January 1, 2023 -- "20 Marveling Questions" -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer

01/01/23 • 6 min

The Lutheran Sermon Podcast From Bethany

January 1, 2023 -- "20 Marveling Questions" -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer, Bible Text: Luke 2:1-20

(2) At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived. 4 So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there. 5 Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant. 6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. 7 She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn. 8 Shepherds were in the fields near Bethlehem. They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. 9 An angel from the Lord suddenly appeared to them. The glory of the Lord filled the area with light, and they were terrified. 10 The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. 11 Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. 12 This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will!” 15 The angels left them and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see what the Lord has told us about.” 16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph with the baby, who was lying in a manger. 17 When they saw the child, they repeated what they had been told about him. 18 Everyone who heard the shepherds’ story was amazed. 19 Mary treasured all these things in her heart and always thought about them. 20 As the shepherds returned to their flock, they glorified and praised God for everything they had seen and heard. Everything happened the way the angel had told them.

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January 1, 2023 -- "20 Marveling Questions" -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer, Bible Text: Luke 2:1-20

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Previous Episode

December 25, 2022 -- "One Little Word" -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer

December 25, 2022 -- "One Little Word" -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer, Bible Text: John 1:1-18

(1) In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was already with God in the beginning. 3 Everything came into existence through him. Not one thing that exists was made without him. 4 He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity. 5 The light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it. 6 God sent a man named John to be his messenger. 7 John came to declare the truth about the light so that everyone would become believers through his message. 8 John was not the light, but he came to declare the truth about the light. 9 The real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. 12 However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. 13 These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire ⌞to have a child⌟. They were born from God. 14 The Word became human and lived among us. We saw his glory. It was the glory that the Father shares with his only Son, a glory full of kindness [a] and truth. 15 (John declared the truth about him when he said loudly, “This is the person about whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me was before me because he existed before I did.’ ”) 16 Each of us has received one gift after another because of all that the Word is. 17 Laws were given through Moses, but kindness and truth came into existence through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. God’s only Son, the one who is closest to the Father’s heart, has made him known. (GW)

Stay tuned after the sermon for a special musical performance from the 25 December Worship Service at Bethany.

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Next Episode

January 8, 2023 -- "P.I.A." -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer

January 8, 2023 -- "P.I.A." -- Pastor Kevin Kritzer, Bible Text: Romans 6:1-11; Matthew 3: 13-17

(6) What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that God’s kindness [a] will increase? 2 That’s unthinkable! As far as sin is concerned, we have died. So how can we still live under sin’s influence? 3 Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 When we were baptized into his death, we were placed into the tomb with him. As Christ was brought back from death to life by the glorious power of the Father, so we, too, should live a new kind of life. 5 If we’ve become united with him in a death like his, certainly we will also be united with him when we come back to life as he did. 6 We know that the person we used to be was crucified with him to put an end to sin in our bodies. Because of this we are no longer slaves to sin. 7 The person who has died has been freed from sin. 8 If we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, who was brought back to life, will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once and for all to sin’s power. But now he lives, and he lives for God. 11 So consider yourselves dead to sin’s power but living for God in the power Christ Jesus gives you.

13 Then Jesus appeared. He came from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him and said, “I need to be baptized by you. Why are you coming to me?” 15 Jesus answered him, “This is the way it has to be now. This is the proper way to do everything that God requires of us.” Then John gave in to him. 16 After Jesus was baptized, he immediately came up from the water. Suddenly, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down as a dove to him. 17 Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love—my Son with whom I am pleased.”

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