This Week John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople in the 4th century AD had the book of Romans read to him four times a week so that he would remain familiar with it throughout his life. English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge said Romans is “The most profound book in existence.” Martin Luther wrote, “”The epistle to…

This Week Deliberate joy Isn’t joy something that happens to you? Can you really control it? A recent Westside Christian School staff Bible study discussed the differences among joy, happiness, and gladness. Maybe the distinctions are arbitrary, but one that was proposed was that joy is more constant and less dependent on precisely what is…

This Week Happy New Year! You know it’s coming. Get ready for it. Here it is: “Will you stay awake until midnight?” If you ask it, you can anticipate a range of answers from, “I’ll just be getting started,” to “The new year will come in whether I’m awake or not.” If someone asks you,…

This Week Fear not Why did the angels say “fear not” to so many people at the very first Christmas? What’s there to fear about a little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay? Or for that matter, chestnuts roasting on an open fire? What’s there to be afraid of? The angels knew any human being…

This Week Do not be afraid, Joseph In the novel Charlotte’s Web, a pig named Wilbur enjoys an unusual friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When a little farm girl discovers Charlotte can write words in her web, the girl’s mother takes her to the doctor, concerned that something is wrong with her. The…

This Week Immaculate adjective: free from fault or flaw; free from errors Can we ever apply this term to any human effort? Luke 1 describes two different encounters between an angel and a human. We can see something immaculate, or very close to it, in the account about Mary. Let’s learn together from one of the…

This Week Do not fear Welcome to Advent, the first season of the church year, the four weeks before Christmas. Advent means “coming.” In Advent we celebrate three things: Christ came in the past as a baby in Bethlehem, Christ is coming now as we, his church, gather around his Word and sacrament, and Christ…

This Week Saints Triumphant A tradition in Christian worship that goes back to the 400s AD includes a service to celebrate the dates believers of the previous year died, which they called their “birthdays” into eternity. Their names were read at services or sometimes at cemeteries or catacombs. Since then, it’s been called Saints Triumphant…

This Week A spiritual experience Who doesn’t want to encounter God? Ah, yes, with head bowed while soft light streams through stained glass. Ah, yes, like a picture-perfect Facebook or Instagram post, with a cup of coffee steaming next to an open Bible . . . bonus points for a journal next to it. Surely, those…

This Week Words without knowledge They say God gave you two ears and one mouth so would listen twice as much as you speak. This proverb is not in the Bible, but it makes sense, as long as we’re listening to the right sources. Join us for worship this weekend (Thursday at 7 PM or…