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Sanctuary

Pastor Zill is available for Private Confession and Absolution in the sanctuary.

Fellowship Hall

Sanctuary

A man was brought to Jesus who was deaf and therefore also had an impediment in his speech (Mark 7:31-37). In the same way, all are by nature deaf toward God and therefore also unable to confess the faith rightly. For "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom 10:9-17). Jesus put His fingers into the man's ears, and He spat and touched His tongue. Even so in Holy Baptism water sanctified by the words of Jesus' mouth is applied to us; and the finger of God, that is, the life-giving Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:4-11) is put into our ears in the hearing of the baptismal Gospel. Jesus' sighing "Ephphatha" opened the man’s ears, and his tongue was loosed to speak plainly as Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, "In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book" (Is 29:18-24) So also, He who sighed and breathed His last on the cross for us has given us to hear and believe in Him and has opened our lips that our mouths may declare His praise.

Sanctuary

Pastor Zill is available for Private Confession and Absolution in the sanctuary.

Fellowship Hall

Sanctuary

The Law cannot help us or give us life. Rather, it confines everyone under sin as wounded and naked before God (Gal 3:15-22). So it is that two figures of the Law, the priest and the Levite, passed by the injured man on the side of the road (Luke 10:23-37). Only the promised Seed of Abraham can rescue us and make us righteous before God. Only the Samaritan, our Lord Jesus, had compassion. He came down to us in our lost and dying condition, pouring on the oil and wine of the sacraments. He placed us on His own animal, bearing our sin and brokenness in His body on the cross to restore us. Jesus brought us to the Inn, that is, the Church, and gave the innkeeper two denarii, that His double forgiveness might continue to be ministered to us. In this way the Lord, by whose Law we are torn and stricken, heals us and revives us by His Gospel and raises us up with Himself on the third day, that we may live in His sight (Hos 6:1-6).

Sanctuary

Pastor Zill is available for Private Confession and Absolution in the sanctuary.

Fellowship Hall

Sanctuary

The ten lepers cried out from a distance, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (Luke 17:11-19). Their condition cut them off from God and others. So also do the works of the flesh cut us off from God and others. "Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal 5:16-24). Thus we cry out with the lepers, "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy," eagerly seeking His good gifts. Jesus said to the lepers, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed. So too, we walk by faith and not by sight, being confident of Jesus' help before we see any evidence of it, trusting that Jesus' cleansing words of forgiveness will restore us to wholeness in the resurrection. Let us be as the one leper who returned to the true High Priest to give Him thanks and glory. For Jesus bore our infirmities in His sacrifice at Calvary. His words are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh (Prov 4:10-23).

Sanctuary

Pastor Zill is available for Private Confession and Absolution in the sanctuary.

Fellowship Hall