The Joshua Victor Theory

Sermon on Mark 10:17-22, for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about Jesus' closing reflections on the encounter with the rich young man, and how wealth creates a difficulty in entering the kingdom of God; in fact, it's difficult period! How does Jesus' challenge the common thinking of men with His own uncommon thinking? 

Sermon on Mark 10:17-22 for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about the rich young man's question about eternal life, his own evaluation of his obedience, and Jesus' response. How does Jesus look upon us with love, and give us a high calling? What is the true nature of Christ's obedience? How can we inherit eternal life?

Sermon on Mark 10:6-8, for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about how God gave us our bodies as male and female, and that we are wonderfully made. Looking at how the body is an engineering marvel, and why we shouldn't demean or devalue the human body, or devaluing or demeaning either of the sexes. What is the glory and the hope for our bodies?

Sermon on Acts 2:21 for Children's Sunday, about what it means to call upon the Lord. Who do we trust to help us? How do we call upon Him? What are we asking God to do for us when we ask Him to save? God's got a text message for you...don't leave it unread...

Sermon on Psalm 37:4-7, for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about what it means to "delight in the Lord", and how that happens. How can we properly delight in the Lord? 

Sermon on Mark 9:14-29, for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about the nameless father who comes to Jesus for healing for his demon-possessed son, and pleads "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!" What does this story teach us about faith and prayer, and the ways God helps and heals?

Sermon on Psalm 28, the 15th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about how to pray and let God's Word "read and interpret us" as it searches our hearts and minds. How does Psalm portray our fears and frustrations and an "emotional turning point" to trust and hope? 

Sermon on Mark 7:14-23, for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about Jesus' diagnosis of the heart. What makes us unclean? What cannot make us clean? How does God read our heart? What is the real solution to getting a clean heart?

Sermon on Mark 7:1-13, for the 13th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about how the Pharisees tried to go "above and beyond" the Law in a way that hurts, rather than helps. How does Jesus go "above and beyond" in a way that truly helps? 

Sermon on Luke 1:46-55, for the Festival of St. Mary, mother of our Lord, about her song, the "Magnificat", where she declares: "My soul magnifies the Lord..."  What does it mean to be a "soul magnifier" of the Lord? What mighty deeds has He done? How do we pass on the faith from generation to generation? How do we become "soul magnifiers" of God? 

Sermon on Ephesians 4:17-5:2, for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about how we are to "put off" the old flesh like an old pair of clothes, and to "put on" the new self. How do these "new clothes" work, and what does it do for us? How do the "old clothes" affect us? What's our struggle and how does God remember us? 

Sermon on Ephesians 4:1-16, 10th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about walking worthily according to the call to which we have been called...what is the difference between the worthy and unworthy walk, and how are we part of the body of Christ. 

Sermon on Mark 6:45-56, for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about Jesus' walking on water to the disciples in the midst of the storm, and how the presence of Jesus, the Great I AM, brings calm in our lives. What does it mean to "take heart" and how can we lay down our fears, exhaustion, doubts, etc, with Jesus? 

Sermon on Galatians 5:1, 13-26, for the 4th of July 2021, about 3 Kinds of freedom: spiritual, civil, and the freedom of the flesh. What do these freedoms mean? What are the dangers to losing them? How do we receive and walk in freedom? 

Sermon on Mark 3:20-35, for the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost 2021 (B), about Jesus casting out demons and the accusation that He did so by the power of Beelzebul. Jesus talks about warring kingdoms, and who is the strongest man. 

Sermon on John 3:1-17, for Holy Trinity Sunday 2021 (B), about how we are born again/born from above/born of water and the Spirit, and how the Spirit opens our eyes to see the kingdom and enter the kingdom. 

Sermon on John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15, focusing on 16:8-11, for Pentecost Sunday 2021 (B), about the work of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement. What does conviction mean? 

Sermon on 1 John 5:9-15 (really focused on v. 6-12), 7th Sunday of Easter, about the contrast between the testimony of man vs. the greater testimony of God. What is testimony? Who takes the stand to witness/testify to us? What is the testimony about? 

Sermon on 1 John 5:1-8, for the 6th Sunday of Easter 2021 (B), about how faith, love, and a true confession of Jesus are identifying marks of the children of God. How does John  present the "new life" of believers, and how do we become such children? What defines and shapes our love in the Christian family? 

Sermon on 1 John 4:1-6, for the 5th Sunday of Easter 2021 (B), about how we are to "live not by lies" but to "live by the truth." How does a Christian learn to discern the Spirit of Truth from the spirit of error/lies? 

Sermon on 1 John 3:16-24, for the 4th Sunday of Easter 2021 (B), about what it looks like to live with "Resurrection Love." What creates and fuels it? Where is the battleground in the contest between God's truth and worldliness, and how does this relate to how we live out resurrection love? 

Sermon on 1 John 3:1-7, 3rd Sunday of Easter 2021 (B), about what it means to be children of God and how we will "be like Him" when "we see Him as He is." 

Sermon on 1 John 1:1-2:2, 2nd Sunday of Easter 2021 (B), about how Jesus raises His church up for fellowship or life together. What does fellowship mean? Why does God create it? How do we break or keep that fellowship? 

Sermon on Mark 16:1-8, for the Resurrection of our Lord, Easter 2021 (B), about Jesus' reliable word and how the angel's word exposed the fear and distrust of the disciples, and God's heart to provide "spiritual repair" to those who had not believed. 

Sermon on Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Good Friday, about Jesus giving "all" for us. 

Sermon on Isaiah 49:71-3, for Maundy Thursday, about the Good Shepherd's promise that we will neither "hunger nor thirst." 

Sermon on Zechariah 9:11 and Mark 14:24, for Palm Sunday 2021 (B), about the "Blood of the Covenant." What are covenants, and how were they made? What does Jesus mean by using this phrase at His Last Supper? What was His plan and purpose, riding into Jerusalem on the donkey, and the meaning behind Zechariah's prophecy about the blood of the covenant?

Sermon on Isaiah 49:1-6, for Lent 6 Midweek, about the "sword" in the mouth of the Servant of the Lord. How does Jesus "wield" the Word of God? 

Sermon on Mark 10:35-45, 5th Sunday in Lent 2021 (B), about James and John's request seeking glory at Jesus' right and left, and how Jesus refocused their attention on the road between mission and glory, and how it would come with suffering, service, and crosses. How was Jesus' ransom a total new beginning for us? 

Sermon on Isaiah 48:17-22 for Lent Midweek 5 about God's call to exiles: "Get Out!" How do we get trapped in sin and death, and how do we make our escape?

Sermon on John 3:16 for the 4th Sunday in Lent 2021 (B), about the healthy rhythms of hearing and singing familiar words of Scripture, and why we should welcome healthy rhythms as part of our spiritual life and journey. 

Sermon on Isaiah 45:1-8, part 4 of the Lent series "Singing with the Exiles", about how we get trapped and imprisoned behind "gates" and how God sends His servants to break us free. How was Cyrus chosen? How was he a little picture of the greater Messiah?

Sermon on Exodus 20:1-17 and Hebrews 12:18-24, for the 3rd Sunday in Lent 2021 (B), about how God encounters His people at two different mountains, Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion, and how they compare and contrast to each other. Who is the mediator at each, and what covenant do they represent? What's the difference? 

Sermon on Isaiah 44:1-5, for Lent 3 Midweek, part of the series "Singing with the Exiles" by Rev. Reed Lessing. A sermon about how God has marked us as His own. 

Sermon on Mark 8:27-38, for the 2nd Sunday in Lent 2021 (B), about Jesus' prediction of the sufferings of the cross, and His call to discipleship and to take up our crosses and follow Him. 

Sermon on James 1:13-18, 1st Sunday in Lent 2020 (B), about the difference between testing and temptation, and how temptation works to lure us into sin. How do we stand against temptation? 

Sermon on Isaiah 41:14-16, for Ash Wednesday 2021, Singing with the Exiles series, by Rev. Reed Lessing

Sermon on Mark 9:2-9, Transfiguration of our Lord 2021 (B), about how His Transfiguration shows His Total Authority, Truth, Purity, and Glory. What glory did this foreshadow? How was the "glory show" transformed after the Transfiguration? 

Sermon on Isaiah 40:21-31, for the 5th Sunday after Epiphany 2020 (B), about the cry of the people to God, that their way is hidden from the Lord, and their right is disregarded by God. God answers by way of four everyday observations about life that connect to how God is different from us and utterly dependable. 

Sermon on Mark 1:21-28, for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany 2020 (B), about Jesus' authority, and how it is good for our lives when we are on His side. What made the people remark about His authority? How is His authority challenged, and how should we respond? What are examples of His authority in our lives?

Sermon on Mark 1:14-20, for the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, about the call of Jesus' disciples to "come follow me!" and how He called them "out of the water" to become "fishers of men." How are we "caught" by Christ, and what does He catch us for? 

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, for Life Sunday, about how we can unwittingly treat the lives of others around us as "invisible", and how they are really invaluable to the body of Christ. Where does our value come from? Who are the "least of these" who need our special love and protection? What "superpower" is given to members of the body of Christ, that helps respond to the isolation or devaluing of life around us?

Sermon on Romans 6:1-11, for the Baptism of our Lord 2020 (B), about how we find the answers to questions of identity in our baptism into Christ Jesus. What do I make of my struggle with sin? How will I walk in faith? Where is our victory? 

Sermon on Luke 2:40-52, for the 2nd Sunday after Christmas 2020 (B), about Jesus' submission to His parents after leaving the Temple as a 12 year old. How does this theme of submission trace through Jesus' life, and what does it mean for us? What does it mean for us to submit? 

Sermon on Luke 2:22-40, the 1st Sunday after Pentecost 2020 (B), about how Simeon was "ready to go" after the Lord Jesus came to him and he saw with his own eyes God's salvation. How do we live a life of peace, hope, and readiness? How does Christ come to us today?

Meditation on John 1:14 for Christmas Day, part of our Lessons and Carols Service. Reflecting on the word "dwelt" among us, or "tabernacled" among us. What does it mean that Jesus came in human flesh? 

Sermon on Isaiah 9:6, about the Christmas Name's of Jesus, for Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This Sunday I decided to re-preach a sermon of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the text Revelation 3:20, preached first in 1928, which was shared with me, and I thought was equally relevant for today and spoke about how Advent disciplines us for properly waiting for the arrival of Christ. God bless! 

Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, for the 3rd Sunday in Advent 2020 (B), about God's will in your life. How do we have joy and a life of prayer and thankfulness in the midst of life's challenges, that often do not go away? How do we hear the good news? 

Sermon on Advent Midweek 2, part 2 of the Jesse Tree series, about how Jesus is the Root of Jesse's tree. 

Sermon on Mark 1:1-8, for the 2nd Sunday in Advent 2020 (B), about John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, and a prophet linking OT and NT. How do we get prepared?