singer

Text: Luke 5. Hymn: 895, Now Thank We All Our God.

Sound bite: Time Out called by Jay Triano, coach of the NBA Toronto Raptors.

Christ has the authority to forgive sins. Jesus comes, not to save Pharisees who need saving but won’t admit it, but to call sinners to repentance. The Christ is come, and it is appropriate to celebrate His arrival. The old Adam has no place in the life of the new Christian. All wonderful themes in Luke 5.

Jesus doesn’t care for His lambs by denying that certain transgressions are sins. I suspect that may be one way that we try to patch old clothes with new material or put new wine into old wineskins. Instead, He asks us to repent and believe the Gospel, and to leave our sins at the cross.

Text: Colossians 1. Hymn: 566, By Grace I’m Saved.

The audio is from the Higher Things 2009 Sola conference at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. It is included with permission from Higher Things. You can hear the hymn by itself at their Sola 2009 page now, but it will eventually become part of the HT-Online subscribers-only page. When that happens, you will need to register at Higher Things for free and then add the premium service. The premium service will also contain other great audio from both Sola conferences.

Special thanks also to Evan Goeglein and Pr. Brian Wolfmueller, who provided the sound bite from their podcast and radio show, Table Talk Radio. It is my favorite Lutheran game show, too.

Text: 1 John 5. Hymn: 670, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones.

Organist: Mrs. Susie Singer, Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, OH.

Normally I like to choose texts that preach themselves, because I’m not a preacher. 1 John 5 is a different animal. It’s Law and Gospel, emphasizing that we need to believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, assuring us of our salvation while not downplaying the need to obey God’s commands.

I have not reworked another hymn for Time Out as much I have this one. Cantor Phillip Magness provided some objective and much-needed critiquing on how I was singing hymns, and I made some changes. I hope you enjoy it.

Also upon suggestion I have included the Collect for the week from the Lutheran Lectionary Project. Thank you, Stan Lemon!

Text: 1 Timothy 1. Hymn: 743, Jesus, Priceless Treasure.

Organist: Mrs. Susie Singer, Zion Lutheran Church, Columbus, OH.

Sound bite: Eric Cartman, South Park, “Cartman vs. Super Nanny.”

Twenty-three episodes in, and I’m still learning. I was using my Bose headphones to play the organ music while I sang, and I kept going flat in the bass in verse 3. It was driving me nuts, until I just used one ear with the headphones and figured out what was going on with my voice.

The text and the hymn are among my favorites. Paul comes right out and says it: Christ died for sinners.