Faith Comes from Hearing. A man who was deaf and therefore also had an impediment in his speech was brought to Jesus (Mark 7:31–37). In the same way, all are by nature deaf toward God and therefore also unable to confess the faith rightly. Jesus put His fingers into the man’s ears, and He spat and touched His tongue. Even so in Holy Baptism, water sanctified by the words of Jesus’ mouth is applied to us; and the finger of God, that is, the life–giving Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:4–11) is put into our ears in the hearing of the baptismal Gospel. Jesus’ sighing “Ephphatha” opened the man’s ears, and his tongue was loosed to speak plainly as Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah, “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book” (Isaiah 29:18–24). So also, He who sighed and breathed His last on the cross for us has given us to hear and believe in Him and has opened our lips that our mouths may declare His praise.

This sermon was delivered by Pastor Akers at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection on September 3, 2025.

The Lord Lifts Up the Lowly. “And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard” (Genesis 4:1–15). For unlike Abel, Cain’s offering did not proceed from a heart that revered and trusted in the Lord. Thus, the lowly tax collector who prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” was the one who went down to his house justified before God, not the respectable, outwardly righteous Pharisee who trusted in himself and his own good living (Luke 18:9–14). The one who penitently despairs of his own righteousness and relies completely on the atoning mercy of God in Christ is the one who is declared righteous. For Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1–10). Therefore, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14).

St. Bartholomew, Apostle. Skinned alive! That, according to tradition, is how Bartholomew (called Nathanael in John’s Gospel) was martyred. Christ’s preachers are not to be great lords, but servants who faithfully stay with Christ in His trials (Luke 22:24–30). They are “jars of clay”; the Savior they preach is the “surpassing power” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Christ’s servants are “afflicted in every way,” “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested” there (2 Corinthians 4:8–10). We bear sufferings not leaning “on [our] own understanding,” but trusting in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5–7). Life will be manifested in our bodies, too, when the Lord brings “healing to [our] flesh and refreshment to [our] bones” in the resurrection (Proverbs 3:8). For this reason, Bartholomew is often depicted holding his flayed skin. He will have need of it on the Last Day — at least for sizing.

The Steward’s Shrewdness Sanctified. “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” (Luke 16:1–9). The steward’s shrewdness is praiseworthy for two reasons. First, he knew the master would be merciful. He trusted that the master would honor the debts he forgave in the master’s name. In the same way, though we have squandered our heavenly Father’s possessions in selfishness and sin, Jesus is the Steward who has canceled our debt, knowing that His forgiveness will be honored by the Father because of the holy cross. Secondly, the steward was shrewd in using oil and wheat to provide for his earthly welfare. So also do these earthly elements aid us when pressed into heavenly use in the anointing of baptism and the wheat of the Lord’s Supper. Those who have the Sacraments will have an eternal home when their earthly home fails. These provide us aid in times of temptation (1 Corinthians 10:6–13). For the Lord is our strength and a shield to all who trust in Him.

The sermon was delivered by Reverend President Robert Beinke (President of the New England District - LCMS). Saint Lawrence of Rome was a third-century deacon in the city of Rome who was responsible for distributing alms to the poor on behalf of the church, in accord with St. Paul’s words: “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). When the Roman prefect came to seize the church’s wealth, Lawrence secretly emptied the church’s treasury by giving it all to the needy. This act enraged the prefect, who sentenced the deacon to be martyred on a gridiron with hot coals beneath it. In life and in death, Lawrence embodied our Lord’s words: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:25). We join the church in giving thanks to God for Saint Lawrence of Rome. “Our churches teach that the history of saints may be set before us so that we may follow the example of their faith and good works, according to our calling” (Augsburg Confession XXI, 1).

This sermon was delivered by Pastor Akers at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection on August 3, 2025.

Jesus Restores Paradise and Feeds Us Freely. In the Garden of Eden, our first parents received food freely from the gracious hand of God, apart from any burdensome work. But after the fall, food would be received only through toil and labor. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). But the Lord made a promise to His people: “Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes’” (Isaiah 62:11). Therefore, Jesus the Messiah came to restore creation. Having compassion on the weary multitudes, He renewed the bounty of Eden on the third day, freely granting an abundance of bread to the 4,000 (Mark 8:1–9). So also our Lord Jesus, having endured the burden of our sin, was raised on the third day to grant us Salvation. He now miraculously turns the bread of death into the Bread of Life in the Sacrament, giving you His very body and blood for your forgiveness. For “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

This sermon was delivered by Pastor Akers at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection on July 27, 2025.

Our Only Hope Is in Christ’s Righteousness. “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). God demands nothing less than perfection from you regarding His commandments (Exodus 20:1–17). Your only hope, then, is not in your own goodness but in the goodness of Christ, who did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them for you. In Christ, your righteousness does indeed exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. For you have been baptized into Christ’s death and your sinful nature crucified. Therefore, he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:3–11). You are now raised with Christ to walk in newness of life and to share in His resurrection on the Last Day. Christ has brought you through the baptismal sea “out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). Therefore, “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).