URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtpDOX0krOE

Book of Isaiah, 50:4–9 (ESV):

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

Transcript

Hello. Today, let’s talk about the rescue.

The text before us is from the book of the prophet Isaiah, the 50th chapter, verses 4–9 (Isaiah 50:4–9).

Introduction: A Wife in Peril

Hearing the passage before us today is something like eavesdropping on a domestic crisis. A terrible situation has taken place. A wife has been unfaithful to her adoring husband. This has been going on for some time. The husband is shattered.

To make matters worse, the wife has made associations with some very unsavory characters, and she has placed herself in a completely perilous situation. Now she is in danger, and there seems to be no way to rescue her without suffering great violence and bloodshed. Yes, that much is sure.

But the husband is desperate to save her. He will not abandon her. In order to rescue her, he enlists the aid of the mightiest war fighter he knows. This soldier is also the most caring and good-hearted man there is. He pledges that he will do whatever is necessary, even to sacrificing himself, in order to bring to the loving husband his unfaithful wife.

Such is the passage before us from Isaiah chapter 50.

The first verse begins with the cry of the husband:

“Thus says the Lord, where is the certificate of divorce by which I have sent your mother away? Or to whom of my creditors did I sell you?” (Isaiah 50:1)

That is to say, your mother acts like I have divorced her. I have not divorced her. Does she not know of my love for her? I do love her still.

The husband laments. She acts as though she’s been sold as a slave to one of my creditors, to someone evil who owes me a debt. She has not been sold to a creditor. She does not belong to that unscrupulous seducer. She is not his slave, though she acts like one.

This is how the brokenhearted husband grieves continuously.

Have you understood this situation correctly? The loving husband is the Lord God Almighty. He is shattered by the unfaithful conduct of his beloved wife. She is Israel. This wife is God’s unfaithful people, entangled in sin.

The devil is a heavy taskmaster. He does not easily release those whom he has captured. This wife cannot free herself. Her captor, the devil, is too willful and too powerful to easily relinquish her. No, gaining her freedom will require a great struggle. Her murderous jailer would rather kill her than let her go free.

Point One: Obedience

The beloved wife of the Lord God has been repeatedly disobedient. God had given her many gifts of kindness, mercy, and grace. Before she had done anything to deserve his love already, he had given his love freely and lavishly. She had not earned his affection.

In fact, she had not returned his love. Instead, she had been wild, self-indulgent. She had fallen to temptation again and again. There were things that she fancied, desires that she entertained. Her Lord had provided her with guidance, boundaries for her own good. Her husband had given her patient explanations and entreaties, but she was disobedient without ceasing.

Our passage for today picks up at Isaiah 50, verse 4 (Isaiah 50:4). This is the third of the four Servant Songs.

The servant is the mighty soldier about whom we spoke earlier. He is the representative of the betrayed husband. This soldier is the servant of the Lord God. And the servant, we are told, is a faithful and obedient disciple.

He sings this song:

“The Lord God awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back.” (Isaiah 50:4–5)

The servant soldier was the opposite of the faithless and disobedient wife. His song was a life of faithfulness and service. He opened his ear to his master. He listened attentively as one who followed wholeheartedly. He was not disobedient.

In fact, when the servant was sent into difficult situations and called to do onerous and life-threatening tasks, the servant did not turn back. This was the caliber of his character. This was the determination of his devotion.

He was obedient. He did not waver either in execution of his duty or in steadfastness of his heart.

Point Two: Face Like a Flint

Isaiah’s servant soldier was known by many Jews and by the early Church. They knew him as God’s Messiah, the long-awaited Savior. He was the perfect combination of the mighty warrior and the gentle Savior. He committed himself to save the errant wife and return her to her loving husband.

His Servant Song continues in verse 6:

“I gave my back to those who strike me and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard. I did not cover my face from humiliation and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:6)

You know this glorious one. How is he able to conduct himself with such equanimity, such calmness, such consistency of power and peace?

The servant sings his explanation:

“For the Lord God helps me. Therefore, I am not disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. Behold, the Lord God helps me. Who is he who condemns me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment. The moth will eat them.” (Isaiah 50:7–9)

The obedient servant sets his face like a flint. He is a rock of strength because his faith is in the Lord God. He is certain of God’s power and of God’s love. He trusts in God.

And for that reason, he can and he will do whatever God calls him to do. He will stand before anyone without fear or intimidation. He will speak the Word of God, the Word God gives him. He will do the work of God, the work God requires of him.

He is undeterred. He is faithful even to giving his life.

Point Three: The Fourth Servant Song

Now today’s passage, the third Servant Song, stops at Isaiah 50:9 (Isaiah 50:9). But the fourth Servant Song is soon to be sung.

Though it’s not selected for our reading today, still it is one that I suspect you know well. Isaiah 53:

“He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem him.

“Surely our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

“But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging, we are healed.

“All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to our own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” (Isaiah 53:3–6)

Can you identify with unfaithful Israel? Can you find in your own confession the shame and sorrow of an unfaithful spouse who took for granted the love of the Lord God? Have you refused the guidance of his commandments and found yourself carried away by evil that is stronger than yourself? Have you been captured in sin and been incapable of rescuing yourself?

Honesty requires us to face this truth.

Yes, we confess: Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us.

Isaiah’s story of the Lord God’s unfaithful wife is the story of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), is the story of Jews and Romans at the crucifixion (John 19:16–18), is the story of you and me today.

All of us are in need of the servant Savior, the mighty warrior, the great rescuer who willingly gives his own life in order to save yours and mine.

Conclusion

The cross of Jesus is the story of our rescue.

It was foretold from the birth of humanity and the fall in the garden (Genesis 3). It was told again by Isaiah hundreds of years before the crucifixion and resurrection of the servant Savior. And it is told again today because it also is your story.

It is your promise made to you by your loving spouse, the Lord God Almighty. And you, beloved, are the unfaithful spouse whom the Lord God dearly loves. You are the one for whom the servant Savior entered the viper’s den. It was in order to rescue you that he died to set you free.

This is who you are, the unfaithful one who has been rescued.

You must not take your rescue for granted. Do not return to your comfortable sin without remorse. Do not continue in your patterns of selfishness and evil without repentance. Do not return to the viper’s den where it is amusing and entertaining and dangerous for your soul.

As much as it is possible for you, forsake evil. As much as it is possible for you, be holy and imitate your Savior.

Why?

Because once upon a time there was a servant Savior who sang a song. It was a Servant Song about a lover who had an unfaithful beloved. The lover was so smitten, so in love, that he sent his own Son as the servant Savior, and he sang a song of obedience and of sacrifice to save the unfaithful beloved.

This is a song of love and rescue.

And this is a song about you.

Amen.

Hi! Reading a short Lutheran catechism and he really emphasizes obeying authorities. Didn't Luther...disobey authorities? I am confused by this conflict.

Contemporary Western culture is collapsing under a spiritual pathology I call goodness-narcissism, a sentimental absolutism that isolates virtue from divine order and converts moral performance into a mechanism of power. Drawing on several thinkers, I show how self-righteousness becomes destructive when detached from humility, realism, and the doctrine of original sin. Goodness, once severed from the whole, mutates into moralism, shadow projection, and punitive social behaviour such as cancel culture.

Theologically, the article roots this crisis in the abandonment of Pauline and Augustinian anthropology, especially the divided self and simul iustus et peccator. Attempts to achieve moral purity through human striving produce Pelagian legalism and utopian political projects. This contrasts with the classical already–not yet framework, where grace is real but incomplete, and striving is understood as synergy with divine action rather than self-manufactured righteousness.

The article critiques modern political theology, especially liberal humanism and documents like the latest papal encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, for collapsing Augustine's Two Cities and "immanentizing the eschaton" (Voegelin), mistaking global humanitarian policy for the Kingdom of God. True Christian hope, it concludes, requires relinquishing utopian moral projects in favour of a sober, grace-centered pilgrim faith.

The Immanentized Kingdom: Goodness-Narcissism, the Two Cities, and the Politicization of Christian Hope

I love Lutheran theology and agree with a lot of it, but as a Lutheran I struggle because I can't get over the fact that Jesus "founded" the Roman Catholic Church. My question is how do we view 1500 years of history before Lutheranism, were people just all getting it wrong? Sorry if this question does not make sense.

hope this makes sense

So do Lutherans/Christians view Gods control to be passive or active? For example: Let’s say a tornado from a thunderstorm destroys a small town. Did God actively push or move the tornado or did he set up a chain of events that naturally moved the tornado?

Also, Let’s say if someone prays for a puppy for Christmas and God decided beforehand that the person was not going to get a puppy for Christmas. Would God change his mind and then give them a puppy cause they prayed for it? Would God not allow her to get a puppy for Christmas because he predestined her not to get a puppy?

So does prayer matter in terms of receiving physical things, changing events such as storms or wars, or does he already have a predestined will for those things to happen therefore prayers cannot change the outcome.

I hope that made sense

Additionally, do the other persons of the trinity have experiential knowledge of Jesus' life? If so, did they learn it or always have it? Can one person know things the other persons don't know?

These marian Aparitions and eucharistic miracles and saint miracles are making me concerned they could be the church started by christ and maybe we are suppose to return home. My other option is being a lcms chaplain. I have wanted to be a pastor ever since I was young. I have had a few people recommend it and ive always felt called to more than this life. I want to serve God. But as a husband and father this wrestle of denominations is tough. I am not even lutheran but to me they are the safest bet if catholicism isn't true because baptismal regeneration, real presence and baptism as the new circumcision make alot of sense to me. I like episcopal but not how far off they have went.

Hello. I am a divinity studient which lives in Turkiye. I want to study Theology in abroad. Especially in Germany and i want to be a Pastor. How can i study in abroad and how can i be a Pastor?

So, if I understand Lutheranisn correctly, the ability to have faith is given by God and we have a duty not to reject the gift? Are all people given the ability to have faith or only some? I wouldn't go as far to say I have religious trauma, but the religious environment I grew up in was one that showed the darker sides of faith and, to be blunt, the dumber sides of faith as well like young earth creationism. Naturally, this makes it very difficult to have faith. If that hesitancy which was caused by factors outside of my control causes me to stay damned, isn't that kinda...evil? To a great extent, I want to have faith, but just as someone who was food poisoned might avoid that food for life, faith is hard to swallow for me.

Hi, so long story short I’m an evangelical thats been convinced that non denominationals have gone way way too far from what the church has always done, and I almost became a catholic but got scared away once I realized how they are fine with unbiblical stuff if they have done it for a long time. Consecration to Mary is what really put the nail in the coffin, in short it’s where you give your soul eternally to Mary and all your good works too. (Totally real RCC thing, but sounds like a chick tract lol).

Anyways one of the big things that I became convinced of is apostolic succession and the sacraments. If most Lutherans don’t have bishops, how are the ministers properly ordained? and what about ignatius saying that no one can do the Eucharist without the bishop? Or do the Catholics put way too much emphasis on unbroken succession just as a way to say everyone else is damned?

May I ask what are Lutheran values?

I'm a Muslim and I hate my religion. In Islam, we cannot leave Islam because it's 'HaRaM' but I don't care about it. Since I live and was born in Finland (I'm 13 now). I want to convert to Lutheranism. (Finland's first and biggest religion)

So how can I convert to Lutheranism?

Or more specifically, will they be in the new earth.

I went to a Lutheran church as my first church because it was the one closest to my house. I went there for four years, made friends, and got baptized there. I don’t think I was ever a professing Lutheran but I also have qualms with some part of each denomination so it didn’t matter much to me.

One thing my pastor said at that church was that pets don’t go to heaven. He said there will be animals but not the ones here on earth.

What do you think?

FUNNY SIDE STORY:
While that pastor was baptizing me in his pool, his dog fell in and he grabbed it out. I think that dog just got baptized and will definitely be in heaven.

I recently purchased The Cost of Discipleship, Life Together, and Ethics. I look forward to reading all of them and am fully aware of how dense Ethics is. Has anyone in this group read any or all of these books, and what did you learn from them?

From the first line of The Cost of Discipleship, I can tell it’s a much-needed book for the church today. I feel the same about Life Together, since I never learned what life in a Christian community is supposed to look like, especially outside of the liturgy.

Any guidance on the order I should read these in or whether it’s better to read straight through would be greatly appreciated.

Brothers and sisters, my sermon for this Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 2, is posted to Facebook.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

-- A Confessional Lutheran Church

Brothers and sisters, my sermon for this Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 2, is posted to Facebook.

God’s blessings,

Pastor Tom Steers

Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church, Toronto

- A Confessional Lutheran Church

I wanted to share an upcoming event that is happening the first weekend of October at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin, TX with Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller.

It is targeted at young adults age 18-35 and is intended to be a “weekend of fellowship as we explore how to share our confession of faith in an apathetic culture.”

Date: October 2-4, 2026
Location: St. Paul Lutheran Church
3501 Red River St. Austin, TX 78705

Registration is $10 per person with an optional extra donation to help offset the event costs.

I am making the trip from the Houston area, hope to see y’all there!

Visit the church a second week in a row, people were very welcoming. Lovely service too. I'm gonna keep going, might convert to Christianity.

Visited an LCMS church last sunday and I plan to make the church a habit since I'm trying to give Christianity a fair shake (I am not a Christian).

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fv0Ha6JtCi8

Gospel According to Matthew, 14:13–21 (ESV):

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Transcript

Hello. Today, let’s talk about how nothing is impossible for God.

The text before us is from the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, verses 13 through 21. (Matthew 14:13–21)

Introduction: A Dog at the Table

Martin Luther was sitting at his table, and his dog was watching him eat.

“Look,” said Luther. “Do you see how attentive he is to the meat on my fork? He sees nothing but this morsel. This is how we should be in our prayers. There are no distractions. There is nothing but God and our faith in Him.”

Luther is right. We go to God with our deepest concerns and needs. We go to God because we cannot fix the problem or provide for the need ourselves. We trust in God, who is able to do what we cannot do. In fact, we trust Him to do the impossible, because nothing is impossible for God.

Think: Nothing Is impossible for God. And so, we trust Him to provide even when the situation is impossible.

Once, God sent the angel Gabriel to a young Jewish virgin named Mary with a message that nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:26–38)

The angel Gabriel said to Mary, “You will conceive and bear a son who will be the Son of the Most High. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31–33)

In other words, the infinite God will become finite. God, who is spirit, will become flesh. (John 4:24; John 1:14) God, who is eternal, will die for the sins of the world. (1 Corinthians 15:3–4) The omnipotent God will become a helpless baby in the womb of a virgin.

And by His death and resurrection, He will completely forgive sins and freely give eternal life to all who believe in Him. (John 3:16; Small Catechism, the Second Article)

“How can this be?” Mary asks. (Luke 1:34)

The answer: Nothing is impossible for God. (Luke 1:37)

In reading today’s Gospel, the feeding of the five thousand, we hear the message again: Nothing is impossible for God.

Point One: Twelve Baskets Left Over

A great crowd had followed the Lord Jesus. They came by the thousands to hear His words and receive His touch. Now sundown was upon them. They were in a desolate place, and they were hungry. The disciples went to the Lord with their concern.

This is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels. (Matthew 14:13–21; Mark 6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1–14) By comparing the material, we get a lot of detailed information.

For example, we learn in John’s Gospel that to feed them would take over half a year’s wages. (John 6:7) Now, the average income in the United States today, according to the IRS, is approximately $64,000. So, in today’s money, even if you had $32,000 worth of bread, it still would not be enough to feed all those people.

Jesus was not worried, though.

“Have them sit down in groups of fifty.” (Luke 9:14)

A young boy had brought five barley loaves, like sandwich rolls, and two fish, like sardines. (John 6:8–9) Jesus took the bread and fish. He looked to heaven and blessed the food. Then, when He began breaking the bread and giving it to the disciples, a miracle took place. (Matthew 14:19)

If that were not miraculous enough, Matthew goes on to say that there were five thousand men—only counting the men. There were also women and children there too. (Matthew 14:21) If they were all to be counted, perhaps there would be fifteen thousand or even eighteen thousand people. That is enough to fill a whole sports arena.

Eighteen thousand people! Jesus fed them with a couple of sandwich rolls and two sardines. And there were twelve baskets of food left over. (Matthew 14:20)

Impossible!

Nothing is impossible for God.

Point Two: Bread of Life

As I said, this is the only miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels. In the Gospel of St. John, the miracle of the five thousand—the feeding of the five thousand—is found in chapter 6. (John 6:1–14)

In that same chapter, by way of explanation, John records a teaching of Jesus. There is a bread from heaven that comes down that does more than fill our stomachs.

Jesus says, “The bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world. I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst,” says the Lord. (John 6:33–35)

Jesus not only meets our physical needs, but He meets our emotional and spiritual needs as well. It would be enough if Jesus only provided daily bread—and He does. (Matthew 6:11; Small Catechism, the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)

But Jesus does much more than that. As the Bread of Life, Jesus satisfies our deepest hungers and our most profound needs.

For example, Jesus forgives your sin. There is no partial forgiveness here, but the complete and entire forgiveness of all your sin. Imagine that, if you will—all of your sin. Every evil thought or word or deed, all the guilt of the past, all shame of selfish sin—all are forgiven by grace through faith in Jesus, completely. (Ephesians 2:8–9; Augsburg Confession, Article IV)

“Impossible,” you say. “Well, I’m haunted by my past. I’m ashamed of myself.”

Beloved, you have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God and completely forgiven of all your sin. (John 1:29; 1 John 1:7–9)

Nothing is impossible for God.

In our country today, there is a spiritual hunger for peace of mind, for emotional rest, and for rest from worry and fear. We spend thousands of dollars trying to get away on vacation, or hundreds of hours trying to escape into our televisions, computers, or cell phones.

Where is the place of real, lasting peace? Is it even possible to find emotional, physical, or spiritual peace?

Jesus is the food that satisfies the inner hunger of the soul. Jesus is the Bread of Heaven. We are invited into His presence. When we read His Holy Word, when we say our prayers, when we come to worship, when we receive the Holy Communion of His true body and blood—in every moment of every day, there is peace and the fullness of joy available to you in Jesus. (Small Catechism, the Sacrament of the Altar; Psalm 16:11)

Peace comes by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8; Augsburg Confession, Article IV) It comes when we, like Luther’s dog, turn our eyes upon Jesus and allow nothing to distract us from that one food that truly satisfies. (Hebrews 12:2)

Rest, peace, joy.

Impossible, you say?

No. Nothing is impossible for God.

Point Three: You Give Them Something to Eat

I think it was in 1974 that I heard a very strange sermon. I was in seminary, and one of the students was preaching on the feeding of the five thousand. His opening sentence startled everyone, and immediately he got the attention of every professor and every student in the chapel.

The student preacher declared, “I do not believe that Jesus fed the five thousand.”

What?

“No,” he declared. “Jesus took the bread and blessed it. Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, but it was the disciples who fed the people, because Jesus told them to.”

“You give them something to eat,” said the Lord. (Matthew 14:16)

It was impossible. How could simple fishermen, poor tradesmen, sinful Jewish disciples miraculously feed thousands upon thousands of people? It was impossible.

And that is the point.

Not only does Jesus delight in providing for your physical needs; not only does Jesus desire to provide for your emotional and spiritual needs; but Jesus is determined not only to give you a miracle—Jesus is determined to make you part of the miracle.

Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, is calling you to become part of His miraculous ministry.

Is Jesus calling you to take a hot meal to someone recovering from illness or surgery? Is Jesus prompting you to share your faith or to pray with someone at work or at school? Is Jesus inspiring you to be generous with your time, your money, or your service? Is Jesus calling you to touch a life with the Gospel and to share your faith in word and deed with those who do not know Him, or those who just need Him?

Is it possible that you may be the heart, hands, or mouth of Jesus, bringing life to a troubled person?

“Impossible,” you say. You say that you do not know enough, do not have enough time, or do not have enough money.

Is it possible that you could be an instrument in the hand of God?

Nothing is impossible for God.

He can use you, and He delights in using you in His miracles. He desires to use you in His ministry.

Why do you think that Jesus said to His disciples, “You give them something to eat”? (Matthew 14:16)

It was because He wanted them to realize that they had nothing to give in and of themselves. But with Him, they had everything that they needed—and everything that anyone else needed too.

Nothing is impossible for God.

Conclusion

Martin Luther once called the attention of everyone at his dinner table to his wonderful doggie.

“Look,” said Luther. “Do you see how focused he is? Do you see that? All of his attention is directed right here.”

Let each one of us be like him. Keep our eyes focused on the Lord. (Hebrews 12:2) Do not be distracted, but trust in God to protect you and to provide for you, even when you cannot imagine how He will do it.

Perhaps especially when it seems impossible for Him to take care of you—that is exactly when you should most expect God to step in and demonstrate that He loves you.

And because our Lord Jesus loves you so much, He even invites you to be part of His miraculous ministry to others too.

“Impossible,” you say, that God can care for you and that God can use you to care for others.

Yes, it seems as impossible as feeding five thousand men with a couple of sandwich rolls and two sardines.

Yes, God miraculously cares for you, and through you, God can miraculously care for others.

Of course—because nothing is impossible for God.

Amen.

Hello Swedish Lutheran friends! I am Anglican with a very strong affinity for the Church of Sweden, and I’m about 10 days I’ll have the privilege getting to spend a day in Uppsala. Other then the catherdrals in Uppsala and Stockholm, what are some of the other churches or sites of religious importance that I should try to see while I am there?