Ephesians 5:25–33 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself.”

There are terrible consequences when sinful human beings attempt to usurp the place of God in this life. Terrible consequences. The worst outcomes imaginable take place, even at times flowing from godly desires and the best of intentions.

Even at those times, terrible things happen when we attempt to rule as king in place of the Lord Jesus.

The truth witnessed to most clearly in the story of the Slaughter of the Holy Innocents is that mankind—you and I, these murdered children, their grieving parents, all earthly rulers, including King Herod—are not in control of our own life or this life in general. We are not in control.

That is what these children give witness to concerning the truth of Christ. We do not rule. We are not king.

The one true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is Ruler of all things. He governs every circumstance in this life, even the evil acts of men and the natural disasters that take place. But even the evil acts of men such as Herod cannot keep God from working all things according to His ultimate good and gracious will.

Ephesians 5:22–24 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.”

Ephesians 5:33 “…let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Christmas is not limited to a single day. From Christmas Day through Epiphany, the Church keeps the Twelve Days of Christmas as a season of continued celebration and reflection, lingering over what God has done for us in the birth of His Son. During these days, Christians rejoice that God has come near in human flesh, bringing forgiveness, life, and peace that do not fade once the decorations come down. Christmas proclaims not a passing feeling, but a lasting reality: God has entered our world to save sinners.

The following questions and answers come from a children’s Christmas service by the 19th-century Lutheran pastor and teacher Friedrich Lochner. In simple and memorable form, they confess what Christmas is truly about: Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, promised from the beginning, born of the Virgin Mary, and given for the salvation of all people. As you read, take these questions and answers to heart. Here you will find not sentimental comfort, but real peace—the peace God makes by sending His Son in human flesh to redeem us, silence the accuser, and restore us to life with Him.

The manger is our paradise, not because it looks peaceful or gives us some sentimental feeling of old times, but because the Word, the eternal Son of God, was made flesh and is lying there for us. He is lying there in a feeding trough as the Bread from heaven, which God the Father gives for the life of the world.

This is not pretend. This is not just an appearance. The Son of God takes on real human flesh and blood. He does this to bridge the chasm sin created between God and man, not by ignoring sin, but by bearing it. Here, in the Child of the manger, peace is made—peace that endures when Satan accuses, when the world terrifies, and when affliction presses in.

John the Baptist’s preaching can be heard in every Advent: when Christ first came in lowliness, when He comes now through His Word and Sacraments, and when He will come again in glory. The same words prepare us for all three.

In a corrupt age, the Christian household remains consecrated to the Word and prayer—set apart by the Holy Spirit for the day when Christ will gather His holy people to Himself forever.

When you are in your own prison—of doubt, affliction, or suffering—you need to ask the Lord as John the Baptist did: “Are You the Coming One, or should we look for another?” And His answer still comes the same way: through His Word.

Time is one of the most precious earthly gifts God entrusts to us. To neglect our vocations through distraction or busyness is not merely inefficient—it deprives our neighbor, especially our children, of what God intends them to receive.

When something terrible happens in this life, you need to remember it is your Lord peeking through the lattice at you, saying, “It will not be long now.” When you see these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

When we sing “Lord, have mercy,” we are not only confessing our need. We are confessing who Jesus is: the Son of David, God in human flesh, who comes to His people in mercy now and will come again in glory.

Time reveals the heart’s allegiance. What we give our time to, we worship. Christ alone must enter and dwell in the heart as Lord, driving out every rival that demands our attention and trust.

The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

Discover resources and the sermon for the First Sunday in Advent at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Advent begins with the Church’s cry: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” We enter the new year calling on Christ for mercy, just as the saints did who awaited His first coming and as the Church now awaits His return. In the Introit, Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, we join the whole company of believers who confess that the same Lord who once entered Jerusalem now comes among us in His Word and Sacraments—and will come again in glory to save.

Discover resources and the sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

As the Church year draws to its close, our Lord teaches His people to be watchful and ready for His appearing. “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:1–11), and the arrival of the Bridegroom will be sudden, unexpected, and unmistakable. Five were wise and five were foolish, for “you know neither the day nor the hour” when the Son of Man returns (Matt. 25:1–13).

Yet Christ does not leave His Church unprepared. The lamps are His Word. The oil is the Holy Spirit, who works through preaching, Baptism, and the Supper to create and sustain the flame of faith. The foolish neglect these gifts and find their lamps empty; the wise diligently attend to them and are kept supplied with an abundance of oil.

In His means of grace, Christ steadies His Church in these latter days, giving what He commands and preserving His people unto the end. And when the Bridegroom comes, those who by faith have been kept ready are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb—in the new heavens and the new earth prepared for the joy of His people (Is. 65:17–25).

Do not fall asleep with a lamp devoid of the oil of saving faith through unrepentance. Sin is dangerous and there is a judgment on the last day. But the Gospel is superabundantly generous: Christ Himself supplies the oil—His Word, His absolution, His Sacraments—so that no one who clings to Him need fear His appearing.

Discover resources and the sermon for Trinity 26 at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

As the Church year draws to its close, our Lord speaks with clarity about the Last Day: the heavens passing away, “all these things” being dissolved, and the Son of Man coming in His glory to sit upon His throne. Before Him all nations will be gathered, and He will separate the sheep from the goats, revealing every work and every hidden thing. Yet Christ does not give these words to alarm His people but to keep them steadfast.

When He appears, His coming will be unmistakable—not delayed, not hidden, and not uncertain. The Judge who returns is the Savior who has already borne the judgment in our place, who clothes His people in His righteousness, and who calls them “blessed of My Father.” In His Word and Supper, Christ steadies His Church amid the trials of these latter days and anchors us in the promise that His elect will be kept, gathered, and preserved until He comes again in glory.

Against pharisaic self-confidence in our own works and against despairing in our lack of enough good works, the Lord shows us in this parable that He imputes to us or reckons to us who trust in Him the works necessary for us to enter into the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world. In the end, we must have the God-worked humility to know by faith that we are but unprofitable servants who have only done what was required of us. And on top of that, we must know that Christ is reckoning to us His works. When we were hungry Christ fed us with His very flesh for the life of the world; when we were thirsty He gave us to drink of His blood and bathed us clean in that same blood in Holy Baptism; when we were strangers He spread out His arms on the cross to draw us in and hide us under the shadow of His wings; when we were naked He clothed us in Himself and His perfect righteousness and holiness; when we were sick He visited us as the great Physician of Souls to call us to repentance and heal our diseases; when we were in prison He came to break the chains of sin and unbelief in which we were bound in slavery to the the devil and the fear of death.

Discover resources and the sermon for the Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

As the Church year draws toward its close, our Lord speaks with clarity about the coming days: times of tribulation “such as has not been since the beginning of the world,” false christs and false prophets who “show great signs and wonders,” and the temptation to believe those who say, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There He is!” Yet Jesus teaches His people not to be led astray. When the Son of Man comes, His appearing will be unmistakable—“as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west.” In His Word and Supper, Christ steadies His Church amid all trials and anchors us in the promise that His elect will be kept, gathered, and preserved until He comes again in glory.

Strong arguments, bold assertions, great power and might by worldly standards—that is what Jesus tells us to expect. Do not be deceived. Do not be led astray.

Our Lord Jesus loves the people that He chose in their father Abraham according to the flesh. He loves them. He loves men like Bibi Netanyahu. He loves men such as these. He chose them according to the flesh in their father Abraham.

And to them belong all the prophets that we listen to, like Job, an Israelite according to the flesh. To that same flesh belong all the blessed apostles whose words we listen to every Sunday, who gave their lives up for the sake of the truth of Christ. And because of their boldness, we hear God's word today.

To them belongs the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was an Israelite according to the flesh. Do not forget that because these are certain truths. But it is also a certain truth that any Israelite according to the flesh who rejects Jesus Christ as their Messiah is cut off from true Israel. And all Gentiles, you and me, who confess Jesus as Lord, who believe in the heart that God raised Him from the dead, are saved and grafted into true Israel. We are true Israel. You must remember that certain truth as well.

Discover resources and the sermon for All Saints’ Sunday at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Rejoice in the communion of saints, the blessed company of all who live in Christ. As our Lord gathers His saints from every age and place, He comforts us who yet mourn and strengthens our faith in the resurrection of the body. In His Word and Supper, we join the heavenly host in the unending song of victory—Christ has triumphed, and His saints shall rise with Him in glory.