Trinity Lutheran Church

Many Christians wonder, "If I belong to Christ, why do I still struggle with sin?" Romans 7 gives an honest answer. The Apostle Paul himself confessed, "I do not do the good I want." The battle against sin is not evidence that faith is absent. Often, it is evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work.
Romans 7:19

Jesus ends today's Gospel with something remarkably small.
A cup of cold water.
The world celebrates grand achievements.
Christ notices simple acts of mercy shown to His little ones.
Nothing done in faith is insignificant to God.
His grace transforms even the smallest acts into holy service.

What if welcoming God's Word meant welcoming Christ Himself?
Jesus says that those who receive His messengers receive Him.
The Lord of heaven comes through humble means:
a preacher,
a font,
a sermon,
a Supper.
God's greatest gifts often arrive in the simplest packages.

Judah believed everything was fine.
God said exile was coming.
Our greatest danger is often not our circumstances but our inability to recognize the seriousness of sin.
"The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
The Law tells us what we do not want to hear so that the Gospel may give us what we
desperately need.