“Therefore he (Jesus) had to become like his brothers and sisters[f] in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17) We often need to remember that there ...

  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)  Our cultures have changed so the list above may seem a bit foreign to many of our ...

“You shall not…” (Exodus 20:13a) As we look at the commandments, one thing that jumps out at us is that many of them prohibit something. It includes, lying, adultery, killing, stealing. None of these are good and God’s people are told they “shall not” do any of them. For Christians, ...

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) Depending where you are in life, you may hear this and say, “You have to be kidding! Do you know what has happened to me in the last week? How can you tell me to rejoice always?” We tend ...

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13) In general, Lutherans have heard a phrase like “work out your own salvation…” as heretical. It is our ...

I thank my God every time I remember you… It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the ...

When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” Acts 17:32 We live in a world of increasingly diverse people, religions, and ideas. In fact, the city in which we live is one of the 30 most diverse ...

He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. (Acts 16:34) The people in many congregations are doing some amazing things. It is especially true here where we host and serve at Soup ...