Tag Archives: Creed

Exalted for Your Redemption – Sermon on the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 3

The Scripture readings used for tonight’s service were Psalm 8; Hebrews 2:5-18; and Luke 24:44-53.

Listen here.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true Man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord; Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, bought me and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver and gold, but with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent sufferings and death; in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.  This is most certainly true.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Last week we considered the 2nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed and Jesus’ humiliation. Tonight, we continue to consider this article, but in the light of Jesus’ exaltation. Jesus, who is God and Man, is now seated at God’s right hand where He rules, governs, and directs all things in creation. This is great news, and we’ll finish by dwelling on that.

But first it is good to recognize where we confess Jesus’ humiliation and where we confess Jesus’ exaltation in the Creed. Jesus’ humiliation includes His conception by the Holy Spirit; His birth of the virgin Mary; His suffering under Pontius Pilate; His crucifixion, death, and burial. Two things should be mentioned at this point:

First, and this will be important later, the fact that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh – the term for that is the ‘incarnation’ – is not part of Jesus’ humiliation. The way or manner in which Jesus took on flesh shows His humility, but the incarnation itself is not part of Jesus’ humiliation. We have to confess that because Jesus is still truly Man. When Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father, He didn’t lay aside or set down His body. No, He ascended physically into heaven. Jesus still has and will forever have His body. So, again, the fact that the Son of God took on flesh is not part of Jesus’ humiliation because He keeps His body in His exaltation. Tuck that into the back of your mind because, again, it will be important later.

The second thing to mention here is Jesus’ descent into hell. It might seem foreign to us, but Jesus’ descent into hell is the first step of His exaltation when we confess the Creed. We are so used to being told about the horrors of hell that we probably think that going there must be terrible, and that is absolutely true for us. However, when Jesus descended into hell, He did so for an important reason.

The only Scripture text that teaches that Jesus descended into hell is 1 Pet. 3:18-19 which says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” Notice that this text teaches that Jesus is made alive in the spirit, in which, He goes and proclaims to the spirits in the prison of hell. As Jesus wins the victory over death by rising again, He descends into hell and proclaims His victory over the devil and the souls of those who refused to believe. Think of it as a victory lap when Christ preaches even to the devil and those who persisted in unbelief that by the shedding of His blood He has won the victory over sin and death.

So, with all of that in mind, when we confess the Creed, Christ’s exaltation begins with His descent into hell then continues with His resurrection from the dead on the third day; His ascension into heaven; and His continued sitting at God’s right hand to this day. Jesus’ exaltation will culminate when He returns in glory to judge the living and the dead on the Last Day.

So, what toes all of this mean for you now?

Well, in our Gospel lesson (Lk. 24:44-53), we got to hear Luke’s shorter account of Jesus’ ascension. Luke gives a longer view of the ascension with a few other details in Acts 1[:6-11]. But I want you to notice two particular details from the end of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus leads the disciples out to Bethany. Ascension 2He lifts up His hands and blesses them. And while He is blessing them, He is carried up into heaven. The last time Jesus was seen on earth, He is lifting up His hands in blessing. And Jesus continues to lift up His nail-pierced hands in blessing over you, dear saints.

The other detail to consider briefly is that the disciples worshiped Him. Imagine you walked around a corner and saw these disciples. Some of them are standing with their arms raised in praise and gazing into heaven. Some are kneeling with their faces to the ground praising Him. Maybe they are singing one of the Psalms. To someone who didn’t know what had just happened, seeing all this would look pretty ridiculous.

But it isn’t. Jesus was gone. He had ascended to God’s right hand. But the disciples knew that Jesus was not gone in a way that means that He is now absent from them. So, they return to Jerusalem with joy – with great joy. And they were continually in the Temple blessing God. And we join them.

Because Jesus has physically ascended into heaven and is exalted, we have an eternal High Priest who is crowned with glory and honor. As our Epistle text (Heb. 2:5-18) says, He has been made like us, and still is like us, in every respect, so that He is a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God. He is the one who carried our griefs and sorrows (Is. 53:4). He knows the struggles you faced today, and He endured the trials you will face tomorrow. Because He suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help you who are being tempted.

Dear saints, Jesus is exalted. Christ is risen, and He is ascended into heaven, but He is not gone. He is still with you. In fact, He has promised to always be with you. Jesus promises, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am among them” (Mt. 18:20). Jesus promises, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…. And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:18, 20). We see Him with the eyes of faith. We see Him even though our eyes do not behold Him. We see Him because He has promised to be with us in His Word and Sacrament. We see Him in our brothers and sisters in Christ. And we see Him in our neighbor who needs our help because as we do good to the least of our brothers, we do also unto Jesus.

We see Jesus, and we watch for Him. We watch for Him because this same Jesus promises that He will return to dwell with you for all eternity. As God’s people we say, “Amen. Amen. It will be so. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Humbled for Your Redemption -Sermon on the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 2

The Scripture readings used during tonight’s service were Psalm 71; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; and Philippians 2:1-11.

Listen here.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;  He ascended into heaven; and is seated on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from where He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true Man, born of the virgin Mary, is my Lord; Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, bought me and freed me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with silver and gold, but with His holy and precious blood and with His innocent sufferings and death; in order that I might be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness; even as He is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity.  This is most certainly true.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

There are too many lords in here tonight. I’m a lord. You are a lord. You are a lord. Everyone sitting on this side of the sanctuary is a lord. Maybe you don’t feel like much of a lord. You don’t have a castle. You don’t have lands or titles or pedigree. You can’t control the economy. You can’t even control if your house has toilet paper because all the other lords have gone and purchased it all before you could get to the store.

Probably most of us don’t think we are guilty of seeing ourselves as lords. Each of us usually thinks that we are the low man on the totem pole while there is somebody else up there – in the school office, in Washington D.C., or wherever ‘there’ is. But guess again. You are a lord, and there are too many lords here and too many lords out there.

Haughty PrideA lord is not simply someone who has the final say or ultimate authority over a situation. A lord is anyone who exercises power over someone at any time. For example, you are a lord when you get into your car and drive 32 mph instead of the posted 30 mph because your time is more important than the safety of others. By the way, you are also a lord when you slow down to 27 mph in a 30 mph in order to teach a lesson to that guy driving 40 mph behind you. You are a lord when you sit down after a long day and your spouse or kids ask you for something, but you don’t feel like giving them the time or attention they desire. You are a lord when you go to the store or click your mouse to spend your money on yourself or family while ignoring the hungry and needy. Kids, you are a lord when you decide that your sibling has done something you don’t like, so you turn around and do something to them that they don’t like. Yes, there are too many lords today.

The question tonight is this: “What kind of lord are you?” In the Epistle text you heard earlier (Php. 2:1-11), Paul doesn’t ask the question directly, but the Holy Spirit would like that text to have us each answer the question, “What kind of lord am I?” And that Scripture text would have us consider ourselves in light of the Lordship of Jesus who is King of kings and Lord of lords.

As we consider the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed this week and next, we are going to divide it in two parts – Jesus’ humiliation tonight and Jesus’ exaltation next week. Tonight, know this: because Jesus is Lord, the kind of Lord you have is a humble Lord.

Here is the first thing we have to understand about our Lord Jesus’ humiliation. To be humiliated or humbled, you have to start with some status. The higher you start, the more you can be humbled. So, consider Jesus. Jesus is the eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere-present Son of God. You can’t start higher or more lord-like than that. But Jesus didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped or held on to.

Jesus’ lordship stands opposite to what Adam and Eve did. Remember in the Garden, Satan aroused Adam and Eve (who were given dominion [i.e. ‘lordship’] over all creation) to eat of the tree which God commanded them not to eat so that they would be like God. They took the bait and fell. Even though Jesus didn’t need to be like God (because He already was God), Jesus is patient and waits to be given that glorification, that lordship, until it pleases God to give it to Him. So, Christ chose to humble Himself.

Even though Jesus was true God and equal to God in all respects, as a man, Christ did not fully make use of His divine powers and attributes. If Jesus wanted to go somewhere, He didn’t teleport. Jesus didn’t sustain Himself by His divine power; instead, He ate food. Jesus took naps, and His feet got dirty. Yes, there are times where Jesus uses His divine power, but almost always it is for the benefit of others by healing them.

good-friday-jesus-comes-to-rescueJesus, the Son of God, emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant. He was formed and woven together in His mother’s womb, just like you were. Jesus was born just as you were born, but in a stable. The shepherds and wise men saw Him as an infant. As a helpless infant, Jesus entrusted Himself to the care of His parents who had to flee the violent, wicked hands of Herod, the lord of Jesus’ land. Jesus learned to walk, talk, and eat in Egypt. He was even potty trained there. He learned His letters and how to read after His parents moved Him to their hometown of Nazareth. Jesus grew up learning carpentry, the trade of His (earthly) father, Joseph. Lord Jesus made friends with the neighborhood kids, and He had siblings who didn’t always treat Him with kindness (Mk. 3:31-32, Jn. 7:1-5).

Jesus knew tiredness after a long day of travel (Jn. 4:6). He got hungry (Mt. 4:2). Jesus experienced disappointment of friends who betrayed Him (Lk. 22:47-48). He felt the pain of friends and family dying (Jn. 11:32-34). Jesus experienced the lure and enticement of every temptation that you face. Yet, Jesus still did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. He did not use His divine power to remove Himself from any of those situations.

Instead, your Lord Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death, and not just any death. He humbled Himself to a cross-type death – the most painful and humiliating death ever devised for the lowest of criminals. To illustrate how humiliating Jesus’ death was, it is interesting to note that Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but they don’t believe Jesus died on the cross because dying on a cross is below the dignity of a prophet. And finally, Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb.

Dear saints, your Lord Jesus humbled Himself. You have a truly humble Lord, and Jesus, your Lord did all of this for your redemption. Yet, Christ is most God-like when He is on the cross. With all power and authority at His disposal, He lays it all aside to shed His blood for you, to die for you, to redeem you, to give you His grace and mercy, and to become your Lord.

Christian, that is the kind of Lord you have. Because you have been redeemed by your humble Lord, you are children of God and lords – with a little ‘l’ (1 Cor. 9:19, Ro. 13:8). And this world desperately needs little lords that have the humble mind of Christ. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Created by the Father to Love and Serve – Sermon on the 1st Article of the Apostles’ Creed for Midweek Lent 1

The Scripture readings used during tonight’s service were Psalm 104; Genesis 1:1-2:3; and Matthew 6:22-34.

Listen here.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean?

I believe that God has created me and all that exists; that He has given and still preserves to me my body and soul, my eyes and ears, and all my members, my reason and all the powers of my soul, together with food and clothing, home and family, and all my property; that He daily provides abundantly for all the needs of my life, protects me from all danger, and guards and keeps me from all evil; and that He does this purely and out of fatherly and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all of which I am in duty bound to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.

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

Tonight, we begin this little adventure of considering the Apostles’ Creed and the God who has created, redeemed, and sanctified us. From the moment I began thinking about this series, I knew that preaching the 1st Article would be the most difficult sermon to write because there are so many possibilities. I thought about preaching against evolution and atheism. Or preaching about the wisdom of God and the wonderful care and detail He used when He situated all the parts of creation for us to live on this little speck of dirt traveling through the universe. I thought about preaching how God our Father and Creator graciously continues to sustain and preserve creation even after the Fall into sin. There were too many possibilities. But my main concern about preaching the 1st Article was to make sure that as we consider the fact that God created us that it also fit with preaching Christ. So tonight, you are going to get a little of all that.

The poisonous theory of evolution that says the entire universe happened by a chance, chaotic explosion, that caused life to accidentally form in a violent world, and that life continues to exist only because of death and Galexysurvival of the fittest. But the more scientists discover and learn, the more it becomes impossible to believe that we are the product of a series of random events.

We live on a big earth, but when you compare our solar system to the size of the universe, our entire solar system is incredibly small. Yet, our solar system is placed in the perfect spot in the Milky Way Galaxy that protects us from radiation. The number and size of other planets in our solar system protect us from asteroids hurtling through space that would destroy Earth. Our planet is just the right distance from the Sun – move us much closer and everything would be too hot, much further and everything would be too cold. The axis of Earth is tilted just the right number of degrees to regulate heat on the planet. The size of our planet means it has enough gravity to hold on to the gasses of our atmosphere, but it is not so large that we become a gaseous giant like Jupiter. The chemistry of our planet is in perfect balance to sustain life. Our moon is just the right size to regulate tides that sustain life in the oceans. And the magnetic field surrounding us is perfect to shield us from the sun’s radiation. Each of these details show that you believe in an Almighty Creator.

That’s just the big picture, macro stuff. Let’s get tiny and consider the micro stuff. Your body is made up of somewhere around 35 trillion individual cells that serve various functions. If the DNA strands in those cells were laid out end to end, it would travel from here to the sun and back 100 times. DNAFrom the moment you were conceived, the information in your DNA would fill 600,000 pages with information. And right now, in each of the 35 trillion cells of your body, biological “machines” are copying the volumes of information in your DNA into amino acids which are taken by other machines and folded in specific and precise ways into proteins. (So, don’t let anyone tell you that you are lazy.) But with all those minute details, you believe in an intricate, sophisticated, wise Maker.

Yes, you believe in God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And we could continue to consider all sorts of other facts about the universe and the size of the sun and the necessity of solar flares on the large scale. Or, we could consider the miracle of trillions of bacteria that line your intestines so you can digest the wonderful soup, sandwich, and desserts traveling through your gut right now on the small scale. And that would be time well spent marveling at the wonders of creation. But we would be missing what might be the most important word in the 1st Article – the word ‘Father.’

Every detail – both large and small scale – shows that you have a Creator who cares about everything large and small. Your God is the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. He cares for you and governs all creation to make sure that you have everything you need for life. Matthew 6_26 Birds Father ProvidesYour heavenly Father created and gives you everything. Your body and soul, your eyes and ears, all your members, your reason and senses – everything you have is a good gift from God your Father who daily provides for all the needs of your life. And He promises to continue to provide those things for you without any merit or worthiness in you. So, you don’t have to go running around worrying about what you will eat or drink or wear. God makes the sun to shine on the evil and the good, and He sends rain to the just and the unjust (Mt. 5:45). Everything that God provides for your life in His creation continues to be given as His good gift. The theological shorthand for all these things needed for life in God’s creation is called “1st Article gifts.” So, if you don’t mind, I’ll use that term again in a bit.

Now, the church has been fighting against atheism and the false theory of evolution for so long that we have forgotten to think about two important questions related to the 1st Article: How do we, as God’s creatures, view our neighbor? And what is our relationship and responsibility to creation? The answers to these questions are bound up together.

First of all, everyone you meet is one of God’s creatures intricately created and lovingly preserved by God. Every child from the moment of conception to the oldest person alive is a precious creature of God the Father. Every individual – no matter their skin color, their culture, their political views, or their ability – is valued and prized by the God who created them. So, treat them as such.

Your relationship and responsibility to them is to use all the 1st Article gifts God has given you to love them, to care for them, and to help and assist them. Sometimes, that means changing diapers, feeding, and cleaning up after them. Sometimes, that means holding a door, shoveling a sidewalk, or letting them merge into your lane. Sometimes, that means listening, assuring, encouraging, warning, or protecting them.

So, protect the blessings of creation. Care for this world and protect the blessings God has given both to you and to others. When you look at others, remember that they too are created by God, and He loves them as His creatures.

Rest in the knowledge that God your Father continues to protect you from all danger and guards and keeps you from all evil. He does this because He is your Heavenly Father. He knows what you need. He knows that you need to eat and drink. He knows every last one of your needs, and He will provide every one of these 1st Article gifts because He is your Father.

How can you know this? Because He sent what was most important in Him to provide for your deepest lack.Hebrews 4_12 - Word of God Sharp Sword

God the Father Almighty who made you has sent Jesus, His beloved Son, into creation, into this 1stArticle world, to redeem you. And to that redemption, we turn next week. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

From Commandment to Creed – Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Listen here.

Matthew 22:34-46

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying,“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

Psalm 110_1 Footstool44 “The Lord said to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet’?

45 “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

In the name Jesus. Amen.

This Gospel text drops us right into the middle of a conversation that Jesus had in the Temple on the Tuesday of Holy Week with the very people who want to destroy Him. The Pharisees and Sadducees are all trying to trap Jesus and entangle Him in His words. Their purpose is to make either the crowds or the authorities (they don’t care which) turn against Him so they can kill Him and be rid of Him and His preaching.

The first two questions they put to Jesus are about paying taxes and about the resurrection. Both of these questions are designed to take one part of God’s Word and make it contradict another part. And both questions appear to have no good answer. The leaders think that no matter how Jesus answers their question, they will have Him. But they are wrong. Jesus answers both questions leaving them dumbfounded.

Our text begins with the third question. One of the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question, again to test and to trap Jesus in His words.“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” The purpose of this question is to figure out which Commandment Jesus thinks is most important so that they can find a commandment set against it.

But again, this is absolutely foolish because Jesus knows there is no contradiction in the Law. He is the one who wrote the Law.

Jesus answers, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and prophets.”

Now, it is interesting in Mark’s account of this same event, the same questioning, that Jesus says there’s no other commandment (singular) greater than these (plural). Perfect love of God and perfect love of your neighbor go together. It is one commandment. The two are inseparably tied together. Love for God is demonstrated by love for the neighbor.

1 John 4_20-21 Love God and Neighbor


1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”And Jesus says in Matthew 25(:40) that the acts of love that you do toward your neighbor you do toward God. “As you did to the least of these, you did also to Me.”In other words, when you love your neighbor, you are loving God.

So, think about that for a moment. When you are helping, supporting, encouraging your spouse, you are serving both God and your spouse. You are loving both God and neighbor. When you feed your kids, when you obey your parents, when you do your homework, you are serving your neighbor and thereby serving God. Telling the truth, living a caste life, returning a lost wallet or purse instead of stealing, being content with what you have instead of coveting – all of these actions are service to God and your neighbor. Whoever is your neighbor, whoever God puts in your life at any given moment, that is the one whom God wants you to love. And when you love that neighbor, whoever it may be, you are loving God.

While that is so very beautiful, if we stop to think about it, this command to love God and neighbor demands everything of us. And we realize how fallen and sinful we are. This command shows us our desperate need for God to come and rescue us.

With His answer, with His preaching of the Law to love both God and neighbor, Jesus cuts down these people who are trying to trap Him, and He cuts you and I down as well because our sin is exposed. We do not love enough. We never have, and we never will.

But notice Jesus doesn’t take the conversation in that direction. He doesn’t ask them, “How are you doing with loving God and your neighbor?” Jesus doesn’t continue to have a conversation about the Law.

Instead, Jesus moves away from questions about the Law to the Creed. The Law is good and important. It shows us the nature and will of God, but the Law always shows us our sin. The Law tells us what we must do, but it always tells us what we have failed to do.

But the Creed shows us how God is toward us. The Creed isn’t about what we must do, it is the Gospel. It is what God has done for us. In the Creed, we confess that God is the Father who created us sent His Son who redeemed us and gives us the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us and makes us holy.

So, Jesus moves away from the Law to the Creed. He asks them, “The Messiah, whose son is he?”And they were right when they say, “David’s son.”God had promised to send David a son who would sit on David’s throne forever (1 Sam. 7). But David also wrote in Psalm 110:1, which is the verse that Jesus quotes, that this Son is also David’s Lord. So, Jesus’ question is, “How can the Messiah, David’s son, also be David’s Lord?”because a father would never call his descendent, “Lord.”

Now stay with me here: The reason Jesus asks this is that He is teaching the Pharisees, the crowds, and you that the Messiah is both God and man.

Because the Messiah is both God and man, He has kept the Law for you. Jesus perfectly loved God and your neighbor for you. And through faith, Jesus declares that what He has done perfectly, you have done as well (2 Cor. 5:21).

The Law says, “Honor thy father and mother. Love them as yourself.” And you are left saying, “God, I haven’t done that. I need Your help.” If it weren’t for the Creed, if the Messiah weren’t man, God would have to say, “Well, I’m God. I don’t have a father or mother, so I can’t help you. You have to do that yourself.” But God did become a man. Jesus had a mom and a dad. He did love and honor them perfectly. So, He can and does help you. And you can apply this to each and every one of the Commandments.

But most importantly, when you hear the law and know that you have sinned, you know that you deserve death. You deserve the eternal wrath and judgment of God. So, you pray, “God I’m lost. I deserve only death, could You die for me?” Because God has taken up your nature, God says, “Sure. I already have.”

Communion Cross with JesusStop playing games with the Law, there is no contradiction in it. Instead, believe. Believe that Christ has come for you. He has given His life for you. God has purchased you with His own blood (Act. 20:28). He has removed the curse of the Law from you because He has perfectly kept the Law for you. And He gives you His perfection, His righteousness, His holiness.

And, now, He invites you to have your faith strengthened. He invites you to receive His perfect Body and His holy Blood in Bread and Wine. He invites you to come and taste that He is good. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.