Texts: John 16:23-33 & James 1:22-27 Jesus says, “You will have tribulation…” The world is full of tribulation. Tribulation is seen as the inward infliction of distress, affliction, or oppression. Many Christians believe we are living in unchartered times and experiencing oppression like no other moment in history. In Finland, Rev. Dr. Juhana Pohjola, Bishop Elect of the Lutheran Church in Finland was charged by the government for incitement against a group of people. Similarly, Päivi Räsänen, a member of Parliament (also a Lutheran) is facing charges of hate speech for comments made on a television show regarding her belief in traditional marriage. What did these two Lutherans do wrong? They confessed – they confessed what God’s unchanging Word says regarding marriage. Should we be bracing for similar fates as the world surrounding us evolves? The nature of the pending Equality Act in the United States, the repeal of laws protecting the unborn, the...
Text: Luke 7:11-17 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. The images and events within Afghanistan over the past month have been hard to watch. For those who served in Afghanistan, the emotions are mixed and raw. For some, this is where they were forced to grow up and mature - battling for life and death. For others, it is a place where they were given emotional or physical scars that will remain for the remainder of their earthly life. Life would be easier if you could leave the experiences behind when you depart a war, but that's not how it goes. Instead, the dark memories of war patiently reside within one's head and await to be aroused when the journey of this life comes in contact with a sound, a taste, a smell, or an image that immediately takes one back to the battle, back to the fight, back to the death. The images of the past month, the death of thirteen service members in Kabul, did this for me as I am sure it did for man...
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