5:31-32) Divorce Divorce is not the answer to marital problems. It is not the cure. It just adds another problem. There i...

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"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28) "You Shall Not Commit Adultery" Unlike popular thinking, adultery isn't just the physical act of marriage betrayal. Adultery begins in the heart. Unholy desires for another person. This is...