Ascension Lutheran Church LCMS Marianna, FL

06/14/2026

Text: Galatians 2:15-21

Title: Righteous by Faith

One difficult issue the early Church had to deal with was the division between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Ever since Peter baptized a Roman soldier and his family, Gentiles have been a part of God’s kingdom, just like the Jews.

This was always God’s plan. When the Lord first chose Abraham to be the father of his chosen people, he promised that through his descendant, he would be a blessing to all nations of the earth. It may have been God’s plan to select one small group of people to be the bearers of his kingdom, but it was never his plan that they would be the only ones to inherit that kingdom.

But in the Church, some of the Jewish Christians didn’t appreciate the Gentiles. They thought they were better than the Gentiles because they were descended from Abraham, or because they had lived under the Torah, the Old Testament regulations.

Even the apostles fell into this trap. In Galatians, Paul gives an account when he was once visited by Peter. When it was just them, Peter freely associated with all his fellow Christians. But when certain emissaries from Jerusalem showed up, Peter started separating himself from the Gentiles to appease them. Paul had to get up in his face and challenge him for his hypocrisy. “If you, a Jew, live like a Gentile, how can you force Gentiles to live like Jews?”

This is right before our Scripture reading for today. “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” Paul here expresses the mindset of his opponents: those who separate themselves from Gentiles, like Peter was.

That’s a problem we human beings have: we like to think we’re better than other people. Maybe because of upbringing or our family history: we’ve always been good people. We’re not like those filthy sinners over there. We’re a better class of people, and that’s why we don’t associate with them over there.

Here’s the problem: when you get right down to it, are we really any better? Just because we got a better upbringing – parents that taught us good morals. Just because we got a better education. Just because our family was part of the church for decades. Just because we got a better paying job, a bigger house, a nicer car, and more money in the bank.

Remember, those Jews Paul is talking about: they thought they had a better family history, better upbringing, better morals. They weren’t filthy sinners like us Gentiles, were they? But did that really make them better people? Paul didn’t think so.

Neither did Jesus in our Gospel. Who did he commend: the Pharisee who invited him to dinner, or the woman who wept at his feet? Why did he commend her and not the Pharisee? Because she knew she was a sinner, and wept bitter tears over it. The Pharisee thought he was righteous; even more than Jesus himself.

“Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,” but as Paul continues, “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law by through faith in Jesus Christ, because by works of the law, no one will be justified.” That Torah that the circumcisers were so proud of? That Law couldn’t save them, because none of them could live by it perfectly. They condemned those who didn’t have the Law, but that same law condemned them also.

The Law is a good thing; it instructs us in what’s good and right. It brings order this chaotic world. It can help us live better lives. But it can’t save us. Why? Because the Law can’t take a sinner and make him righteous; all it can do to the sinner is condemn.

“So we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, not by works of the Law.” We don’t look to the Law for salvation; we look to Jesus. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”

Our Lord Jesus – born under the Law – took the curse of the Law – the curse we deserved – into his own body. He was crucified for us – not for sins he committed, but for our sins. He bore the curse – the whips, the nails the thorns – for our sake, to redeem us from the curse of the Law.

We now live in our flesh by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us. Through Baptism, we are crucified with Christ and die to the Law, and rise with him to new life in faith. We are not bound by the Law, for the righteousness of God doesn’t come to us through the Law, but through Christ who died for us.

This is why the kind of arrogance that the Pharisee Simon showed toward the sinful woman, or that Simon Peter showed toward Gentile Christians, has no place among us Christians today. We’re not better because of our background, our upbringing, or our obedience to the Law, because the only righteousness we have before our God is the righteousness he gave us through the death of his Son. We didn’t earn it, and we don’t deserve it. It was given to us by grace, and the same grace our God showed us, he now wants us to show others.

The Law doesn’t justify us at all, so why do we even need it? Because the Law reveals God’s goodness; it shows us who he is and calls us to live according to his goodness. You might have heard me talk about this before: the Law has three purposes: (1) to reveal sin to you so you might repent, (2) to drive men away from evil and bring some measure of peace to this chaotic world, and (3) to show Christians how best to serve God and our fellow man. These are all good, but notice that not one of them says that it saves you. For that, you need a Savior, and that Savior suffered and died to free you from the bo***ge of the Law that you might be free to live in his grace.

Remember, you were under the curse of the Law, even though you didn’t know it. But your Lord Jesus was born under the Law, and by keeping that Law perfectly, he bore that burden for you to the cross of Calvary. There, he suffered and died to make you righteous. Look to the Law for your instruction, but not for your salvation. For redemption, there’s only one place to turn, and that’s the cross of your Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

06/14/2026

Text: Romans 4:13-25

Title: It’s All About the Promise

“For we are saved by grace through faith.” This is one of the key tenets of the Reformation, and I would argue, the Christian faith as a whole.

But what does this mean? Grace: that’s God’s generosity and mercy toward us, even though we don’t deserve it. And faith: that’s us trusting in God’s promises to us. These are what connect us to our God and allow us to benefit from his goodness.

This is what we learn from Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people. Abram was already an old man when the Lord called him to leave his homeland to a land that he would show him.

The Lord swore to Abraham a great promise: he would take his son and make him into a great and mighty nation; his descendants would be more numerous than the stars of the heavens and the grains of sand on the beach, and his line would be a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

Yet Abram’s circumstances seemed grim. He and his wife Sarai were already quite old, and Sarai was barren, unable to have children. Their bodies were as good as dead already; even with the miracles of modern medicine, women rarely have children beyond the age of 40. So how in the world are these two elderly adults supposed to have children in their old age?

Despite God’s promises, Abram and Sarai still waited years for this to happen. Think about it: if the Lord told you something was going to happen, but you had to wait decades to see it, don’t you think you might start to doubt?

Let’s face it: when we live in a fallen, broken world, our circumstances very often challenge our faith, don’t they?

When the world we live in is full of darkness and despair, it’s hard to trust in a God who is good and merciful. When surrounded by the evils committed by rebellious human beings – war, murder, and crime – it’s hard to trust in God’s justice. When disasters devastate our lands and our lives, and we endure hardships and suffering, it’s hard to trust in God’s power. When we are confronted by disease and death, it’s hard to believe that he is a God of life.

This is why the Law couldn’t save us: we are a broken, fallen race, and we live in a broken, fallen world. We’re defective, and we can’t fix ourselves. When you’re broken, all the Law can do is show you just how broken you are.

So often, we human beings like to think that it’s all about who we are or what we do to please God. While status might make us feel good, and obedience to our Lord’s Word is important, the fact is that our relationship to our God doesn’t depend on us at all. Salvation is top-down, not bottom-up. We don’t climb Jacob’s Ladder, rather, God comes down to us.

Yet Abraham trusted God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. Salvation came to Abraham, not based on the Law, but on faith. Abraham did nothing to warrant God’s favor, but God came to him anyway, and chose him out of all the people on earth.

Abraham trusted God, and God didn’t disappoint. True, Abraham had to wait; he endured many challenges to his faith, but in the end, he kept believing. The Lord didn’t fail: in time, he gave Abraham the son he was promised: Isaac. Through Isaac, Abraham became the father of the whole nation of Israel.

Ultimately, this nation brought forth our Lord Jesus Christ. This Jesus was crucified for us, for the forgiveness of our sins, and raised from the dead for the promise of everlasting life.

This is how Abraham became a blessing to all the nations of the earth: through the redemption that comes to this world through our crucified and risen Lord Jesus. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Abraham faced challenges to his faith, that’s for sure. What was the greatest challenge? When the Lord commanded him to take that son, Isaac, up to the mountain and sacrifice him. Yet Abraham obeyed God and didn’t withhold his son of promise. He trusted God, and his faith wasn’t disappointed: he received his beloved son back alive.

In the same way, our God didn’t withhold from us his Son, our Lord Jesus, but offered him up as a sacrifice for us. Yet, our God, like Abraham, received his Son back alive. For, as Abraham told Isaac, “God will provide a lamb.” That Lamb was Jesus, who takes away the sins of the world.

Through our Lord Jesus, our God has given us great and awesome promises: through him, we have forgiveness of sins and new life. By trusting God’s promises, we are counted as righteous the same way Abraham was. Through faith, we have become children of Abraham; the faith that brought righteousness and salvation to him is the same faith that now grants us righteousness, salvation, and new life. The Law couldn’t save you, but Jesus can and did.

So when our life circumstances challenge our faith, look to Jesus. Continue to trust in the Lamb of God who took away your sins. Be like Abraham, and trust your God all the more firmly. Abraham waited a long time to see the birth of his son, but in the end, God did exactly as he promised he would do. He gave Abraham Isaac; he made a great nation from his son, and through his greatest descendant, he became a blessing to all the nations of the earth.

Since you know that God didn’t fail in his promises to Abraham, you can be sure he’s not going to fail in his promises to you, either. Continue to trust in your God, because your God is trustworthy. He didn’t withhold his only begotten Son from you.

06/14/2026

https://youtu.be/KQLfgaUoQCw

The problem with using analogies to explain the Holy Trinity is that you always end up confessing some ancient heresy.Let the patron saint of the Irish show ...

06/06/2026

06/02/2026

Text: Acts 2:22-36

Title: Holy Trinity

Last week, we celebrated Pentecost. Seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection – a few days after his ascension into heaven – the apostles were gathered with the Church in the upper room. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit appeared in that room as a rushing wind and tongued of flame that lighted upon their heads.

Ignited by the divine fire, the apostles then go the Temple. People from all over the world had gathered in that place for the Feast of Weeks. The Holy Spirit then opened the mouths of the disciples to speak in the diverse languages gathered there. Even more, the Spirit opened the ears of some of those gathered there so they could hear that Gospel proclaimed to them in their own languages.

Yet some who were there didn’t have the ears to hear. They accuse the apostles of being drunk. Peter stands up to address them, to set them straight on what’s really going on.

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”

“As you yourselves know,” he says. Who is he speaking to? The people of Jerusalem and Judea. Sure, there were visitors to the city for the Feast of Weeks. Some of them might have been there for Passover, and probably knew what happened. But the people of Jerusalem had no excuse.

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed him by the hands of lawless men.” “Delivered up.” What does this mean? Literally, “Betrayed.” The people who should have received him crucified him. Sure, the Romans may have done the deed, but they were the ones responsible; they might as well have nailed him to the cross with their own hands.

I can’t help but notice: when I read the words of Peter, he keeps saying, “you.” “You delivered him up. You crucified him. You killed him.” Could he also be addressing us? Are we in any way responsible for the death of our Lord Jesus? Are we guilty of eating the forbidden fruit in the very beginning? We weren’t there, were we?

Truth is, we’ve all contributed to the fall of this world in our own way. We might not have eaten that fruit from the tree of Eden, but we all have sinned. We might not have been the cause of death and corruption entering this world, yet we all deserve death and punishment, don’t we? If we hadn’t been sinners, would Jesus have ever needed to die?

Yet, notice it says, “He was delivered up according to the definite plan and fore-knowledge of God.” Did God dictate Jesus’ sentence of torture and death? Did the Lord know all along that these events – the Fall, the corruption of sin and the death of Jesus – would play out exactly like this? Did he really outsmart sin and death, and use them to crush the devil’s head? Could he have taken what mankind meant for evil and turn it to good?

That’s the grand mystery of the cross: the broken bleeding body of Jesus is proof of mankind’s guilt and God’s judgment against sin. That’s what God’s absolute decree and foreknowledge mean. Yet for us who believe, the cross becomes something else: the sign of God’s tender mercy toward us broken, fallen, helpless creatures.

“God raised him up, loosing him from the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” “Pangs of death.” Literally, “cords of death.” What kind of pangs are we talking about? This is birth imagery: Peter connects Jesus’ resurrection with birth, with his tomb being a womb. Like a woman going through the pains of delivery, Jesus went through suffering and death, and now has been reborn. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

“It was impossible for him to be held by it.” The Lord of Life has triumphed over the grave, and it has no power over him. “By his death, he has conquered death, and by his rising to new life, he has restored to us everlasting life. As David put it, “For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption.”

The Lord God has cut the umbilical cord of death that bound Jesus to the tomb; what does this mean for us? Will he abandon us to the darkness and decay of the grave? Or, will we, like Jesus, rise again from the earth on the Last Day to take our place by his side?

Jesus was born again from the grave. How can we be born again? As Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Holy Baptism. When you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are born again as a child of God. In Baptism, you are joined to Jesus in his crucifixion, death, and resurrection. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on you as a dove, granting you new life in Christ.

As Peter says, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today, we celebrate Holy Trinity. Where in our Scripture for today do we see this Trinity in action? In Jesus’ life and ministry, we see God the Father working miraculous signs and wonders through him; the Father and the Spirit are together with him as he carries out his mission. In his crucifixion, we see it was ultimately God himself who decreed his death and carried out this judgment. Like Abraham with Isaac, the Father sacrifices his Son, then receives him back alive.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit opened Peter’s mouth to speak these words; the Holy Spirit opened the ears of those who hear so this message, the Gospel, will take root in their hearts and minds to become faith.

This is what Trinity is all about: it’s not trying to understand all the mysteries of the divine nature. It’s about recognizing our God as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. It’s not about us trying to reach into the heavens to comprehend the incomprehensible; it’s about this God reaching down to us and revealing himself to us.

This day, let us give honor and thanks to this Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – for revealing himself to us, for caring for all our needs of body and soul, for showing us mercy through the death and resurrection of Jesus, for revealing to us all we need to know to trust in him always.

God grant to us that we always hold fast to this confession of true faith.

05/25/2026

Text: Acts 1:1-21

Title: The Spirit Poured Out

Today we celebrate Pentecost. What exactly is Pentecost? In the Old Testament, it was called the Feast of Weeks. It was celebrated exactly seven weeks after the Passover and marked the beginning of the harvest sacrifices. Traditionally, it also commemorated Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Sinai, when the Lord revealed himself to the elders of Israel on the mountain. Today, the Church celebrates when the Lord first poured out his Holy Spirit on his Holy Christian Church.

Remember the story of the Tower of Babel? In ancient times, the descendents of Noah built a great city for themselves. They began building a great tower, a temple to reach the heavens – not to honor God, per se, but a temple to their own ingenuity and potential, to their own genius. In this temple, man could reach the heavens and become his own God.

The Lord wasn’t pleased with mans arrogance, so what did he do? He confounded man’s language. Without the ability to understand each other, humanity became divided and scattered. They had despised the Word of God, so the words of man became a curse to them.

Fast forward a couple thousand years. At Pentecost, something else happened. People from all over the known world had gathered at the temple of the truth God. God again stirs up the language of man, but this time, to an opposite effect. At Babel, the Lord confounded man’s language to divide them; at Pentecost, he used man’s languages to restore understanding. At Babel, men had gathered to make a temple to themselves. At Pentecost, the Lord gathered mankind to bind them together and make them into a new temple, a temple for himself.

What’s the difference? The first was a crime against heaven; the second a divine event, a demonstration of God’s mercy. The first was driven by human ambition and arrogance; the second driven by the Spirit of God’s Truth.

It’s a sad truth that we fallen, sinful humans keep making a mess of things. We’re driven by our own arrogance and greed. Ever since the devil first tempted us, we keep trying to be our own gods. Even in our religions, we keep trying to control the relationship between us and God. But no matter how hard we try, we keep failing miserably to evolve beyond our human faults and limitations.

Have things changed that much since then? Do we still make our own towers of Babel, constructing temples to ourselves?

Take modern medicine: our biological science can help us save lives and improve our health, but that same science is also used to massacre unborn children. And with cloning, we’re fast approaching a time when we’ll be creating even more abominations.

What about computers? We can use computers to share information, to connect people all over the world, and to enable human creativity. But that same technology is also used to spread misinformation, po*******hy, hatred. It seems our society has become increasingly addicted and enslaved to computers, and it’s only going to get worse with new developments in AI.

How about aviation? With aircraft, we can now transport people all over the world thousands of miles in just a few hours. But that same technology can be used to wage war and deliver nuclear bombs.

Can you think of other ways that the disease of self-worship has infected us all? What is your own personal Tower of Babel? What kind of monuments do you try to construct for yourself?

I remember seeing a cartoon years ago, of a monk talking to Jesus. He says, “I’ve been working really hard on my humility, and I’m getting really good at it!” Then there’s that old song, “O Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.”

The Day of Pentecost has changed all that. On Pentecost, the Lord poured out his Spirit on his Holy Christian Church. A mighty wind from heaven blew into that upper room, and tongues of flame alighted on all those gathered in Jesus’ name. Just like the heavens parting and the dove descending from heaven when Jesus at his Baptism.

That Spirit miraculously opened the disciples lips, and their mouths declared the Lord’s praise. It wasn’t their eloquence or mastery of language that did it; it was the divine power of God working through them.

That day, in the temple, Israelites had gathered from all over the world – and not just the Jews, but also Gentile converts. When the apostles spoke, they all heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own languages. They heard the Gospel of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins, and thousands believed that Gospel and were baptized into his name, and they too received that promised Holy Spirit.

Why did the Lord give us his Spirit? Because we needed him. Without him, we were powerless; without him, we can’t accomplish anything worthwhile.

As Luther puts it in our Catechism, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, but the Holy Spirit calls me by the Gospel, enlightens me with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps me in the true faith.”

When Jesus arose into heaven, he didn’t abandon us, his children, as orphans to fend for ourselves. He and the Father sent the Third Person of the Trinity to be our guardian, to watch over us, to protect us, to enlighten us with his Truth, to guard our hearts and minds with his light.

The same Spirit now opens our mouth so we too can declare his praise. The same Spirit that enabled St. Peter to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus to those crowds in the temple is the same Spirit at work in you. That same Spirit enables you to proclaim your crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is why we celebrate Pentecost: because we know we’re not alone. The same God who created us, the same God who redeemed us through his death and resurrection, is the same God who now inhabits our hearts and minds and makes us his holy temple.

05/19/2026

Text: 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11

Title: Christ is Ascended

Today is the last Sunday of the season of Easter. This past week, we celebrated the Ascension of our Lord. After completing his mission, on the 40th day of his resurrection, our Lord Jesus gathered his disciples to give them his final instructions. After that, he ascended into the clouds of glory. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

After returning to his heavenly throne at the Father’s right hand, that phrase has new meaning now. Not only is Christ free from the darkness of death, he has now ascended to the realm of light. Our High Priest and our eternal King now rules forever. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

Yet we are still here. We still have to carry out lives in this world. The life of a Christian isn’t always easy. Peter tells us, “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you” (4:12).

What kind of fiery trials is he warning us about? As Peter says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed.” Jesus warned us that the world was going to hate us. Why? Because the world hated him first. So if you belong to Christ, you better believe the world will hate you, too.

Peter knew what that was like. Just look how many times in Scripture he was arrested, imprisoned, or beaten for proclaiming Jesus. He was even crucified upside down at the end of his life. He wasn’t the only one, either: all the apostles except for two were murdered for their faith. And of those two, one doesn’t count because he ended himself, and the other spent a large part of his life imprisoned and in exile.

In fact, did you know the word “Christian” was originally an insult? The same with the word “Lutheran.” These days, you might hear similar terms, like “Jesus freaks” and “zealots.”

The world hates us, but it also tries to seduce us. It’s constantly trying to tempt us away from following our Savior with all sorts of unholy desires and temptations. We have been bought with a price, but our liberty isn’t for us to indulge in our sins. We still have an obligation to live in repentance and obedience to our God, to follow his Word. Do we really want sin and evil to pollute our lives and subject us to God’s judgment?

Peter warns us about our enemy: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (5:8). I remember watching some documentary about lions a few years ago. Here’s how a lion pride hunts: the female lions would approach a herd of antelope or zebras, and wait. The male lion would roar, causing the herd to stampede. The lionesses would then attack any of the animals – the young, the slow, or the sickly ones – that got separated from the main herd.

That what Satan tries to do to you: he tries to separate you from Christ’s herd, the Holy Christian Church, so that your faith will become weak and sickly, so he can pick you off. Don’t fall for his tricks. Stay in the safety of Christ’s flock. Don’t be misled, and don’t let that evil old predator devour you.

You can take comfort in this: you’re not alone. Your Lord Jesus Christ is with you. Does Jesus know what it’s like to be hated and ridiculed? He was rejected and despised by his own people.

Does he know what it’s like to be tempted? Yes, though he was without sin, he was still tempted in all ways that we are. When he faced temptation, he overcame. We were powerless; he resisted sin for you.

Does he know what it’s like to suffer? Your Good Shepherd laid down his life for you; he is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins, when he was crucified for us, for our redemption.

That old lion, the devil, had to do battle with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and the Lion of Judah has triumphed! Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Your Good Shepherd laid down his life for you, his sheep, and took it up again! Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

That old lion the devil has been crushed under his feet; he still bellows and roars, but he no longer has any teeth. He is beaten, and he knows it. Even at the very mention of the name of Jesus, he has no choice but to fall on his face, even though he doesn’t want to. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

As I said before, this phrase has new meaning now. Jesus was raised up from mankind, from the tribe of Judah, to be humanity’s salvation. He was lifted up from the earth when he was nailed to the cross. He was raised up from death and the grave in his glorious resurrection. Now he has been raised up from the earth and returned to his throne in heaven, where he now governs all creation. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Now, we, his Church, continue to lift him up when we proclaim his Gospel. Though this world hates him and tries to silence us, we are not alone. Christians throughout the centuries have faced ridicule and persecution, even arrest and ex*****on. Yet Christ’s Church still remains, even in the face of hardship and suffering. As Jesus himself says, “I will build my Church, and not even the gates of hell can stand against it.” Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Christ has indeed ascended into heaven, our High Priest and Divine King, where he intercedes for us. He hasn’t left us alone as orphans to fend for ourselves in this world. He still comes to us through his Word and his Sacraments. Next Sunday, we will celebrate Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit is poured out on Christ’s Church. We are not alone in this world; our God is with us. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Because our Lord Jesus has been raised, we know we shall be raised up too. He sits at God’s right hand in heavenly places, and we will dine with him in Paradise. The temptations of this world, the suffering and rejection around us, and the roar of that old lion the devil can no longer terrorize us. Christ our Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! And we shall rise with him.