God wanted people to be able to identify the Messiah when he came into the world. To help them know who the Messiah was, God made prophecies, or predictions, about what the Savior would be like. One of the identifying things about the coming of the Messiah was this, Then will the eyes of the blind be opened. (Isaiah 35:5)
Most of you know that in the Old Testament the Lord made a covenant with his people that required various sacrifices. Among all the sacrifices in the Old Testament is one we may often overlook. It was called the “drink offering.” Drink offerings were to be a part of burnt offerings. The drink offering involved pouring out some wine at the base of the altar. As mentioned, it was connected to the burnt offering. That means that every single morning when a lamb was offered at the Temple as a burnt offering for Israel, and when every day ended with another lamb sacrifice, a priest stood and poured out wine at the base of the altar.
Today’s Worship service was lead by Pastor David Horton from Eastside Lutheran Church, Madison.
The other day I ran across this “Pre-Travel Checklist.” It is supposed to be a helpful tool for someone about to travel somewhere. It contains nearly sixty things you need to do before you travel. Before travel, you should “clear fridge of perishable items” and “water house plants” and “charge electronic devices.” As I said, it recommends sixty things you MUST DO to travel.
Today’s Lent Worship was lead by Pastor Jacob Scott of Zion Lutheran Church, Leeds, WI
Our text today from Genesis 3 is often called the story of “The Fall.” Right here we are confronted with a question. How bad a “fall” is it? I mean, not all “falls” are the same. Some falls are rather minor and some are rather major. Falling and skinning my knee is not the same as falling off the rim of the Grand Canyon. So what is the story before us today? Is it the story of humanity skinning its knee or of humanity plunging off a cliff?
The word of the LORD came to me (v. 9) Thus begins our text. With these words the prophet Zechariah tips us off he is going to tell us a story of what happened to him one day. Maybe just a word about the man Zechariah. Zechariah was a prophet at the time the Jews had returned from the Babylonian exile. They had begun the work of rebuilding the Temple of the LORD in Jerusalem. Zechariah ministered to and among these returned exiles. The word of the LORD came to me, says Zechariah. And the LORD told him to do something very odd.
Oftentimes in life, paying attention to a light means the difference between life and death. Drivers better pay attention to the traffic lights as they approach an intersection. Green means I can go; red means I better stop or risk being T-boned. The pilot of a plane flying on a foggy night better pay attention to the runway lights as he comes in for a landing. Long before the days of satellite global positioning devices, ship captains at sea knew they better pay attention to the light from lighthouses on shore to avoid running aground, or worse.
The time had come. They had helped him move all his stuff into his room in the freshman dorm. They had gone to the campus bookstore and purchased the books he would need for his first semester classes. They had walked around campus a little bit. They had taken him out for supper. There was nothing more to do. The time had come to say goodbye. Dad, who was not usually a “hugger,” leaned in and gave his son a tight hug. As they separated, Dad locked eyes with his son and, with a father’s earnestness, said, “Remember who you are.”
Human pride is a stunning thing . Sometimes it is stunning in its silliness. For example, there is a character in a movie named Miles Gloriosus. He is a captain in the Roman army. And in one scene, before getting off his horse, he announces, “Stand aside everyone! I take large steps!” Sometimes human pride is stunning because it is nonsensical. Nietzsche once wrote: “I have reached such a height that when I stand atop the summit, I look down upon myself.” Huh? Or, a musician once commented, “My greatest pain is that I cannot watch myself perform live.” Sometimes pride is stunning because it is so blasphemous and disturbing. Some of you will remember years ago when the Beatles were at their peak and John Lennon announced, “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” Another pop artist of more recent vintage proclaimed, “Some accuse me of worshiping the devil. If there was a devil, he would worship me.”
