Pastor Sullivan's Blog

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The apostle John writes 1 John 3:8, “ For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ” In today’s Gospel lesson Christ shows us this by pulling demon who was mute out of a man. When the man spoke, those who were present marveled at this incredible work of Jesus. Some however, blasphemed and said, “ He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. ”   They accuse Jesus of being in league with the devil. They imagine that Jesus has some sort of an agreement with Satan by which He may cast out Satan’s associates. These men prefer darkness to light. They would rather live with the works of the devil than the work of Christ. Luke then writes, “ Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven. ” While the first group blaspheme Christ by calls the work of God the work of the devil, these others reject the blatant sign from heaven that has just been...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. The Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. This was necessary for our salvation because it was by the temptation of the devil that mankind fell into sin. We heard again in the Old Testament lesson, how the devil used a piece of fruit that was “ was good for food ” and “ pleasant to the eyes ” ( Genesis 3:6) to deceive Eve. All mankind fell in Adam’s fall since He was the head of our race. The guilt of Adam’s sin is counted against all of Adam’s descendants. Every man, woman, and child bear this hereditary guilt. Not only that, but our hearts are defective so that no one truly fears God, no one fully loves God, and no one certainly trusts God above all things. The devil’s temptation was about so much more than disobeying God’s command. The devil’s temptation was for Eve, and Adam who was there with her, to make themselves their own gods and make their way. The serpent told the...

Order of Holy Communion - Pg. 15 Hymn # 258 Lord of Our Life and God of Our Salvation Hymn # 144 Jesus, Grant that Balm and Healing Hymn # 500 May God Bestow on Us His Grace Introit MY - EYES - || are ever | to- | ward | the | Lord, *                 For He shall pluck my feet | out | of | the | net. - || Turn Yourself to me, and have | mer- | cy | on | me, *                 For I am desolate | and | af- | flict- | ed. - (Psalm 25:15–16) || To You, O Lord, I | lift | up | my | soul. *                 O my God, I trust in You; let me | not | be | a- | shamed; - || The troubles of my | heart | have | en- | larged; *                 Bring me out of | my | dis- | tress- | es! - || Look on my afflict- | tion | and | my | pain, *                 And for- | give | all | m...