Pastor Sullivan's Blog

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. St. Paul warns the Corinthians, and all Christians, against the false belief that Christians can never lose their salvation. The Corinthians had become cocksure and arrogant. They were baptized. They had the Lord’s Supper. The Lord had called them out of the darkness of slavery to sin. They imagined themselves to be secure in God’s grace and free to do as they pleased. The Corinthians had become secure in their sins and abandoned the life of repentance, imagining that they could not lose what God has so graciously given them. Paul writes to correct this impious notion, and we would do well to heed Paul’s warning as well. We see this deception of the devil today in many who teach and believe that once a man is saved he will always be saved, regardless of what he does with the rest of his life. This is a false notion of security. Although God has promised never to revoke His promises and grace, it is entirely po...

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. In today’s appointed gospel lesson, St. Matthew shows us a woman in dire need. Her daughter is severely demon-possessed and the woman has no way of helping her. She of herself has no strength to save her daughter. So she goes to Jesus. He had left the ancient boundary of Israel and gone into the region of Tyre and Sidon where this woman and her daughter lived. She seizes her opportunity. The woman goes to Jesus and prays mightily, “ Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed. ” She is not an Israelite, yet she knew that Jesus was Lord. She knew that He was the Son of David. She knew that Jesus was merciful to people who called upon Him in the hour of utmost need. The good report about Jesus had spread to this far away region and she believed it. In faith she approaches Jesus and asks Him to have mercy on her utterly helpless daughter. This is a great picture of faith. Fait...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. On Sunday St. Matthew told us once again how our Lord Jesus Christ defeated the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. This is important for us to hear every year, so that the Holy Spirit can remind us that we are in a great battle in this life. The Son of God assumed human flesh, just like yours and mines, except without sin, and was tempted like a flesh and blood man. But this is not written so that we only know we have a Savior who can sympathize with us, though that is a wonderful comfort. The temptation of Jesus was put into writing to teach us that although we are beset by all sorts of temptations every day, we have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we believe the Gospel, that Christ has died to make full satisfaction for our sins, all of our sins are forgiven and we are given Christ’s perfect righteousness and merits. Not only are we declared to be righteous, we are declared to be victori...

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 # 233 Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest Hymn # 467 Built on the Rock, the Church Shall Stand Hymn # 437 Who Trusts in God, a Strong Abode Introit HEAR, O || Lord, when I cry with my | voice! | - *             Al- | le- | lu- | ia! || When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will | seek.” | - *             Do not hide Your face from me. Al- | le- | lu- | ia! (Psalm 27:7a, 8-9a) || The Lord is my light and my sal- | va- | tion; *             Whom | shall | I | fear? || The Lord is the strength of my | life; | - *             Of whom shall I | be | a- | fraid? || Teach me Your way, O | Lord, | - *             Do not deliver me to the will of my ad- | ver- | sa- | ries; || For false witnesses have risen a- | gainst | me, *             And su...

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...