“The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1–11; Second Lesson). The arrival of the bridegroom will be sudden and unexpected. Therefore you are to be watchful and ready like the five wise virgins. “For you know neither the day nor the hour” when the Son of Man is to return. (Matthew 25:1–13, Gospel Lesson). The lamps are the Word of Christ. The oil in the lamps is the Holy Spirit, who works through the Word to create and sustain the flame of faith in Christ. The foolish are those who do not give proper attention to the working of the Holy Spirit in baptism, preaching, and the supper, and so their faith does not endure. The wise, however, are those who diligently attend to these gifts of the Spirit, and who therefore have an abundance of oil. The flame of faith endures to the end. By God’s grace they are received into the eternal wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, the new heavens and the new earth created by the Lord for the joy of His people (Isaiah 65:17–25; First Lesson).
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“There, in the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming.” (Dan. 7:13). The Lord Jesus will return in glory on the Last Day with all His holy angels. “All the nations will be gathered in his presence…He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Matt. 25:31–33). Those on His left will be cast into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For they rejected Christ by failing to receive and support His brethren, that is, the preachers of the Gospel. But those on His right will inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. For they received and supported His brethren and believed what they preached. We believe in the promise of Christ’s coming, even it is delayed because of His long-suffering mercy. Conducting ourselves in godliness, knowing that this fallen creation will soon pass away, we look forward to “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13).
You are blessed now with peace and plenty so that you can show the riches of God’s grace to those who are tormented and in need. That’s what Jesus did. Having everything he gave it all up so that you would have everything. And now he blesses you with confidence in the gospel promises on this good day so that you can share those promises with those having a bad day. The same holds for your time and wealth; it is yours to share in humble imitation of what Jesus has shared —no, what Jesus has generously and freely given to you. That’s how we pass the test of sincerity; that’s how invisible faith created by the Word turns into visible works of love for our neighbor.
Last week, on Wednesday, November 1, the Church celebrated All Saints' Day. Today, we observe this feast. To “observe” a feast means we celebrate the feast day in a Divine Service not held on the specific day the feast is celebrated.
The Feast of All Saints’ is the most comprehensive of the days of commemoration, encompassing the entire scope of that great cloud of witnesses with which we are surrounded (Hebrews 12:1). It holds before the eyes of faith that great multitude which no man can number: all the saints of God in Christ––from every nation, race, culture, and language––who have come "out of the great tribulation...who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9, 14). As such, it sets before us the full height and depth and breadth and length of our dear Lord's gracious salvation (Ephesians 3:17-19). It shares with Easter a celebration of the resurrection, since all those who have died with Christ Jesus have also been raised with Him (Romans 6:3-8). It shares with Pentecost a celebration of the ingathering of the entire Church catholic–in heaven and on earth, in all times and places––in the one Body of Christ, in the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Just as we have all been called to the one hope that belongs to our call, "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:4-6). And the Feast of All Saints shares with the final Sundays of the Church Year an eschatological focus on the life everlasting and a confession that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18). In all of these emphases, the purpose of this feast is to fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, that we might not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12:2,3).
Festival Service ~ The Commemoration of the Lutheran Reformation (Observed) ~ October 29, 201710/29/2017 
As we commemorate the Reformation of the Church we give thanks we have been rescued from the false ways of salvation that could only lead us to ruin and doom. We owe God thanks for that rescue accomplished by his grace alone, on account of Christ’s merit alone, and through the means of grace alone. At the same time we remember that apart from unqualified commitment to his Word, grace can be lost and with it the saving faith created through the Word in the one and only Christ, our one and only Savior. Therefore let us hear the Word of the Lord! Prompted by his grace let us recommit ourselves to purity of doc-trine that comes alone from the Word, and to a life that reflects our devotion to the Savior who gives himself for us and then to us in his pure Word and Sacraments.
The gifts of God are so rich and varied that the devil uses that very generosity in God to stir up jealousy and envy. Expect it in others;’ find it yourself as well! That weakness makes it crystal clear that our need for a Savior is a constant one. It makes it equally clear that our struggle against our own flesh gives us much more difficulty and anguish than the hostility or the persecution from the world.
Today is the last of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
This is the context: God’s gifts to us of wealth more than most of his other gifts can become snares to our salvation when we treasure them more than the Giver and more than our salvation. Next to the attachment to hearth and home, a person’s chief attachment is to his purse. So it is not out of order to consider what God has to say about his gifts of wealth and to let him put those gifts in a proper context for us.
Today is the fifth of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
 The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members is to reflect the love of God for us in self giving love for one another in the family. How tragic that in our society such a mirror is clouded indeed! There is much to repent of and much to strive toward. Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
Today we’re observing the celebration of the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, which is celebrated on September 29. For 1500 years the Christian Church has celebrated this festival near the autumnal equinox, the day of 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. As Christians watched the autumn nights grow longer and the days grow shorter, they were reminded of the struggle between good and evil— between the forces of light and the forces of darkness—between the angel armies of God and the demonic forces of Satan. And so, every year as autumn darkened into winter, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Archangel and remembers that Michael and All the Angels fought on their side.
Today is the third of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
How profound the love of Jesus! He is talking about his impending suffering and all the Twelve can think and talk about is the glory they expect to get out of it, and whether someone else might be getting more and therefore too much! Wouldn’t you think that at least when he is describing his coming Passion he would get a little attention, just a bit of sympathy? But no! The perversity of the best of us is indeed deep and profound. But the love and compassion of the Savior is a thousand times deeper and more profound! He does not cast them off; he does not cast us off either. Instead he patiently demonstrates his love and bids us once more to be concerned only with receiving it and then imitating it.
Today is the second of six Sundays focusing on The Depths of God’s Grace! Jesus wants to so deepen our understanding of his grace that he becomes all in all to us. In this series, we will see how truly gracious God is.
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