“And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him” (Matthew 21:39).

Jesus, the One through whom all things have their being, was taken out and killed.  The wicked ones want what they can never have.  For the time they have on this earth, they pretend it is theirs.  Jesus went to the cross willingly, knowing that He was doing what needed to be done.  The wicked plot and scheme, but their schemes come to nothing.  Do not be led by the wickedness of this age, but by the Creator of all ages.

Lord, You were killed.  My sin killed You.  But sin has lost its sting, and You have won the victory.  We all need Your help to move beyond the way of death to learn how to live life.  We do not need to strive to find our way, for You have already given everything needed.  We do not need to follow the world, for this world is headed for destruction.  Transform our hearts to look to You alone as the Creator of all things.

Lord God Almighty, You knew all of this would happen and You went ahead with Your creation.  I do not fully understand, but I am thankful for the salvation You have given me through the crucifixion of my Savior.  Help me not to sin.  Although He died once for all, I do not want to live by forgiveness alone.  Help me to seek Your righteousness all the days You give me.  Lead me in the way of everlasting life, dear Lord.  Amen.

“Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they did the same things to them.  But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’  But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him and take possession of his inheritance!’” (Matthew 21:36-38)

Why does the thief think they can get away with it?  Ultimately, no one does, but each generation has thieves that steal and murderers that murder.  I want it, so I’ll find a way to take it.  Sinful humanity wants what belongs to God.  Everything belongs to the Lord, for He created it.  He has shared the portion He’s entrusted to you.  But we know Jesus was talking about His death on the cross when He spoke these words.

The world wanted to be rid of Jesus because He was disturbing the balance.  He wasn’t.  He was just telling the truth and bringing the world back into balance.  The Lord is truth.  Everything runs according to the rules He has set in place.  We need help to live the way life is meant to be lived.  We need to be guided in His goodness and mercy to humbly walk the way He would have us to proceed.

Lord Jesus, by Your shed blood You have redeemed me.  You have paid a debt I could never pay.  It is all Yours, Lord, yet You have walked among us as if we were peers.  Teach me how to do these things that You teach.  Teach my heart to long for Your return.  Guide me to be a worker in Your vineyard and not to plot for how to own it.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go.  Amen.

“And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit.  And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another” (Matthew 21:34-35).

Does God have expectations of us?  We certainly have expectations of one another.  Are we not created in God’s image?  The world will seek to kill your faith.  It is not enough to just go to church regularly and remain indifferent.  What kind of life will you live?  Will you live in the hope Jesus gives, or will you mix in some other hopes promoted by this sinful world?

Lord, You know how befuddled I get with all the voices that speak in this age.  Lift me up and out so that I hear clearly Your voice of truth speaking to me.  Heal my deafness so that I hear Your call.  Those in this world would kill me when I speak truth, just as they killed You.  Help me, Lord, so that I hold fast to the truth as You send me into the pit of vipers that are in this world.  Help me to fear not and remain true to Your word.

Lord Jesus, You know all things.  You have experienced the wickedness of this world first-hand.  You knew that then, and You know that now.  Help me to live beyond what this world says and follow Your word of truth.  You know what I need.  No matter where I am or what I am doing, lead me to be faithful to all that You have called me to do.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to hold fast to the word You have given me.  Amen.

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and he leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey” (Matthew 21:33).

The Lord has created all that you see.  He entrusted this world to humanity.  What has happened?  Humanity is greedy and selfish.  Some take and others are taken from.  We have beauty all around us, but there is much that has been despoiled.  We seek progress but we are still where we began.  Progress is not conquering the world, for it has already been conquered by sin.  We are called to follow a different path.

Lord, I am caught up in the trap of sin in this world.  I am in this vineyard You have made, and I have heard Your message of truth, but I often fall back into the ways of this world.  Free me from the snares of sin.  Teach me the freedom You grant by grace.  Show me how to live life as it is meant to be lived.  Help me learn what it means to walk by faith.  Shut my ears to the discord of this world to receive Your pure word of truth.

Lord Jesus, the disease is in me.  You have died for me that by grace I would be freed, but I still live as one trapped.  Help me to see with clarity the truth of what You have revealed.  Guide me to live into the life to which You have called me.  Let me not be hindered by sin but live freely in the faith You have given me.  Keep me in Your word, Lord, so that I may humbly go wherever You lead me.  Amen.   

Director’s Note: The contents of this post were provided to Lutheran CORE’s director by the Lutheran Congregational Support Network (LCSN).

The ELCA Office of the Secretary has produced a document in response to what they identify as “rumors that have been circulating regarding supposed changes to ELCA governance…” This document is being shared by ELCA bishops and synod leaders in what appears to be a response to information on the LCSN website.  

Myths or Facts: We want you to decide!

Start by:

• Reading a response to the “Myths and Facts” sheet found on LCSN’s website.
• Watching the videos of the synod assemblies of the Metro New York Synod and the Southwest California Synod as they apply synodical administration to viable congregations.
•  Connecting with LCSN if you have questions or need clarification.

We are simply providing information made public by the ELCA.

Read and engage in the discussion.

Stay tuned!

More videos will be coming soon…

Please reach out to us with any questions by replying to this email or contacting us directly at info@lcsn.com.

This isn’t about politics. It’s not about theology. It’s about autonomy.

“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even have second thoughts afterward so as to believe him” (Matthew 21:32).

Those who believe will not perish.  There are people who have gone to church their whole lives, but they do not truly believe.  It never has been only about behavior, but many make it about works.  Yes, to obey is better than sacrifice, but you first need to believe in the One whom you say is Lord, and both work and obey.  To not do this makes what you do in the name of faith nonsense.  Sadly, it seems as though there are many hypocrites in our world.

Lord, You have opened for us the way of righteousness.  It is not some fancy ritual or elusive path.  It is You who leads us in the way and truth of everlasting life.  The world looks at the outside, but You look on the inside.  The world pushes for us to conform to its ideas, but You call us to conform to You.  Those who are more honest about these things know they are searching because they are dissatisfied with how life is being lived.

Lord Jesus, You know that I fight against the demons who plague each of us.  You know that I am not comfortable in this world.  You know.  Lead me on the upward path to live a life that believes all that You have spoken is real and true.  Guide me to live into the hope and promise that You give.  Through all that comes my way Lord, help me to look to You and actually do what You instruct.  Help me overcome my unbelief to live in true faith.  Amen.

“And the man came to his second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; and yet he did not go.  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:30-31).

There are those who live by pretense.  They say they will and never do, but they put on a show as if they were faithful to their obligations.  There have always been these kinds of people.  People who regularly go to church, but do not live with Jesus as the source of their daily living.  Do not be one of these.  Faithfulness is about being faithful to what you believe.  If you believe that Jesus is Lord – and He is – than live with Jesus as your Lord.

Grant, O Lord, that I would be rid of all of the pretense in my life.  Lead me out of the pit of this world’s deceptions to live into the life You grant by grace.  Guide me to the place where my yes is yes and my no is no.  With You who knows all things, I may lie to myself, but You know all truth.  Help me to walk in truth.  Keep me from deceiving myself or trying to deceive others.

Lord Jesus, You have come to save me not only from death and the devil, but from the sins that are within me.  Teach me how to live the ‘yes’ of faith.  Guide me in the upward call You have given me.  Help me to follow through with all You give me to do.  Through all things, may I be found living the life You have given me.  Inspire me to willingly follow where You lead.  Amen.

Every year Lent is a time when we give thanks to God for His great love and amazing grace.  How much we need that love and grace.  Every year on the First Sunday in Lent the Gospel reading is the account in one of the synoptics of the temptation of Jesus.  This year the reading is from Luke 4.  The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus resisted the tempter and how He did so.  The author of the letter to the Hebrews expresses so beautifully and powerfully what that can mean to us.  “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4: 15). 

We have a God who can empathize with us.  But more than that, we have a God who paid the penalty for and broke the power of sin and who won the victory over death and the devil.  Therefore, we can “approach the throne of grace with boldness” for it is there that we will “receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4: 16)  Do you see the throne of God as a throne of grace?  Do you know that you can approach it with boldness?  Have you found at the throne of God mercy and grace to help in time of need?

What I would like to do is to go through Luke’s account of the temptation as found in Luke 4: 1-13.  As we do so, we will see what makes God’s throne a throne of grace and why it is possible for us to approach that throne with boldness.

Luke 4: 1-2 tell us that after His baptism “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.”  Matthew and Mark say it a little bit differently.  According to Matthew 4: 1, “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”  Mark 1: 12 says, “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.”  When have you felt that the Spirit led you while you were in the wilderness?  When have you felt that the Spirit actually led you into the wilderness?  When have you even felt that the Spirit drove you into the wilderness?     

Luke 4: 2 continues, “He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.”  Note:  The devil attacked Jesus at a point of weakness – at a time of great vulnerability.  Remember: The devil also knows your points of weakness – your times of greatest vulnerability.  And that is exactly where the devil will attack you.    

We find the First Temptation in Luke 4: 3.  “The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’”  Just a few verses before, in Luke 3: 22, at His baptism, the Father had said to Him, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” 

I can see two possible things going on here.  First, Satan could be saying, “If you truly are who you think you are, then you should be able to turn these stones into loaves of bread.”  But Jesus knew that if He were to do that in order to have the strength to resist the devil, then He would be drawing on a power that would not also be available to us.  A second possibility is that here we see the devil attacking Jesus at His sense of self-identity.  He wanted to get Jesus to question whether He truly is the Son of God.  In the same way the devil will try to get you to question whether you are a child of God.  The devil is jealous of your identity as a child of God, so he will attack you there.  The devil will attack your self-identity, your self-image, your self-confidence. 

We find the Second Temptation in Luke 4: 5-7.  “Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’” 

The truth is that the devil has no more right to lay claim to all the kingdoms of the world than I would have the right to try to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.  The devil could claim that right only as a usurper – a thief.  The devil was also tempting Jesus to choose the easy, less painful way, and to avoid the way of the cross.  When has the devil tempted you to choose the easy, less painful way?  What was the result?  Would the easy, less painful way have worked? 

We find the Third Temptation in Luke 4: 9-11.  “Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,  for it is written, “He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,” and “On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”’” 

Again, the devil attacks Jesus by trying to get Him to question His identity as the Son of God.  Here we see that the devil knows the Bible (in this case, Psalm 91: 11-12), though he will misquote and misuse the Bible.  If the devil knows the Bible (and he has had many more centuries than any of us have had to learn the Bible), then we had better get to know the Bible too, so that we will not be led astray. 

Luke concludes his account with these words.  “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4: 13)  The devil is like the Terminator, who said, “I’ll be back.”

Again, I can see two things going on here.  First, the devil had finished every test.  The devil has thrown everything he has against Jesus and none of it knocked Him over.  Jesus experienced the full onslaught of evil and none of it worked against Him.  The devil does not need to throw everything he has against us, for we fall early in the process.  Jesus experienced the full severity of temptation in a way that we do not know because the devil does not need to use it all against us.

Second, we can ask the question, When was that “opportune time”?  I believe in the Garden of Gethsemane, where again the devil tried to tempt Jesus to go the easier, less painful way and avoid the way of the cross.

In Luke’s account of the agony in the garden after Jesus prayed, “Father if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done,” it says that “an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.”  (Luke 22: 42-43).  Mark’s much more succinct account says, “He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan . . . and the angels waited on him.” (Mark 1: 13)

When have you experienced the ministry of angels after a particularly difficult time in your life, including a time of severe temptation?  When have you offered encouraging and strengthening ministry to someone else after a particularly difficult time in that person’s life, including a time of severe temptation?   My prayer for you during this Lenten season is that you will experience the throne of God as a throne of grace, that you will know that you can approach that throne with boldness, and that coming into God’s presence you will receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 

Many thanks to Alan Williams for his video review of his book, “Captain Comet and the Intergalactic Patrol.”  A link to Alan’s review can be found HERE.  A link to our YouTube channel, which contains fifty-six reviews of books and videos on topics of interest and importance, can be found HERE.    

Alan writes, “As a retired Lutheran pastor for 54 years of ministry (NALC and LCMC), I wrote three books that are science fiction, outer space and Christian, in hopes to touch the minds of high school and college aged people to come to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The spaceship Star Treader, with a crew of fourteen, has a five-year, galaxy-policing mission, which is completed with many challenges along the way and tragically the loss of some lives. The crew hail from five different planets and take their religious faith seriously as they call on God to help them deal with impossible difficulties such as space pirates, intelligent nuclear spiders, AI viruses, fighting trans-dimensional beings, and rescuing energy beings who are friends. They run into political shenanigans that almost cost them their lives. They find friends in unexpected places.  Alan writes, “The combination of adventure, faith, and camaraderie . . . is an exciting glimpse into the world of the future.”

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Alan L. Williams’s new book is a thrilling space odyssey that will captivate readers of all ages. With its imaginative world building and dynamic characters, it offers a compelling exploration of courage, friendship, and the enduring power of faith. Consumers can purchase this book at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. The author webpage is alanleewilliams.com.