The Plan: Recent Episodes
South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church
A collection of readings through the old and new testament, seeing God' plan for salvation unfold from the beginning of time to the return of Jesus.
Every religion in the world has one thing in common: each one of them has a list of certain things that you need to do or not do to get to heaven. Some of the things are similar from one religion to the next, and some have completely unique chores, but they all have hoops through which you need to jump if you are to be saved.
Every religion has these things… except for Christianity. Christianity is the one religion in the world that says that you can’t make it to heaven on your own. You can’t be good enough to earn God’s love. The only way you are going to walk through those pearly gates is if God’s Son has done it for you The ultimate, Divine, unchanging truth of Scripture is this: only through God-given faith in the Redeemer can you be saved. And there is no place in the Bible where that point is driven home more clearly than in the book of Romans. In its pages we hear over and over again, “The world says ‘Do!’, Christ says ‘Done!!!’”
The Gospels tell us many things about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. They tell us a great deal about who He was and is and what He did. One of the things upon which the Gospels do not elaborate on is what it all means. The Holy Spirit accomplished that job when He inspired the Apostles to write epistles, or letters, explaining what Jesus’ sacrifice means for us and the world.
This week we will look at the writings of St. Paul and other authors for wonderful, Holy Spirit inspired, insights into Christ’s work.
Jesus’ ascension
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 146: Where's Your Crown?
It’s just like good old times
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 145: Back Home to Galilee
The suffering servant shall be brought back to life & “He has risen!”
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 134: "He has risen!"
In the 80’s there was a TV show called the A-team. It wasn’t the best acted show on TV but it was fun and people loved it. One of the parts of the show people always looked forward to was the elaborate contraptions and gadgets that the team would put together to defeat the bad guys. No show would be complete without the A-team creating amazing fortifications, traps and vehicles out of scraps which were just lying around. And at the end of every episode, after the bad guys had been vanquished by the A-Team’s elaborate plan, Hannibal, the leader of the team, would say, “I love it when a plan comes together!”
This week we get to say, “I love it when a plan comes together!” Or in century’s old Theological lingo, we can say: “Christ is risen!!!” From the fall into sin to this, the final week of Jesus earthly life, the Lord’s plan had been steadily marching toward the defeat of Sin, Death and the Devil. This week we see the success of that plan when Jesus’ borrowed tomb is broken opened open and Christ walks out.
From that moment on, everything in our lives and in our future was going to be different. Our relationship with God is restored and made new. We no longer need to fear death because death had been made the door into eternal life. Everything is changed and believers are born again to a new life, bought and paid for by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection from the grave.
Take a few minutes this week to sit and meditate on God’s amazing plan and what that plan means for your life. And when you do, you will say, “I love it when a plan comes together! Christ is risen!!!”
The disciples fall asleep
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 133: Why Should God Care about Them... and Me?
All of human history since the fall into sin has been moving to these events recorded in the Gospels. These accounts, inspired by the Holy Spirit and recorded by those who were there, recall the moment all of our sin was loaded upon God’s Son and He paid the price to erase them. No words can summarize the magnitude and no actions can repay what God has done for us on that hill outside Jerusalem. We are only to believe in the gift which is given to us and give thanks for the overwhelming blessing which Christ has won for us.
For many of us Maundy Thursday, the day before Jesus is crucified, is summed up by Jesus instituting Communion and washing His disciples’ feet. While those things happened on that day, Jesus did and said far more than those two particular events. John spends over 3 chapters recording Jesus’ words which were spoken the night He was arrested. In those three chapters, Jesus speaks of many things, but a quick viewing will show that most of His words show love and concern for His immediate disciples and those of us who would believe in Him in the future. He prays over and over again that those who would be given faith in Him would be kept safe and remain faithful through the temptations they will face.
Jesus washes the disciples’ feet
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 143: The King Stoops Low
Behold, your king comes riding humbly on a donkey! & Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem
Now that statement might be a very confusing title for a week of Bible readings… if it weren’t for the fact we are talking about God’s Son. You see, this week is the beginning of Jesus’ march to the cross. We start with our Savior riding into Jerusalem on a Donkey; something which had been predicted centuries before. Then we are unseen guests at the Last Supper where Jesus gives us the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
These readings signal the beginning of the end of Jesus’ ministry. Still, as the title infers, these events are not the end of Jesus. Yes, Jesus is headed to the cross. Yes, He will die there just as he promised He would, but His journey does not end there. The cross is coming but so is the empty tomb.
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Will you be ready when the Lord returns? It’s a good question and one that is asked in a couple different ways this week. On that last day, in Whom or what will you put your trust ? Will it be the things of this world or the Savior? On the last day will you be waiting for the Lord’s return or will you be caught completely by surprise? This week and always we are encouraged to be prepared and trust in the only One who saves.
Lazarus dies
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 142: Thinking Differently About Judgement Day
This week we have two main themes. The first is the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead. In this narrative we hear another “I am” statement as Jesus declares that He is the resurrection and the life and then proves it by raising Lazarus from the grave. In this account the main point is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. However, another point to ponder is found in the opening few verses of the text. When Jesus is told of Lazarus’ sickness He waits for two more days and then, when they get up to leave, He tells them that Lazarus is already dead.
Why? Why did Jesus allow this suffering and pain to come to a family He dearly loved? The answer to that difficult question is revealed to us when Jesus arrives in Bethany and uses the situation as a witness to the world of God’s power and love. Sometimes God allows bad or painful things into our lives to teach us certain lessons, to help us make a witness to others or a myriad of other important reasons. He knows He can make all things work together for good to those who love Him.
These verses encourage us to trust in the Savior, even when we don’t see the reasoning for the pain. By faith and the Holy Spirit's power, we can believe our loving Father will use this trial for our benefit or the blessing of others.
The second half of the week focuses on Jesus as He reaches out for the lost. In these readings we see that Jesus didn’t come for those who think they have it all together. He came for those who have made a mess of things,…otherwise known as… each and every one of us. Jesus wanted those sitting at His feet and those of us who would be listening in the future, to know that there is no sin so bad, no pain so deep, that Jesus cannot save you. We are the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son, and just as each one of them was found by someone desperately searching for it, we too have a Savior who is desperately searching for us.
A descendant of David will be the Lord’s shepherd & Jesus is the Good Shepherd
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 141: On Being Sheep
The Good Samaritan and Mary and Martha
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 132: Walking Headlong into Resistance and Opposition
Job, like all who believe, will see the light of the world & The Light of Christ is coming into the world & “I am the Light of the World”
In our journey through God’s plan we have begun to get a good picture of the purpose and person of the Messiah. Some of the clearest insights into Jesus and His purpose come to us through His “I AM” statements. This week we have three of the ”I am’s”. In the opening reading, Jesus tells us “I am the Light of the world.” and in the Saturday reading He tells us that He is the “good shepherd.” In each of these passages He gives us a glimpse into His mission and identity. However, the most important of the three verses is the one we will read on Tuesday. In this reading Jesus leaves behind the usual formula and just says, “I AM.”
Now if you and I were to say, “I AM” people would get pretty confused. “I am” doesn’t make sense. It needs more. But Jesus, in the context of questions about His identity, refers to Himself by the same name which the Triune God used when He called Moses from the burning bush. You may remember, “I am” was His reply when Moses asked, “Who shall I tell them has sent me?” In this one verse, John 8:58, Jesus dispels any thought that He isn’t God. In this one verse He says that He is the God who made Abraham a father of nations and brought Israel out of Egypt. In other words, Jesus is saying, “I am the creator of all things, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Who is this Jesus guy?
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 140: He Was There in the Wilderness
Jesus feeds the 4000
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 113: Time to Take a Closer Look
Who is this Jesus guy? That’s the number one question which the gospels are trying to answer for us. Is Jesus just a regular person, is He a prophet, or is He even more than we can imagine? Early this week Peter will get the answer right when He proclaims that Jesus is the “Son of the living God”, but the gospels don’t stop there. They continue on and show us Jesus’ true nature by giving us a glimpse of His glory in the transfiguration. That event is then followed by Jesus’ own words about who He is.
As we read the gospels this question of “Who is Jesus?” becomes more than a question asked of disciples and Pharisees. It becomes a question for us, too. It is a question whose answer drastically affects our lives both now on earth and our final home after judgment.
Let me explain: Messiah Lutheran Church, (and to be honest every church in the world), has people on their books who would say on a phone survey that they are Christian. Unfortunately, their faith is nothing more than words. As you read this week, ask yourself, “Do I believe the truth that the Holy Spirit is trying to place into my heart about Jesus? Do I believe that Jesus is God’s Son sent to save me?” In other words, “If you were put on trial for being a follower of Jesus, would you have given enough evidence to convict you?”
These readings challenge three different types of people in three different ways.
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The first group are those who find themselves standing with the Pharisees in unbelief. These texts dare you to continue to read the salvation story of Scripture. You see, God has promised that He will work through His Word and through His Holy Spirit. The Lord is knocking at your heart and wants to give you the wonders of His forgiveness and love which faith brings.
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Second, if you are doubting or struggling with who Jesus is, bring your doubts and concerns to God. There were many people in Jesus’ day Who knew Jesus was Someone amazing. Even so, they had some questions about exactly Who He was. If this is you, continue reading God’s word and bring your doubts to God asking Him to strengthen your faith and answer your questions. There was not a single person who brought their honest and heartfelt doubts to Jesus that He turned away.
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Lastly, if you believe, ask yourself, “Do I live the truth I know about Jesus? Do I live my life as if Jesus is the Son of God sent to save me or do I live my life as if Jesus was just a teacher from long ago? Ask yourself, “What difference does faith make in my life?” If the answer is none, through prayer and introspection take a good look at the things you can change and ask the Lord for direction to the new ways you can reflect the faith that lives in you.
Jesus said what to her!?!?!
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 112: He Sure Has A Way with People
What makes us clean or unclean in the eyes of God
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 111: Politically Incorrect
Jesus is the Bread of Life
“Stuff They Didn’t Teach Me In Sunday School”
Episode 139: A Tough Teaching To Swallow
The Lord delivers those in peril on the water & Jesus calms the sea and casts out Legion
Real wind and waves as well as the figurative wind and waves in our lives, can threaten to overwhelm us at times. This week Jesus saves both the disciples and the crowd from serious and at possibly times life threatening problems. Through these readings we learn to rely on Christ when the storms of our lives threaten to destroy us but we also learn that Jesus is much more than a get-out-of-jail-free-card. He is the very Bread of life. He feeds and saves our souls, something much greater than even physical deliverance.
John has a question and Jesus answers John by fulfilling this verse & John the Baptist questions Jesus
Jesus definitely was not the Person people thought the Messiah should be. In multiple readings this week Jesus does and says the exact opposite of what people expected. He chooses disciples from among the uneducated and outcasts. He teaches that in the kingdom of God the oppressed and hurting will be blessed. He even surprises John the Baptist by not being the type of Messiah that John had expected.
The good news for us is that even though Jesus may not have been the type of Messiah humanity expected or wanted, He was and is the type of Messiah we needed. We really don’t need another politician or self-help guru. We need a perfect Savior, a Redeemer, who would die for our sins and give us new life. Jesus offers us a new life based on God’s love for us and not the worthless things which this world values so highly.
Moses predicts Jesus coming and that Jesus would use Moses against the Pharisees & Who is Jesus?