Northwoods Table Talk

  God Calls Sinners Matthew 9:9-13 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. If you noticed, today we are celebrating St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist.   Some may be wondering what are the qualifications to make one a saint. Others may be wondering what exactly the words ‘apostle’ and ‘evangelist’ mean. Today we will handle these questions. Simply put, to be a saint one must be holy - perfect and sinless. Of course, we know that no one is holy of their own. And no, a saint does not need to be dead. To label someone a saint, is nothing more than to recognize that they have been called by God, made holy by Him through baptism into Christ’s holiness. Saints are so, because the Holy Spirit has built in them the faith to trust in God’s grace through Christ Jesus for their salvation. It is highly appropriate then, for us to call one another saints. In fact, if we look at very first verse of the book of Ephesians, Paul calls the...

  The Cross? Or Christ Crucified? 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 & John 12:20-33 Holy Cross Day – 09.14.2025 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.   Amen.   September 14, has historically been celebrated since 335 AD as Holy Cross Day. One legend claims that Helena, Emperor Constantine’s mother, went to Jerusalem to discover the precise location of location of the crucifixion of our Lord. Legend states that three crosses were unearthed and a dying woman touched them and only one of them healed her.   Yeah, right! Neither the healing nor Helena’s trip is verifiable. However the date of the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. It was a two-day festival. The church consecrated on September 13 th and the cross discovered on the site of the crucifixion was brought outside the church on September 14 th so that the faithful could pray before the True Cross.   Legends and stories abound, let them. Bu...

  On Wednesday, an event took place that has been rather polarizing, Charlie Kirk was murdered!   I have thought long and hard about what to write. On 9/11 I posted my thoughts on sinfulness - mine and the sinfulness of every single person who has, who is, of whoever will inhabit human flesh. That sinfulness is often manifested in vile evil. And I begged all to pray The Litany.  It is an ancient prayer of The Church and it is easy to see why. (see it at the end of this post) How do those who disagree respond?   I am going to state what I believe. God created man in His image, God’s own breath (spirit) was breathed into man to make him a living soul. That image pointed forward to Him who is God in human flesh - Jesus, God’s Christ - the One in whose image Adam was created. Woman was brought forth from that man as God caused Adam to go into a deep sleep, took a rib from his side, and made woman from that rib. This is the lesser miracle pointing forward to the gre...

 It has been a minute (that is the modern phrase meaning "quite a long time" - and - I don't get it) since I have written something on this blog. Well, something piqued my interest (got under my skin) enough to finally have something to write. OK, first an admission. I am probably not the one who should sit down and write a piece that extols the correct use of grammar. Why? Well, I may have been an elementary educator who taught English grammar a "minute ago" (back in the 1980s), my current written use of English grammar is done in order to give me cues to reading what I have written as the preached Word in the context of the sermon. So, my writing is not usually academic in any fashion. However, for what I want to address in this short missive, it does not matter.  I have two issues to bring to the fore. Neither of these are theological issues, but they are issues that arise in the church. And (IMOHO), they are issues that need to be addressed. Personally, I do...

 I found this vignette, it was posted without an author's name. If I have stolen it from someone without copyright permission, I beg forgiveness. I reprint it here to begin the conversation about attendance at the Divine Service. I do so, for it is summer. And while something attendance at the Divine Service is something optional at the best of times, in the summer they take a vacation from even that regularity of attendance. This post is meant as encouragement. Here is the vignette. A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him.   It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.   The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames aroun...

 Here is the sermon for Exaudi - 7th Sunday of Easter, (June 1, 2025). God’s Work To Make You Stewards of His Gifts   Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.   One hour is all we have together, and in our society the sermon is relegated to no more than 22 minutes. It really is too bad. There is so much to consider these three texts – and to consider them together.   It would be nice to have a full hour just to sit and meditate deeply upon Scripture together. It is truly a joy to dig into God’s Word to better understand our life together in Christ.   Our Ezekiel text begins with God declaring that He's going to act for the sake of His Holy Name. He will do this because God’s own people have profaned His name among the nations.   Carefully take note of who has profaned God's Holy name? Not unbelievers – not the nations and people who do not believe in Him! It is God’s own chosen people who have profaned God’s na...