Drama. Political spies. Seamy and seedy locations. Life-threatening danger. Chase scenes. Does all that sound like a John le Carré or Ian Fleming novel? Those elements are also part of the story of Rahab, one of five women Matthew includes in the family tree of Jesus. We’re glad you’re with us to not just gain fascinating information about this woman and the events around her, but to recall the unmistakable work of God to redeem a fallen world through her. Rahab isn't ancillary to God's plan to save; she's at the very heart of it.

Drama. Political spies. Seamy and seedy locations. Life-threatening danger. Chase scenes. Does all that sound like a John le Carré or Ian Fleming novel? Those elements are also part of the story of Rahab, one of five women Matthew includes in the family tree of Jesus. We’re glad you’re with us to not just gain fascinating information about this woman and the events around her, but to recall the unmistakable work of God to redeem a fallen world through her. Rahab isn't ancillary to God's plan to save; she's at the very heart of it.

Isn’t it amazing how a minor disagreement can grow into something bigger than you would have thought possible? And maybe even hurt more people than you would have thought possible? Maybe you've met someone who said about a friend or a spouse, “I don’t know exactly when it started. We both got so irritated with each other, and it just grew and grew. We never thought it would end like this.” But it did. When someone hurts us, our natural response is to get defensive—build a wall. But then there’s war and far-reaching consequences. There's another way. Today, in our worship series “You Need a Friend,” we’ll learn from two early church leaders with feet of clay (like ours): Paul and Barnabas. Here’s our prayer: Lord, help me to be friend when we disagree.

Isn’t it amazing how a minor disagreement can grow into something bigger than you would have thought possible? And maybe even hurt more people than you would have thought possible? Maybe you've met someone who said about a friend or a spouse, “I don’t know exactly when it started. We both got so irritated with each other, and it just grew and grew. We never thought it would end like this.” But it did. When someone hurts us, our natural response is to get defensive—build a wall. But then there’s war and far-reaching consequences. There's another way. Today, in our worship series “You Need a Friend,” we’ll learn from two early church leaders with feet of clay (like ours): Paul and Barnabas. Here’s our prayer: Lord, help me to be friend when we disagree.

"Why can't we all just get along?" You've heard that or even said it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could? Because of the world we live in and the condition of human nature, it won't always happen. You will be attacked by sickness, Satan, and, possibly, even friends. What then? You'll need a friend. Today, may the Lord bless you as you learn from two characters in the Bible, David and Jonathon, about the importance of friendship… especially when you're attacked. We’re glad you’ve joined us to worship the greatest friend imaginable, Jesus, and receive from him the greatest gift possible: grace.

Public health journals are filled with studies demonstrating the importance of friendships for a person's well-being. A recent survey (The American Perspectives Survey) finds that Americans report having fewer close friendships than they once did, talking to their friends less often, and relying less on their friends for personal support. It's one thing for us to imagine why that is; it's something else for us to value friendship for what it is: a gift from God. Who gives the gift of friendship to you? To whom are you giving the gift of friendship? This weekend we begin a three-week series on friendship. Each week we'll ask the Spirit to teach us through biblical models of friendship and determine how we might put what we learn into effect in our lives. This week: You need a friend when you're depressed.

Our celebration of the Reformation this weekend is less about lauding Martin Luther and company and more about maintaining God's Word as is. We thank God for preserving his message of free salvation by grace through faith. The "re-" in "reformation" tells us that we are doing something again or going back to something. With God's Word, we never need anything new; we only need to go back to it and read it again and again.

When circumstances force you to rearrange your budget, you still only have so many dollars. When you take a stand in hopes of some kind of a reset, you are still only one person. Ultimately, you don’t have much control, and you’re usually going to be working with the same resources you had before. How much difference was there between what went into the ark and what came out of it? In some ways a lot, but in other ways very little. We find peace in the God who knew the flood was coming and had a plan for it.

Isn't it nice to have an opportunity to reset? This might come with a new house, new job, or new school. For Noah and his family, it came with a new world. After the flood, everything went through Noah. His family established the beginning of culture and civilization. God gave some rules for this reset. Read through them in the first part of Genesis 9. But even in our age, what better time than the present to commit to reestablishing ourselves as God-fearing people? Let's examine the abundant blessings of our lives and consider how we are responding to God's immeasurable grace.

Have you ever felt as though God had forgotten you? Maybe a relationship wasn't working out as you had planned. Maybe your health took a sudden turn for the worse. Maybe the job you thought you'd keep for a long time is going away. God, where are you? The opening words of Genesis 8 are not only written for you; they're written about you. We’re glad you’re here today and pray the Spirit blesses you through his Word

Do you stand by the microwave and tap your fingers? Is your finger ready on the horn if the car ahead of you doesn't move on green? Most of us aren't very patient. God is. Genesis 6 – 9 not only leads us to a deeper understanding of God's covenant of grace, but along the way we grow to appreciate his patience. We’re glad you’re with us today and pray that the Spirit blesses you with valuable lessons about ourselves and about God.

"Righteous" is a word that usually has either a theological connotation or "self-" in front of it. Genesis 6 describes Noah as righteous and blameless. Read the chapter and see his actions. He didn't say a word, but he acted. But these actions showed his righteousness; they didn't establish it. Like ours, Noah's righteousness was through God. Like Noah, our righteousness results in God-pleasing action.

The book of Genesis isn't just about what happened, it's also about what is happening. This weekend, we begin a fall series on the Covenant of Grace described in Genesis 6 – 9. Our day is more like Noah's than we realize. We have cars and power tools, but hearts haven't changed. God warned the people of Noah's day judgment was coming, and he warns people of our day. Just like God was incredibly patient then, he's patient now. Now is our time to live in his patience, walk with him, and finally enjoy the safety not of an ark, but of his grace by faith in Jesus Christ. We’re so glad you’re with us and invite you to let us know if there’s some way we might serve you.

Finishing a book of the Bible is a big deal. It's been God's source of truth and inspiration for us for all of 2024. We'll miss you, Romans. But not really. We still have and we still need the message of Jesus we find in Romans. It's not going anywhere, except going more deeply into our hearts as we read it again. We’re glad you are with us today for the closing words from Paul through the Holy Spirit. Next week, we begin a six-week study on God’s “covenant of grace.” Those are two church-y sounding words, but by the end of the series we pray they are words you treasure.

After Paul plumbed the depths of the knowledge of God for 15 chapters of Romans, he concluded by naming 29 church members and 6 groups of church members in the final chapter. Why? The Spirit wants us to know God's Word matters, and the Spirit wants us to know God's people matter. It's true, we don't know much about Tryphena and Tryphosa. But we know this: they're in the Bible. That's more than I can say about myself or anyone I know. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to get to heaven, meet Tryphena, and say, "I don't think I've ever heard of you." After today, you need not worry about that. You’ll be able to say, “Oh, I read your name in the Bible!” More than that, the Spirit works through the Word you’ll hear to get you there.

“Let the gospel predominate” is an old Lutheran preacher's maxim. As sinners, all of us (not just preachers) have ways of binding up the gospel of Jesus. We hide it. We water it down. We empty it of its comfort. The end of Romans 15 is one part of Scripture that shows us the apostle's Spirit-led thinking: let the gospel not be bound by time, space, culture, or even human deficiencies. Let’s be intentional about the unbounded gospel.

Teachers, parents, and even returning students are often surprised by changes that have occurred over the summer. Some examples from the past week: "You got new furniture in the atrium!!" And, "You must have grown six inches over the summer!" And, "You got glasses! I love them." Those kinds of changes are nothing compared to the changes you see in a person when God the Holy Spirit shows up. Sometimes it's a slow process, and sometimes everything changes at once. One thing is sure, though: when the Spirit shows up, there is change. Paul encouraged the Roman church by pointing out the changes he noticed. May the Spirit encourage you today as you encounter him in his Word.

The first 13 verses of Romans 15 show a theme of acceptance. Acceptance is a word and a concept with a positive connotation in most contexts, but what does God's Word say? How and why have you been accepted? Whom should you accept? How and why? We’re glad you’re here to explore this with us.

Imagine a rich uncle tells you that for your birthday he'd like to buy you a car, "Just go pick it out." You go to the used car lot and choose a 20-year-old rusty compact with 200,000 miles. You didn't fully understand your uncle's offer. He meant for you to pick out a new Cybertruck or Eurocar. You were thinking too small. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul corrects our small thinking about the kingdom of God. In chapter 14, he probes the depths of what the kingdom of God. Don’t settle. This is big. We’re glad you’re here with us today to revel in the riches you have in the kingdom of God.

Do you remember COVID? Unless you’re a newborn or have a failing memory, of course you do. Remember the unknowns, the fear, the divisiveness, and the decisions? Leaders of St. Andrew prayed often as we entered that season that the Lord would guide us to make decisions that would reflect our love for Christ and his people, weak or strong. COVID is in the rearview mirror, but we’ll always have to make decisions that have potential to hurt or help. Where do you draw the line? Don’t expect pat answers; expect the God who cared enough to die for you to guide you. Today, he does so through his Word (Romans 14) and the mystery of the Lord’s Supper.

The first half of Romans 13 tells us to give to everyone what we owe them, even to the government. The second half of the chapter gives us one more specific thing we owe everyone. Then, we are encouraged to conduct our lives as if we live in the light, not the darkness. Clothed with Jesus, we stand out.

The Christian and the government

Just those two words together might make you squirm a bit and probably with good reason. Fear not, no preacher here will tell you how to vote. You'll have to decide that for yourself. But the Spirit guides all of our lives, including our relationship with and responsibility to the government. The basic distinction between government and church is this: the government exists to promote peace and order (roads, trade, defense, etc.). The church exists to promote the Word and Sacraments by which the Spirit brings people to faith and keeps them in faith. There are more distinctions, of course, but God's Word in Romans 13 will help us appreciate the nature and authority of the church and the state God has instituted.

Lord, give me patience . . .

You know how that petition concludes, "And give it to me right now!" You know some people who are given to demonstrating patience sometimes, but no one does so all the time. Something "sets off" everyone. What is it you have no patience for? In Romans 12, the apostle Paul is inspired to give us God's plan for how we respond to his mercy. One of those responses is patience. Rather than just give us a command to be patient, he gives us practical things we can do when someone tries our patience. We’re glad you’ve joined us impatient people to receive mercy and grow in our ability to be patient.  

“Why are you so gifted?”

That question might make you sit up a little taller. I suppose that's because we focus on the last two words and congratulate ourselves. There might be something to that. After all, the Bible does say each of us is uniquely gifted by God. But let your eyes go back to the first word of that question. Rather than sitting taller, we might be looking inward. Or toward God's Word. Why? After an exhaustive explanation of God and his working among and for us, the Apostle Paul now turns his attention to us and the gifts God has given us. And he answers the question, "Why?" We’re glad you’re here gathering with fellow gifted saints to serve one another and find God's answers for why he has given you the gifts you enjoy. 

Have you gazed upon the infinity of the heavens, the vastness of the sea, or the beauty of a child and muttered, "Oh, my." It's not just that you don't know the words to say, it's that words can't express what you're feeling. Paul does something like that at the end of Romans 11. He's not done with the letter. We'll benefit from 5 more chapters. But he's done with eleven chapters of describing our lostness, God's goodness, and the Spirit's faithfulness. All that's left to say is, "Oh, my." We’re so glad you’re with us today to come into God’s presence, receive his grace and, we pray, respond with, “Oh, my.”