Epiphany Lutheran Church
807.683.6621
  • Home
    • Location
    • Staff
  • Belief
    • We believe, teach, & confess
    • What is the "Epiphany"?
  • News
    • Calendar
  • Cool Stuff
    • Messages
    • Catechism Memory Songs
    • Stuff We Like
    • Hacienda Haberstock

The Church is "evangelical"---Lenten Midweek 3

2/27/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Part of our shared midweek Lenten Service series "The Church is: ..."  

Ash Wednesday: "Liturgical"
Week 2: "catholic" 
Week 3: "evangelical"
Week 4: "orthodox"
Week 5: "confessional"
Week 6: "apostolic"
Holy Thursday: "Sacramental"
Good Friday: "Cruciform"
Easter Sunday: "The One Holy Church"
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

    The church, by her very nature, is evangelical.  The English word “evangelical” comes from a Greek word that means “good news.”  That Greek word is often translated as “Gospel.”  And so when we say that the church is evangelical, we are saying that it is based in the message of the full and free forgiveness of sins.  We are announcing that there is good news for the least, the last, the lost.  

Read More
0 Comments

The Kyrie Way is Always a Sure Thing---2nd Sunday in Lent

2/24/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
lent_2_-_24_02_2013.mp3
File Size: 3281 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

This is the second of a series about the Divine Service.  

Part 1: Confession & Absolution
Part 2: the "Kyrie Eleison"
Part 3: the "Gloria in Excelsis"
Part 4: the "Creed"
Part 5: the "Sanctus"
Part 6: the "Agnus Dei"
Genesis 32:22-32
1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
Matthew 15:21-28

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  
On Sunday mornings, after the Confession and Absolution, we cry out Kyrie Elieson, “Lord have mercy.”  We have just received mercy in Christ’s absolution.  Why do we need more?  Because to cry Kyrie eleison is a command.  It is to trust in your God.  It is the exercise of your faith.  It is to stand up from your humble kneeling position before God to take your place as His beloved child.  

Read More
0 Comments

The Church is "catholic"---Lent2 midweek

2/20/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Part of our shared midweek Lenten Service series "The Church is: ..."  

Ash Wednesday: "Liturgical"
Week 2: "catholic" 
Week 3: "evangelical"
Week 4: "orthodox"
Week 5: "confessional"
Week 6: "apostolic"
Holy Thursday: "Sacramental"
Good Friday: "Cruciform"
Easter Sunday: "The One Holy Church"

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 

What comes to mind when you hear the word “catholic?”  The Pope?  Benedict XVI’s recent resignation?  The smell of incense at a funeral?  Maybe you think of social service organizations like the Knights of Columbus or health care initiatives like the St. Joseph’s Care Group?  These things and many more belong to the Roman Catholic Church.  

Roman Catholics have traditionally declared that they are the only real and true church.  For Roman Catholics the church is identified by a structure, by belonging to an institution, by submission to the pope.  In response, Luther writes in one of our public statements of faith, “We do not agree with them that they are the Church.  They are not the Church.  Nor will we listen to those things that, under the name of Church, they command or forbid.  Thank God, a seven year old child knows what the Church is, namely, the holy believers who hear the voice of their Shepherd.  For the children pray, “I believe in one holy Christian Church.”  This holiness does not come from albs, tonsures, long gowns, and other ceremonies they made up without Holy Scripture, but from God’s Word and true faith.” SA 3.XII 


Read More
0 Comments

Absolute[tion] Armour---First Sunday in Lent

2/17/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
lent1_-_2013-02-17.mp3
File Size: 2999 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

This is the first of a series about the Divine Service.  
Part 1: Confession & Absolution
Part 2: the "Kyrie Eleison"
Part 3: the "Gloria in Excelsis"
Part 4: the "Creed"
Part 5: the "Sanctus"
Part 6: the "Agnus Dei"
1 Samuel 17:40-51
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Matthew 4:1-11

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  
Our Lord had just been baptized by John the Baptizer.  His Father had declared, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I take pleasure.”  His Baptism declared it.  He is God’s Son.  God’s beloved.  The One He is exceedingly pleased with.  Your baptism declares this.  You are God’s Son.  His beloved.  The One He is exceedingly pleased with.  

Read More
0 Comments

Ash Wednesday---The Church is "liturgical"

2/13/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Part of our shared midweek Lenten Service series "The Church is: ..."  

Ash Wednesday: "Liturgical"
Week 2: "catholic" 
Week 3: "evangelical"
Week 4: "orthodox"
Week 5: "confessional"
Week 6: "apostolic"
Holy Thursday: "Sacramental"
Good Friday: "Cruciform"
Easter Sunday: "The One Holy Church"

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  

Luther defined the Church this way: "a seven-year-old child knows what the Church is, namely, the holy believers and lambs who hear the voice of their Shepherd."  In other words, the Church is the flock of God with the sheep and lambs listening to and led by the voice of Her Shepherd Jesus Christ.  Similarly the Church is the body of Christ with Christ as its head leading it, guiding it, directing it.  Thus, in order to be Church and be connected to Jesus Christians must gather together to hear Jesus.  That is the Church: Jesus and His bride together.  

That’s why you can’t be a Christian in isolation.  A Christian is part of the flock.  Together with the flock a Christian hears the voice of the Good Shepherd.  Together with the rest of the Body Christ serves and makes decisions, like what to feed His Body, for the benefit of His Body.  Thus, if you are not hearing and following the Good Shepherd with the flock, for reasons other than your undershepherd in a particular place is speaking falsehood in God’s name and refuses to be admonished and repent, then you are isolating self from the Church.  You are not listening to Christ.  You are amputating yourself off of Christ.  You are sinning.  The Church exists to be a refuge from world, hospital for sinners, place to receive medicine of life, to hear saviour, to be surgically reattached to Him.  

But with a basic definition of the Church in place I want to talk about the marks of the Church.  We start today on Ash Wednesday with the Church is “liturgical”.  And there are three common definitions to that word that we need to understand.  


Read More
0 Comments

The Moveable Temple---Quinquagesima

2/10/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
quinquagesima_-_10_02_2013.mp3
File Size: 3366 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Luke 18:31-43

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.  
From the time God gave the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai till after King David God dwelt in a moveable temple.  In a tent called the Tabernacle.  This was a necessity.  God’s people, newly freed from slavery in Egypt, were nomadic until they conquered the Promised Land.  Even after the conquest of the Land it took many generations to settle and fill the Land.  Thus there was no fixed place for God’s temple for hundreds of years.  At times our God is ultimately pragmatic.  At other times He does not care about pragmatism one bit and does what makes no sense to us.  But whether God seems sensible in one case or unreasonable in another, we should always ask: what does this teach us?  

Read More
0 Comments

Soil Samples—Sexagesima

2/3/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
sexagesima_-_03_02_2013.mp3
File Size: 3441 kb
File Type: mp3
Download File

Isaiah 55:10-13
Hebrews 4:9-13
Luke 8:4-21

In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. 
Parables are always wily and difficult to understand.  This is not just because we are 2000 years removed from the culture they were spoken to and the speaker they were spoken by.  Nor is it because things get lost in translation from one language to another.  Parables are hard to understand because the purpose of a parable is to hide God in plain sight.  So that hearing a parable you can hear but not understand, and can see but be blind to what it reveals.  The secret to understanding parables is hearing them with faith.  The secret of hearing with faith is having a preacher to preach, teach, and explain the Gospel to you.  For faith comes by hearing.  Hearing comes by a preacher.  Preachers are sent by God.  (Romans 10:13-17)

Read More
0 Comments

    Listening

    If audio is available, you may listen to it by clicking the play button.  

    Downloading

    If audio is available, you may download it by "right clicking" on the "Download file" button and choosing "Save link as..."

    Archives

    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    1 Chronicles 21
    1 Corinthians 1
    1 COrinthians 10
    1 Corinthians 13
    1 Kings 3
    1 Kings 6
    1 Samuel 1
    1 Samuel 12
    1 Samuel 13
    1 Samuel 16
    1 Samuel 17
    1 Samuel 2
    1 Samuel 3
    1 Samuel 8
    2 Corinthians 10
    2 Corinthians 5
    2 Samuel 11
    2 Samuel 12
    Acts 2
    Acts 8
    Advent 1
    Advent 2
    Advent 3
    Advent 4
    All Saints Day
    Ash Wednesday
    Baptism Of Our Lord
    Baptism Of Our Lord
    Bathsheba
    Cantate
    Christmas 1
    Christmas 2
    Christmas Day
    Christmas Eve
    Confirmation
    David
    Easter
    Easter 2
    Easter 3
    Easter 4
    Easter 5
    Easter 6
    Easter 7
    Ephesians 2
    Ephesians 5
    Epiphany 2
    Epiphany 3
    Exaudi
    Exodus 1
    Exodus 11
    Exodus 12
    Exodus 14
    Exodus 16
    Exodus 17
    Exodus 2
    Exodus 20
    Exodus 3
    Exodus 32
    Exodus 33
    Exodus 4
    Exodus 5
    Exodus 6
    Exodus 7
    Ezekiel 2-3
    Funeral
    Genesis 1
    Genesis 11
    Genesis 12
    Genesis 14
    Genesis 15
    Genesis 17
    Genesis 18
    Genesis 2
    Genesis 21
    Genesis 22
    Genesis 25
    Genesis 27
    Genesis 3
    Genesis 32
    Genesis 37
    Genesis 39
    Genesis 4
    Genesis 41
    Genesis 6-7
    Good Fridy
    Hebrews 10
    Hebrews 11
    Hebrews 2
    Hebrews 4
    Hebrews 7
    Hebrews 9
    Holy Cross
    Holy Thursday
    Holy Trinity
    Installation
    Invocabit
    Isaiah 52
    Isaiah 55
    Isaiah 66
    James 1
    Job 1-2
    Job 19
    John 1
    John 10
    John 12
    John 13
    John 14
    John 15 16
    John 15-16
    John 16
    John 18-19
    John 2
    John 20
    John 3
    John 4
    John 6
    John 8
    Joshua 1
    Joshua 2
    Joshua 3
    Joshua 4
    Joshua 5
    Joshua 6
    Jubilate
    Jude
    Judges 13
    Judges 16
    Judges 2
    Judges 6
    Judges 7
    Judica
    Laetere
    Last
    Lent 1
    Lent 2
    Lent 3
    Lent 4
    Lent5
    Luke 10
    Luke 11
    Luke 12
    Luke 14
    Luke 15
    Luke 16
    Luke 17
    Luke 18
    Luke 19
    Luke 2
    Luke 21
    Luke 5
    Luke 6
    Luke 7
    Luke 8
    Mark 16
    Mark 7
    Mark 8
    Matthew 1
    Matthew 11
    Matthew 15
    Matthew 17
    Matthew 18
    Matthew 2
    Matthew 20
    Matthew 21
    Matthew 22
    Matthew 24
    Matthew 25
    Matthew 26
    Matthew 27
    Matthew 28
    Matthew 3
    Matthew 3
    Matthew 4
    Matthew 5
    Matthew 6
    Matthew 7
    Matthew 8
    Matthew 9
    Misericordias Domini
    New Year
    Numbers 13
    Numbers 14
    Numbers 17
    Numbers 21
    Numbers 22
    Numbers 24
    Oculi
    Old Testament
    Palm Sunday
    Pastor And Confessor
    Pentecost
    Psalm 2
    Psalm 25
    Psalm 43
    Psalm 91
    Purification Of Mary
    Quasimodo Geniti
    Quinquagesima
    Reformation
    Reminiscere
    Rogate
    Romans 10
    Ruth
    Septuagesima
    Sexagesima
    Solomon
    St. Bartholomew
    St. Matthew
    The Epiphany
    Titus
    Transfiguration
    Trinity 1
    Trinity 10
    Trinity 11
    Trinity 12
    Trinity 13
    Trinity 14
    Trinity 15
    Trinity 16
    Trinity 17
    Trinity 18
    Trinity 19
    Trinity 2
    Trinity 20
    Trinity 21
    Trinity 22
    Trinity 23
    Trinity 24
    Trinity 25
    Trinity 3
    Trinity 4
    Trinity 5
    Trinity 6
    Trinity 7
    Trinity 8
    Trinity 9

    RSS Feed