From a sermon on Psalm 26 entitled, “Pride & Prejudice & Jesus.”
The idea is that we’re sinners but sometimes accused of things we didn’t do. That doesn’t make us innocent, and let’s face it, past actions may be the reason we’re assumed guilty.
An image of the Bible under a microscope for sermons and articles on examining Scripture.
Originally created for a sermon based on Jeremiah 28:5-9: “You Can Falsify the Bible”.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the Christian faith cannot be practiced alone. It’s impossible. In our “personal relationship with Jesus” individualistic culture, that seems anathema, but you just won’t find that kind of individualism in the Bible.
The problems begin in Eden when Adam & Eve decide to go their own way, which isolates them and is expressed in trying to hide from God. They should’ve known. Of all people, they should’ve known! The first lesson taught to a human being is, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” That should clue us into the importance of the community of faith. When David is alone instead of out with his soldiers, he gets into trouble. Peter and Judas fail when by themselves. Time and again, those who try to live out their faith alone run into trouble.
On the other hand, God emphasizes that we’re not alone. His message to Elijah isn’t so much, “I’m with you,” but, “Thousands are with you.” Even Elisha finds companionship during a famine serving in a widow’s house in Zarephath. Paul reminds us repeatedly that we are the body of Christ, that we need each other. And there’s nothing alive or beautiful about a bunch of disconnected body parts.
But that just means that community is good, right? Not that it’s necessary for faith to function, right?
The commandments are given to us to show us how to live out our faith, how faith happens in real life, not just in theory. And what are the most important commandments, and actually the summary of the commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” We know why we do that. We love because God first loved us. But how do we do that? What does this mean? “Whenever you do this for the least of My brothers, you did it for Me.” Loving God is expressed by loving our neighbors. As Luther said, “God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.” Of course, that’s why “The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.” Because that’s how we love God, but that’s also how we experience God’s love first hand. Jesus was alone (forsaken by God and abandoned by His disciples) for us on the cross so we’d never have to be alone, so why would we choose that from which He set us free?!
But don’t we live out our faith through worship? Gathered (AKA “Corporate” from “corpus” = “body”) worship expresses love for God, but it loves God by the act of gathering together in His forgiveness and love. The love happens when others are strengthened by our presence, and we are strengthened by theirs. The Word and Sacraments provide the context, the love that God gives to us that we gather around and in. Private worship is primarily self-benefiting unless we’re praying for others, but that’s an inherent connection with others. That’s not to say private worship (singing, praying, devotional reading, etc.) aren’t good—they’re just for our benefit until the benefits we receive are used to bless others (like offering an insight gained to someone else or being strong for others because your faith has already been strengthened).
The Christian faith is centered in love. Faith, hope, and love are 3 sides of the same coin (sic). And the greatest of these is love, because faith and hope are centered in love, God’s love for us, but are expressed in our acts of love for God through our acts of love for our neighbor.
Does this mean that a sole Christian cannot have faith in the absence of other Christians? Of course not! That faith is practiced by acts of love for others, Christian or not. That faith originates from God’s love for us, so never confuse source and practice. Even a Christian alone on a deserted island is in community by praying for others even in a hopeless situation. By faith, we’re able to look outside of our circumstances, no matter how dire, trusting God for both our needs and the needs of others. Even the Christian alone on her deathbed inherently expresses her faith to those around her by her peace and longing for God’s presence, whereas the Christian alone on his deathbed with nobody around can still have faith, but can’t practice it besides what evidence of that faith will be left for others to find afterward.
The implications of this go beyond a simple blog post, but they flow into every aspect of life. Worship in all its forms is beneficial alone but finds its fulfillment in gathering. Interactions with others are acts of worship as we show love to them. It’s not good to be alone (even us introverts), so seek connections as you live out your callings, thus strengthening each other. Love God with all you are—visibly and sacrificially—because that’s how He loved and loves you.
Following our translation comparison to find an easy to read translation for student use, and settling on the HCSB, we chose The Big Picture Interactive Bible for Kids, but then the next question came: if we’re going to use this for students, what about in the rest of our publications, services, etc.? While the text had passed the suitability test for student use, specifically in its treatment of Christology, since it was developed primarily by the Southern Baptist Convention, we needed to know whether any of the Sacramental passages had been translated specifically to reflect Baptist theology. So back to the comparison lab!
For this purpose, I used the passages cited as explanations of Holy Baptism, the Office of the Keys, and the Sacrament of the Altar in Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation – 1991 Edition. Note that I didn’t use every passage cited in these sections, as several, while used in these explanations, only indirectly address the doctrines of the Sacraments, thus for the sake of time and assumptions of uniformity, weren’t considered.
The same criteria were used as in the previous study with the same caveats, and I only compared the ESV and HCSB since we’d already ruled out other translations, the ESV used here as a baseline.
In this selection, while only 3 passages in the HCSB had a non-preferable translation, none of them were unusable in a congregational setting. To the contrary, many of the HCSB passages clarified the intent or doctrine.
Most of the data from the complete study can be found below. Feedback welcome through comments here or on the spreadsheet.
| Passage | ESV | ESV Text | HCSB | HCSB Text |
| Baptism | ||||
| Acts 2:38-39 | Ac 2:38 And Peter said to them, ‘‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’’ | Ac 2:38 “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” | ||
| 1 Cor 1:28 | 1Co 1:28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, | 1Co 1:28 God has chosen the world’s insignificant and despised things–the things viewed as nothing–so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something, | ||
| Acts 2:41 | Ac 2:41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. | 1 | Ac 2:41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. | |
| John 3:5-6 | Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, ‘‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. | Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. | ||
| Eph 2:3 | Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. | Eph 2:3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and by nature we were children under wrath, as the others were also. | ||
| Acts 22:16 | Ac 22:16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ | Ac 22:16 And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’ | ||
| Rom 6:3 | Ro 6:3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? | Ro 6:3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? | ||
| Rom 6:5 | Ro 6:5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. | Ro 6:5 For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection. | ||
| Gal 3:27 | Ga 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. | Ga 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. | ||
| 1 Peter 3:21 | 1Pe 3:21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, | 1 | 1Pe 3:21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. | |
| Titus 3:5 | Tit 3:5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, | Tit 3:5 He saved us– not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. | ||
| Mark 16:16 | Mr 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. | Mr 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. | ||
| John 3:5 | Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, ‘‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. | Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. | ||
| Eph 5:26 | Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, | Eph 5:26 to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. | ||
| Eph 4:22 | Eph 4:22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, | Eph 4:22 you took off your former way of life, the old man that is corrupted by deceitful desires; | ||
| Baptism Subtotal | 0 | 2 | ||
| Office/Keys | ||||
| Mt 18:18 | Mt 18:18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. | Mt 18:18 I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. | ||
| John 2:22-23 | Joh 2:22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. | Joh 2:22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made. While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many trusted in His name when they saw the signs He was doing. | ||
| 1 Pet 2:9 | 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. | 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. | ||
| Mt 18:17 | Mt 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. | Mt 18:17 If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. | ||
| Eph 4:11 | 1 | Eph 4:11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, | Eph 4:11 And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, | |
| 1 Cor 4:1 | 1Co 4:1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. | 1Co 4:1 A person should consider us in this way: as servants of Christ and managers of God’s mysteries. | ||
| Keys Subtotal | 1 | 0 | ||
| Lord’s Supper | ||||
| 1 Cor 11:20 | 1Co 11:20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. | 1Co 11:20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not really to eat the Lord’s Supper. | ||
| 1 Cor 10:21 | 1Co 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. | 1Co 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. | ||
| 1 Cor 10:16 | 1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? | 1Co 10:16 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? | ||
| Mt 26:26 | Mt 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘‘Take, eat; this is my body.’’ | Mt 26:26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” | ||
| 1 Cor 11:23-24 | 1Co 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’’ | 1Co 11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: on the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread, 24 gave thanks, broke it, and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” | ||
| Mt 26:26 | Mt 26:26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘‘Take, eat; this is my body.’’ | Mt 26:26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is My body.” | ||
| Mt 26:28 | Mt 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. | 1 | Mt 26:28 For this is My blood /that establishes/ the covenant; it is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. | |
| 1 Cor 1:25 | 1Co 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. | 1Co 1:25 because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. | ||
| 1 Cor 11:27 | 1Co 11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. | 1Co 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord. | ||
| 1 Cor 11:29 | 1Co 11:29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. | 1Co 11:29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. | ||
| 1 Cor 11:26 | 1Co 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. | 1Co 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. | ||
| 1 Cor 10:3-5 | 1Co 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. | 1Co 10:3 They all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. | ||
| 1 Cor 11:28 | 1Co 11:28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. | 1Co 11:28 So a man should examine himself; in this way he should eat of the bread and drink of the cup. | ||
| Supper Subtotal | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 1 | 3 |
Our Lent series this year was based on the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer and how they match up with Jesus’s words from the cross.
Here’s the worksheet/order we used (PDF).
We also had a theme hymn, “Father God, Who Art in Heaven,” that uses the same first and last stanza each week with a different 2nd stanza each week based on the corresponding petition/words. It can be used as a general Lord’s Prayer hymn apart from the series. (Lyrics based on series order) See below for lyrics based on Lord’s Prayer order.
The Lutheran Service Builder file is in the order of the petitions.
Father God, Who Art in Heaven
Tune: Das grosse Cantional (Christ, the Life of All the Living)
1 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Your name ever hallow’d be
Let Your kingdom come among us
Earth, like heaven, Your will see
As we pardon, so release us,
From our sins and evil free us.
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
2 Let Your name be ever holy
Ever kept in purity
Since by Word and water solely
You have named us family
Help us show in daily living
All the mercy You are giving
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
3 Let Your kingdom come among us
May your Spirit help us know:
Since You’ve taken our sin from us
We to Paradise may go
As a citizen of heaven,
Let my life be loving leaven
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
4 As Your will is done in heaven,
Here among us so be done
Keep us firm, conviction strengthen,
Ever turn us to Your Son
Let our trust be ne’er diminished
Give us faith that “It is finished!”
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
5 Give us each our daily manna
Help us see Your providence
For Your mercy, loud hosanna
Always let our thanks commence
Though You suffered dehydration,
Let us trust complete salvation
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
6 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Turn Your eyes from all our sin
We know not the depths we’ve fallen
Purify our hearts within
Let the mercy from Your Word flow,
And our lives your saving grace show
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
7 O my God, do not forsake me
Hold me close in every hour
Let no evil overtake me
Keep me from the tempter’s power
Though this world and flesh may charm me,
May they not prevail to harm me
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
8 Let us all commend our spirits
To our Father’s loving hands
So that we may all inherit
Joyously a blessed end
Save us, Lord, from all our sorrows
Give us joy for all tomorrows
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity.
9 Father God, Who art in heaven,
Hear the prayers Your children cry
To the cross may our lives beckon
And display Christ crucified
Let us always know Your favor
For through Christ, our only Savior,
Kingdom, power, glory be Thine unto eternity!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License by Strength & Song Publishing
This is a pair of images from a sermon on Philippians 2:5-11, “The Mind of God.” One depicts Jesus thinking of the world while hanging on the cross. The other depicts the world thinking of Jesus. Image of Jesus by artist Justin Long, used by permission.
I created this artwork for a sermon on Philippians 2:5-11 exploring the mind of God. It’s based on the idea that Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel depiction of God in “The Creation of Adam” depicts a human brain.
For a sermon based on the 1st Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Hallowed Be Thy Name, from the Prayer is Crucial series, an image of Jesus on the cross with the INRI replaced with YHWY.
We’re looking for ways to connect Sunday school with the rest of the week, home/family, etc. So I’ve started a project that will be take-home based on the CPH lesson each week. I’ll probably do it through the rest of the year if anyone’s interested in using it. It could use some formatting, and I wouldn’t mind a better name for it. If you have ideas, let me know.
There’s going to be a few weeks when we don’t have class. If people outside our congregation are using this, I’ll write them up for you, so let me know. If I don’t hear anything, I won’t bother.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GyamXy4W2g0VZz1bbepMONpyr3N9tdzqywG2IYuACc8/edit?usp=sharing
Here’s an image I created for a sermon on Romans 6:1-11 to show that other things get outdated, but our Baptism is new every day.
Title: Buried Alive
Description: We’ve been given eternal life, but we still live in the world of the temporary. How can we experience the eternal now?