St. Martin Lutheran Church
Weekly Lesson Archive
First Lesson Reading - Jeremiah 11:18-20
Second Lesson Reading - James 3:13-4:10
Gospel Lesson Reading - Mark 9:30-37
Our Father Cares for His Children with the Gospel of His Son
The sinful heart is filled with “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition” (James 3:14), which causes hostility, quarrels and conflicts, even among those who are fellow members of the body of Christ. This should not be so! Rather, God “opposes the proud” with His Law, in order to humble them unto repentance; He “gives grace to the humble,” in order to exalt them by His Gospel of forgiveness (James 4:6–10). This true “wisdom from above” is found in the gentleness, mercy and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself and sacrificed Himself for the salvation of sinners (James 3:17). He was “like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter,” committing Himself to God, His Father, “who judges righteously, who tests the heart and the mind” (Jer. 11:19–20). Therefore, “after three days,” His Father exalted Him by raising Him from the dead (Mark 9:31). In Holy Baptism, He takes disciples of all ages into His arms like little children. In receiving Him through repentance and faith in His forgiveness of sins, they receive from His Father a share in the glory of His cross and resurrection (Mark 9:36–37).
Services on September 13th and 14th, 2015
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-10
Second Reading: James 3:1-12
Gospel Reading: Mark 9:14-29
Christ Jesus Delivers Us from Sin, Death and the Devil
Those who teach the Word of God “will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1) because it is by the Word that saving faith is obtained, whereas false doctrine always threatens to destroy Christian faith and life. The tongue “boasts of great things,” whether for good or evil (James 3:5). In fallen man, “it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). But anyone who bridles his tongue with the Word of God, who “does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man” (James 3:2). It is Christ who opens His ear to the voice of His Father, so that, with “the tongue of those who are taught,” He is able to sustain the weary “with a word” (Is. 50:4–5). Entrusting Himself to His Father, even to death, He is not put to shame but is vindicated in His resurrection (Is. 50:6–9). By His faith and faithfulness, He casts out the “mute and deaf spirit” from us (Mark 9:25). He has compassion on us and helps us, so that we are not destroyed but cleansed from every evil and raised up from death to life (Mark 9:22–27).
Services on September 6th and 7th, 2015
First Lesson Reading: Isaiah 35:4–7
Second Lesson Reading: James 2:1–10, 14–18
Gospel Lesson Reading: Mark 7:24-37
Our Merciful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Does All Things Well
The Lord proclaims the Gospel “to those who have an anxious heart” to comfort and encourage them with His presence. He comes not only with threats of “vengeance” and “recompense,” but with His gracious salvation (Is. 35:4). He opens “the eyes of the blind” and “the ears of the deaf,” and He loosens “the tongue of the mute” to “sing for joy” (Is. 35:5–6). Like water on thirsty ground, He speaks His life-giving Word to people of all nations. With His Word and the touch of His hand, He does “all things well,” so that you may now speak “plainly” (Mark 7:31–37). You confess the truth of God in Christ to the glory of His holy name, and you call upon His name in every trouble, confident that He will hear and answer. As you pray and confess with your tongue, so also “love your neighbor as yourself” (James 2:8). Show your faith “in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,” by loving without partiality. For God has “chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom” (James 2:1–5).
Services on August 30 and 31, 2015
Deut 4:1-2, 6-9
Ephesians 6:10-20
Mark 7: 14-23
We Are Cleansed and Sustained by the Word of God
Wickedness and evil come “from within, out of the heart,” and that is what defiles a person (Mark 7:21–23). Hence, we cannot save ourselves, because we are sinful and unclean from the inside out. But as the Lord Jesus “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19), so He cleanses us by His Word, by the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, “listen to the statutes and the rules” of the Lord, “and do them, that you may live” (Deut. 4:1). For His Word is righteous, and to live according to it is “your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples” (Deut. 4:6). Cling to His Word, and also teach it “to your children and your children’s children” (Deut. 4:9). Put on this “armor of God” by hearing and heeding what He speaks to you, that you may “stand firm” in the evil day (Eph. 6:11–13). Gird yourself with the righteousness of Christ, by faith in the “gospel of peace,” and take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” by confessing Christ Jesus and “praying at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:14–18).
Services on August 23 and 24, 2015
Isaiah 29: 11-19
Ephesians 5:22-33
Mark 7: 1-13
The True Tradition of the Church Is the Ministry of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, Her Savior
The true tradition of the Church is the Gospel, which is the preaching and administration of Christ Jesus. Other traditions, although not commanded by God, may serve and support that sacred tradition of the Gospel. But the Church dare not “[reject] the commandment of God” in order to establish or hold to “the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8–9). Sinful people attempt to draw near to the Lord “with their mouth” and to honor Him “with their lips,” while their hearts are far removed from Him (Is. 29:13). Yet, He is “the Holy One of Israel,” who brings about salvation by His cross. Therefore, “the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,” but “the deaf shall hear” and “the eyes of the blind shall see” (Is. 29:14–19). This mystery of Christ is profound, for He is the Husband of the Church, and He is her Savior. Not because of any works that she has done, but solely for the sake of His great love, He “gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Eph. 5:25–26).
Services on August 16 and 17, 2015
Proverbs 9:1-10
Joshua 24:1-2, 14-18
Ephesians 5:6-21
John 6:51-69
Jesus Is the Word and Wisdom of God, Who Gives You Life and Light in His Flesh
Jesus is the divine Word by whom all things were made, who has become flesh and dwells among us. He gives His flesh “for the life of the world,” not only as a sacrifice for sin but as “the living bread” from heaven (John 6:51). Eat His flesh and drink His blood (John 6:54–57), and no longer walk in the darkness of sin, but walk in His light. “Arise from the dead” and live in Him, because you are “light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8, 14). Being filled with His Spirit, confess Him to “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart” (Eph. 5:18–19). Fear, love and trust in Him, “and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness” (Josh. 24:14). For He has brought you “out of the house of slavery” by His cross and resurrection, and now He does “great signs” in your sight (Josh. 24:17). Indeed, He is the divine wisdom, who has built His house, prepared His feast and set His table; He bids you to recline and eat of His bread and drink of the wine He has mixed (Prov. 9:1–5).
August 9 and 10, 2015
1 Kings 19:1-8
Ephesians 4:17-5:2
John 6:35-51
Lord Jesus Feeds Us With His Flesh, in Order to Strengthen Us with His Own Life
God the Father sent His Son into the world, so that the world might have life in Him. Now He “draws” you to His Son, Christ Jesus, by the preaching of His Gospel. “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father” comes to Jesus, who will never cast him out but “will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44–45). He is “the bread of life,” who “comes down from heaven” in the flesh, that you may eat of Him and “live forever” (John 6:48–51). Although “the journey is too great for you,” in the strength of this food you shall come to “the mount of God.” Do not be afraid, and do not despair, but “arise and eat” (1 Kings 19:5–8). And “no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds” (Eph. 4:17), but “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us” (Eph. 5:2). In Him, you have been “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). Therefore, “be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph. 5:1), by “forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
(For services on August 2 & 3, 2015)
Exodus 16: 2-15
Ephesians 4: 1-16
John 6: 22-35
Jesus Is the True and Living Bread from Heaven
Having rescued Israel “out of the land of Egypt” (Ex. 16:6), the Lord manifested His glory and made Himself known to His people. He fed them with “meat to eat” in the evening and with “bread from heaven” in the morning (Ex. 16:4, 8, 12). But now, the “true bread from heaven,” which the Father gives to you, is the Son, “who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32–33). Whoever comes to Him “shall not hunger,” and whoever believes in Him “shall never thirst.” He is “the bread of life,” who gives Himself to you as “the food that endures to eternal life” (John 6:27, 35). By the gracious working of God, you believe in Him by the calling of one Spirit through the Gospel, so that you also have “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Eph. 4:4–6). As you eat His one body in the Holy Supper, so you belong to the one body of His Church, in which you “are to grow up in every way into him who is the head” (Eph. 4:15).
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
(For services on July 26 & 27, 2015)
Genesis 9:8-17
Ephesians 3:14-21
Mark 6:45-56
Creation Is Redeemed and Sanctified by the Word of Christ Jesus
Having spared faithful Noah and his family from the flood, the Lord established His covenant with them, “and with every living creature,” that never again would there be “a flood to destroy the earth” (Gen. 9:9–11). He signed and sealed this everlasting covenant with His rainbow in the clouds, by which He sees and remembers His promise that “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:13–16). Although creation suffers under the curse of sin, the Lord preserves and orders creation for the benefit of His Church. In particular, all of creation is redeemed and sanctified by the incarnate Son of God. “Take heart,” and “do not be afraid,” for He is with you on the sea. He is not a ghost, but He has come in the flesh to save you. He has gotten “into the boat” with you, and the wind that was against you has ceased (Mark 6:45–51). For He is the Word and promise of the Father, and His own flesh and blood are the covenant by which you are “strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being” (Eph. 3:16–17).
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
(For services on July 12 & 13, 2015)
Amos 7:7-15
Ephesians 1:3-14
Mark 6:14-29
Message - The Lord Jesus Brings His People through Death into Life by the Preaching of Repentance
Amos did not choose to be a prophet, but the Lord took him “from following the flock” and said to him, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel” (Amos 7:15). It was a hard word given him to preach: King Jeroboam would “die by the sword,” and Israel would “go into exile away from his land” (Amos 7:10–11). For this word, Amos was hated and threatened. St. John the Baptist also suffered for his faithful preaching of repentance. King Herod “sent and seized John and bound him in prison,” even though he knew that John “was a righteous and holy man” (Mark 6:17, 20). Out of pride and fear, Herod “sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head” (Mark 6:27). Yet in Christ, St. John the Baptist “has been raised from the dead” (Mark 6:14, 16). For Christ is the destruction of death itself “before the foundation of the world,” and even now by faith, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” has blessed us in Christ “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3–4). Through Baptism into Christ, you also “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” for life and salvation (Eph. 1:13).
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
(July 5,6 2015)
Ezekiel 2:1–5
2 Corinthians 12:1–10
Mark 6:1–13
Message - The Ministers of Christ Are Sent with His Authority to Forgive Sins and Give Life
The prophet Ezekiel was raised up by the Spirit of the Lord and sent to speak an unpopular Word to the rebellious house of Israel. As a prophet, he was not to speak his own word, but to preach the Law and the Gospel: “Thus says the Lord God,” whether the people “hear or refuse to hear” (Ezek. 2:4–5). So, too, in the footsteps of the prophets before Him, the Lord Jesus “went about among the villages teaching” (Mark 6:6). In His hometown, as elsewhere, “many who heard him were astonished,” marveling at His wisdom and at the “mighty works done by his hands,” and yet, “they took offense at him” (Mark 6:2–3). The offense culminates in His cross, which is, ironically, the heart and center of His “authority over the unclean spirits” (Mark 6:7). It is by that authority of His cross that those He sends preach repentance, “cast out many demons” and heal the sick (Mark 6:12–13). Thus, the apostle Paul boasts in the cross of Christ and in his own weaknesses, knowing that God’s grace is sufficient and that the power of Christ “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8–9).