Not For Sale: Forgiveness
October 1st, 2017
17th Sunday after Pentecost
Sometimes it feels as though this time in which we live is the very first time that people directly challenge God. Yet this feeling is inaccurate. We are reminded by Ezekiel that God’s people were going around saying, “God is not just” already at the time of the prophets. Distrust of God has been around even longer, since Adam and Eve questioned the goodness of God. In the Gospel, chief priests and elders question the authority of Jesus. Nothing new. But Jesus doesn’t react angrily. Instead, He lets His actions speak louder than words. With very few words, Jesus would go on trial, be wrongly convicted, suffer beatings, be mercilessly crucified, and be raised from the grave. In Christ, we need not fear scoffers. We don’t need to try to silence anyone. We simply trust the authority of Jesus’ death and resurrection and follow His way of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us. Rather than return evil for evil, we turn to the crucified and risen Jesus and live. Luther did exactly that when he nailed the 95 Thesis to the Castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany on Oct 31, 1517. He wanted to debate in the church the false claims of the selling of indulgences for the forgiveness of sins.
God Bless see you on Sunday, Pastor Phil
Victory Lutheran Church Worship
Sunday, Oct 1, 2017, 08:00 AM
4651 Kernan Blvd S, Jacksonville, FL, United States
PRAYER REQUESTS
Spencer Brown:
Home recovering from surgery.
Inga McCaughey:
Home wrestling with serious back pain issues.
Gloria Dunham:
Her cancer has returned and is undergoing more chemo therapy.
Geri Olson:
Wrestling with stage 3 breast cancer and undergoing chemo therapy for several months.
“I am your Shield and Exceedingly Great Reward” - Gen 15:1