Author: Pastor Rich Lusk
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Mary and the Ark of the Covenant
Roman Catholics like to make much of connections between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant. I am certainly open to this typology (with qualifications) but does it hold up under scrutiny? Consider the positive case: The Ark was associated with the glory of God. Jesus is the glory of God, even in Mary’s womb.…
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From the Archives: Sermon Follow-up on Mary from 08-12-7 (Luke 1:26-56)
Sermon follow up 12/7/08 Mary’s Son, Mary’s Song: Implications of the Incarnation Luke 1:26-56 Rich Lusk There is more in these verses than I could cover in the sermon and more than I can cover even in these additional notes. I can, however, point to several very good commentaries. On Luke’s gospel in general, and…
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The Historical Reality of the Virgin Birth of Jesus
The Historical Reality of the Virgin Birth of JesusSermon from 12/5/21Galatians 4:4-5Rich Lusk Unedited Today we are going to look at the historical reality of the virgin birth of Jesus. The virgin birth. What does it mean? Why did it happen this way? Even though we celebrate Jesus’ birth to the Virgin Mary at Christmas,…
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Root and Branch, Stump and Shoot (Isaiah 11:1-10)
Isaiah 11:1-10 December 12, 2004 Root and Branch, Stump and Shoot Isaiah 11:1-10 December 12, 2004 (Sermon Transcript/Extended Notes) By Rich Lusk G. K. Chesterton is one of my favorite authors. In his wildly funny and futuristic novel Napoleon of Notting Hill, he talks about a game the human race has been playing for a…
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Satan the Deceiver
Satan is a deceiver and a counterfeiter. He cannot create anything of his own, but he can twist things God made to evil and perverse purposes. This means Satan has his own sacraments. In 1 Corinthians 10:21 Paul speaks of partaking of the table and cup of demons; this provokes the Lord to jealousy (10:22)…
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From the Archives: Who May Celebrate the Eucharist? (TPC Position Paper)
Thankfully,we have an associate pastor so we do not run into the issue of what to do about the Eucharist when the pastor travels on a Lord’s Day. But before we had a larger pastoral staff, it was a dilemma for us. After going several years and struggling to find a pastor who could fill-in,…
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Sermon Follow-Up: 1 John 1:1-4
In 1 John 1:1-4, John says “we” apostles testify and proclaim to “you,” the church, the Word of Life which we have heard, seen, and handled. John gives a complete Christology in a few short verses. “Word of Life” is obviously a divine title; “heard, seen, and handled” describes one who is truly human. Jesus…
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A Celebration of the Incarnation Must Be Incarnational — 12/11/2005 Sermon (Edited Version) — Advent in Isaiah (Part 2): The Church’s Culture of Feasting
I got AI to convert a couple excerpts from my 12/11/2005 sermon into short essays. I’m experimenting with this, and have posted a few different versions with varying degrees of editing, but I like the way these came out so I’m sharing them here: — The world today is a joyless place. It is up…
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From the Manger to the Cross (and other Christmas Notes)
In Luke 2, heaven opened when the angels met the shepherds. It’s interesting how much this theme of heaven opening shows up in Advent and Christmas hymnody, e.g.• “O Come O Come Emmanuel” – “Key of David come and open wide our heavenly home”• “Good Christian Men Rejoice” – “he hath opened heaven’s door”• “While…
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“Let’s Keep Christmas Commercialized” by David Chilton
David Chilton article “Let’s Keep Christmas Commercialized” no longer seems to be available but it’s a classic, so I reprint it here (hoping I am not violating any copyrights): Every year about this time, there rises a hue and cry about the “commercialization” of Christmas, accompanied by impassioned pleas to get back to the “real…
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