Lutheran Church of The Good Shepherd LCMS

06/14/2026

Parable of the Great Feast

Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’

“The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the sma llest taste of my banquet.’”{Luke 14:15-24}

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06/11/2026

The first class of Adult Instruction at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Biloxi, MS.

Jesus Christ, the Word of God
Revealed in the Gospels
John 14:6
John 11:25–27
Mark 14:61–64
John 1:1, 14
Revealed in the Old Testament
Isaiah 7:14
Luke 24:25–27
Hebrews 1:1
Scripture, the Word of God
Romans 10:13–17
Deuteronomy 8:3
Matthew 4:4
John 8:31–32
“We believe, teach, and confess that the sole rule and standard according to which all dogmas together with [all] teachers should be estimated and judged are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testament alone, as it is written Ps. 119:105: Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And St. Paul: Though an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, let him be accursed, Gal. 1:8.” (Ep Summary, §1; brackets original)

The Scriptures are divided into the Old and New Testaments.
Old Testament – 39 books
Torah / Pentateuch:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Historical Books:
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Poetic Books:
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)
Prophets:
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi

“The principal theme of the Old Testament is salvation promised in the Messiah.” (Kœ, 38; Genesis 3:15)

The New Testament – 27 books

The Gospels:
St. Matthew
St. Mark
St. Luke
St. John
The Acts of the Apostles

The Epistles
Pauline – Congregational
Romans
1&2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 & 2 Thessalonians
Pauline – Pastoral
1 & 2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
General / Catholic (Universal)
Hebrews
James
1 & 2 Peter
1, 2, & 3 John
Jude
The Revelation to St. John

“The principal theme of the New Testament is salvation accomplished by Christ.” (Kœ, 38; 1 John 2:2; 1 Corinthians 1:23; Colossians 1:28)

The Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical – Various books and additions
Apocrypha means “hidden away”, Deuterocanonical means “second canon”.

The Compositions:
Judith
Wisdom of Solomon
Tobit
Ecclesiasticus (Jesus Sirach)
Baruch
Letter of Jeremiah

The Histories
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees

Chapter additions
Old Greek Esther
Susanna
Bel and the Dragon

The Prayers and Songs
The Prayer of Azariah
Song of the Three Holy Children
The Prayer of Manasseh

Others
1 and 2 Esdras
3 and 4 Maccabees
Psalm 151

When?
The books of the Scriptures were written between 1446 BC and approximately AD 100.
How?
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic (c. 1446 BC—c. 430 BC) and translated into Koine Greek (The Septuagint/LXX; c. 285–247 BC).
The New Testament was written in Greek (c. AD 33—c. AD 100).
The Apocrypha was written Hebrew, perhaps Aramaic, and Greek (c. 5th Century BC—c. 1st Century AD)
Translations:
|Paraphrase| - |Dynamic Equivalent| - |Literal Translation|
The Septuagint (Old Testament in Greek) – 3rd century BC
The Vulgate (Latin translation compiled by St Jerome) – c. 4th AD
Die Heilige Schrift – Luther’s German translation for the common man – 1534
English: The King James Version of 1611 (KJV)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
New International Version (NIV, pre v. post 2000)
English Standard Version (ESV)
English Heritage Version (EHV)
“To interpret the Scriptures means that we explain and restate what the texts of the Bible actually mean and teach in our own words. A Scripture text can have but one divinely intended sense and meaning. Two contradictory interpretations of the same text cannot both be correct. Biblical scholars speak of the sensus literalis unus est (‘There is one literal sense’). A true interpretation of the Bible, therefore, consists in the following: (1) finding, setting forth, and reaffirming the divinely intended meaning of the statements of the Scriptures; (2) taking the words as they read in their proper and plain sense as determined by the context; and (3) ruling out whatever conflicts with the ‘analogy of faith,’ that is, with other clear passages of the Bible that teach that particular doctrine. . . . Our purpose is not to prove the teachings of the Bible to be true to the satisfaction of human reason [, the magisterial, or judicial use of reason]. Instead, we merely wish to show that what we teach is in agreement with the Bible [, the ministerial use of reason].” (Kœ, 23)

Recommended for Further Study:
https://thebookofconcord.org/ or https://bookofconcord.org/
Isaiah 52:13–53:12
Acts 7
1 Corinthians 1:23
AC III
Ap III
Ap XII (V) §66–67
Ep VIII and FC VIII
L101 124–131
Di. 1–4
Kœ part I
On the Unity of Christ by Cyril of Alexandria
On the Incarnation by Athanasius of Alexandria
The Two Natures in Christ by Martin Chemnitz (in works vol. 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngatWabDCS8

The first class of Adult Instruction at The Lutheran Church of the ...

06/07/2026

The Lord’s Covenant Promise to Abram

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.{Genesis 15:1-6}

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05/31/2026

There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.

Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.{John 3:1-17}

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There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was ...

05/24/2026

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. {John 14:23-31}

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Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does n...

05/18/2026

Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things.

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

The Ascension

Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God. {Luke 24:44-53}

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Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfill...

05/10/2026

At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.

“I have spoken of these matters in figures of speech, but soon I will stop speaking figuratively and will tell you plainly all about the Father. Then you will ask in my name. I’m not saying I will ask the Father on your behalf, for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from God. Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and now I will leave the world and return to the Father.”

Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively. Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”

Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” {John 16:23-33}

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05/03/2026

The Work of the Holy Spirit

“But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate[a] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’ {John 16:5-15}

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The Work of the Holy Spirit - May 3 2026

04/29/2026

Guess what's for lunch after church on Sunday...

04/26/2026

Sadness Will Be Turned to Joy

“In a little while you won’t see me anymore. But a little while after that, you will see me again.”

Some of the disciples asked each other, “What does he mean when he says, ‘In a little while you won’t see me, but then you will see me,’ and ‘I am going to the Father’? And what does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand.”

Jesus realized they wanted to ask him about it, so he said, “Are you asking yourselves what I meant? I said in a little while you won’t see me, but a little while after that you will see me again. I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn over what is going to happen to me, but the world will rejoice. You will grieve, but your grief will suddenly turn to wonderful joy. It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. {John 16:16-22}

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