"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10

Saints Are Blessed in the Eternal Presence of Christ

This past Sunday was All Saints Day Sunday.
The Scripture readings were:

Revelation 7:(2-8)9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, Matthew 5:1-12

"A great multitude from all tribes and peoples and languages," cry out "salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne" (Rev. 7:9-17). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we too,"shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:1-3). Joined with the throng of angels and a myriad of saints, we shall "serve him day and night in his temple" (Rev. 7:9-17). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits, and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ propels us forward, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament, to our eternal home. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, and the persecuted are all blessed and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1-12).

© The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (lcms.org/worship). Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We welcome all to join us in worship this Sunday. We also invite you to listen to our weekly radio broadcast Sunday from 10-10:30 AM on radio station WIKI 95.3FM or stream on your favorite device at WIKI's website, clicking On Air, then Listen Online. The pastors of our circuit take turns to produce Light from the Cross. Also, you may want to consider other worship resources such as Worship Anew - a 30 minute video worship service which you can stream on-demand, KFUO AM, our LCMS radio station, which can be streamed live or on-demand, and Issues, ETC, which offers a vast array of Christian topics and discussions. We are blessed to have Lutheran podcasts such as these.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, may He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, May His countenance shine upon you, and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26