Should you then abandon David’s plea that God use his law against his enemies and send a Legal Avenger? No, the law must be preached to the Christian (insofar as he is not one).
The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.
God chooses to clothe himself in promises and hides himself in his word.

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But these good works aren’t done under compulsion. They’re done freely. They aren’t done so that God will love us. They’re done because He loves us.
The white hair of Jesus’ head teaches us that the Gospel is an ancient mystery.
Gospel questions don’t get a Law answer. Religious questions beg for Law answers.
What we notice less often is that this same fear wonders about both the efficacy of the Gospel and the Law.
The Epistle’s correlation with the Gospel or Old Testament readings is not always obvious, as every preacher knows. This week, however, the connection is rather clear. Love of money is evil idolatry that draws us away from the living God, transgresses the First Commandment, and leads us to trust in worldly securities rather than Christ.
Of all the reactions Jesus elicited during his ministry, sorrow was notd common. It was more typical for people who encountered Jesus to be filled with hope, and to leave everything and follow him. Or to be filled with rage, and to pick up stones to kill him. People usually responded with the extremes. Marveling or mocking. Rejoicing or renouncing. Astonishment or anger. But not the man in our text.
From Our Series on Luthers, Heidelberg Disputation.
The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday, October 7, 2018, is from the first book of the Torah, Genesis. The text is Genesis 2:18-25 and centers around creation, especially the creation of woman.
At this point in Mark’s gospel, Jesus is “on the way” to Jerusalem with his disciples. He’s been teaching them about what it means to follow him. The recurring theme is discipleship as no small matter. It involves a whole new way of thinking about such concepts as greatness (9:33-36), judgment (9:42-50), and, now, marriage.
John had heard Jesus’ voice countless times and seen Him every day over the course of three years, and yet nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to witness.
The doctrinal locus for this Sunday is marriage, which points to the greater marriage of Christ and the church or the marriage of Christ and the believer.
We are caught up in a battle between two kings and two kingdoms. And, whether we like it or not, we are ruled by one king or the other.