Below is an opportunity for “worship,” using the familiar Easter refrain. Gather the family together, and recite this anxiety-ridden Easter litany. It will make you feel worse than you already might…until the very end. (Note: “L” is for “Leader” and “C” is for “Congregation”) I promise, the first part of this will NOT be coming to a congregation near you anytime soon, unless that congregation is world/politics/culture-centered rather than Christ-centered.
 
L: Inflation is risen
C: It is risen indeed…
 
L: Gas prices are risen.
C: They are risen indeed…
 
L: Anxiety is risen.
C: It is risen indeed…
 
L: The budget is risen (household, business, church budgets).
C: It is risen indeed…
 
L: Global tensions are risen.
C: They are risen indeed…
 
L: Worry is risen.
C: It is risen indeed…
 
L: The number of my days (my age) is risen (and rising).
C: It is risen indeed.
 
L: My aches and pains are risen (in number and severity).
C: They are risen indeed…
 
L: Despair is risen.
C: It is risen indeed…
 
We could go on…and on…and on……and on. And we often do.
 
But,
 
L: In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep! (1 Corinthians 15:20)
 
L: Death is swallowed up in victory.
C: Christ is risen!
 
L: Death, where is your sting?
C: Christ is risen!

L: Grave, where is your victory?
C: Christ is risen!
 
L: The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
C: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
 
So…
 
L: Reasons for anxiety, worry, and despair have all risen.
C: They have risen indeed…
 
L: But Christ and his blessings are risen (and he continues to meet all of our needs).
C: They are risen indeed.
 
L: Christ is risen!
C: He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
 
He lives!
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

​Are you bored by the Bible? Let’s ask this: Do you know it thoroughly inside and out? Even the great Reformer, Martin Luther, did not claim to know everything there was to know about God’s Word:
 
“The Bible is the proper book for men. There the truth is distinguished from error far more clearly than anywhere else, and one finds something new in it every day. For twenty-eight years, since I      became a doctor, I have now constantly read and preached the Bible; and yet I have not exhausted it but find something new in it every day.” (Weimar Edition, TR 5, no. 5193)
 
Luther knew of the boredom and distaste for God’s Word that comes naturally to people, and that Satan uses to keep people away from Scripture. He comments on this at end of a sermon on the Monday after Easter, 1530:
 
“You should diligently learn the Word of God and by no means imagine that you know it. Let him who is able to read take a psalm in the morning, or some other chapter of Scripture, and study it for a while. This is what I do. When I get up in the morning, I pray and recite the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer with the children, adding any one of the psalms. I do this only to keep myself well acquainted with these matters, and I do not want to let the mildew of the notion grow that I know them well enough. The devil is a greater rascal than you think he is. You do as yet not know what sort of fellow he is and what a desperate rogue you are. His definite design is to get you tired of the Word and in this way to draw you away from it. This is his aim.” (Weimar Edition, 32, 64f)
 
We are so busy. (We think) We know so much. (We think) We learn so much more every day, especially in our digital era. (We think) Yet,
 
“The neglect of Scripture, even by spiritual leaders, is one of the greatest evils in the world.  Everything else, arts or literature, is pursued and practiced day and night, and there is no end of labor and effort; but Holy Scripture is neglected as though there were no need of it…No one pays any attention to our lament. May Christ our Lord help us by His Spirit to love and honor His holy Word with all our hearts.” (Luther’s Works,  14:46).
 
I’ve let Luther speak on this subject. But most important is what God has to say. He says so much! A sampling:
 

• “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11)
• “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
• “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
• Open up the Word…anywhere…and live and grow.

 
In Jesus,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

​Do you have a moment? Will you have a moment this week to linger at the cross? To worship? To consider all that Christ has done for you?
 
Just a moment or two. Granted, you could probably answer a few e-mails, send a few text messages, and browse several websites in just a moment. You no doubt have many other things to do. You have many important things to do.
 
But you do not have anything to do that is more important than this: to linger at the foot of the cross of the Savior.
 
Please don’t gloss over that last sentence too quickly! I’ll repeat it. You do not have anything to do that is more important than this: to linger at the foot of the cross of the Savior.
 
It hurts to look and to linger. It hurts because Jesus is there because of you and me. Our sins put him there. Our flubs, flukes, foibles, fumbles, minor mishaps, and oopses are exposed for the ticket-to-hell-earning sins they really are.
 
Your debt of sin (and mine…and the whole world’s) is on his shoulders. And as he breathes his last, as death takes hold, life eternal is gained for you and for me.
 
This is a foolish message, a foolish gospel. But it is a powerful Gospel. It is the message that saves souls. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
 
Linger. Remain. Stay. Gaze. On Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday. On Silent Saturday. In public worship. In private worship. In private prayer.
 
And when Sunday arrives, what joy will be ours in the lingering…
 
He lives!
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand

​You have choices for Easter, which is fast approaching. The date is Sunday, April 17th. Your choices are many…
 

• Which church to attend? Which service? Sunrise or later? Or both?
• What to wear? Something new or something tried and true?
• Where to eat? Church breakfast or brunch at a local restaurant? Or home cooking? And who will bring what?
• Where and with whom to spend the day? Friends or family or both?
• Easter baskets for the kids? Colored eggs? Heavy on the chocolate bunnies and jelly beans (and future dental bills) or toys/giftcards/cash?

 
You have choices for Easter, but the most important one has yet to be mentioned.
 
It’s not to choose to believe the Easter account – that we can’t do on our own. You already do! “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:3) “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.” (Jesus in John 15:16) Thank God this “choice” has been made by his working in our hearts through Word and Sacrament.
 
Because this “choice” has been made, because you believe in the risen Christ by grace through faith, there’s no question that you will run (at least in spirit if not physically!) to the empty tomb.
Your Easter choice, without question the most important one you will make, is this: “Whom will you invite to Easter worship?”
 
It’s the same as asking, “Who needs to see Jesus? Whom do you want to join you in heaven? With whom do you want to share the joys of forgiveness and an empty tomb for life here and hereafter?”
 
Go ahead and make all the other Easter decisions that need to be made. But don’t neglect this most important one. Whom will you bring to see the risen Christ?
 
In Christ,
 
Pastor Stephen Luchterhand