This Week at Mt. Olive

Good evening, fellow redeemed!

The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel. In the Gospel lesson for today (Mark 1:21-28), Jesus casts out an unclean spirit and teaches with authority.

Several years ago as a seminary student, I went to hear a speaker who was on campus for the morning. He stood before us and we were captivated. His speech was sometimes difficult to understand - he had lost half his tongue to cancer. Still, we students hung on every word. The speaker was the Rev. Dr. Oswald Hoffman, the former long-time Lutheran Hour speaker. He had a presence; he had authority.

Jesus authority in today's Gospel text surpassed all others. His command of the Old Testament was unsurpassed. He spoke not of prophecy and opinion, but of fulfillment and reality. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God, and He was and remains the content of the Gospel.

Little wonder that we as Lutheran stress so much the Gospel - Jesus Christ and Him crucified. In Jesus, the Gospel is not a list of to dos, but a proclamation to be believed. In Jesus, we are delivered from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Everything points to Him.

This Week at Mt. Olive
Wednesday, we will complete the discussion of "A Skeleton in God's Closet." In the few short weeks before Lent, our attention will turn to a few books of the Apocrypha.

I will be out of the office Monday and Tuesday.

Prayer Concerns:
Bill Waterman, Bob Whitworth, Burt Nelson
Those who serve in our armed forces and their families: Rob Vadney, John Sorensen
The homebound among us

This Week at Mt. Olive:
Monday, January 30
6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

Wednesday, February 1
8:30 a.m.
School Chapel

9:30 a.m.
Bible Study (Revelation 16)

6:30 p.m.
Zumba Aerobics

7 p.m.
Lutheran Book Club (finish A Skeleton in God's Closet).

God bless!
PKJ