A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:

The ordinary (green) season of the church year gives us an opportunity to reflect on the mission and message of the Christian Church on earth as it awaits the return of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. And we begin this season on the second week after Pentecost with readings that point to one of the most central doctrines of the Lutheran Church: the fact that we are saved not by our works, but by the faith we have in Jesus Christ and the salvation He won for us by dying on the cross in our place.

When Jesus reminds the Pharisees that God’s Word declares that God desires mercy and not sacrifice, He reveals a fundamental mistake that many had made ever since the sacrificial system was established in the days of the Old Testament. The sacrifices and offerings we make to God have never been about us giving something of ourselves to God in exchange for forgiveness; everything we could hope to offer to God is already a gift that He has given to us! Rather, we come to realize in Jesus Christ that God is the one who provides sacrifices on our behalf, as He has always done.