The Common Service pairs Isaiah 10 with Romans 10 because it talks about the remnant of Israel. When people hear this, what do they usually think? They think it must have something to do with the physical nation. Is that true? What does it mean? . . .

Last week our city and county experienced great tragedy. Somebody killed nearly a dozen people at a synagogue in Squirrel Hill. Our people did not go unaffected. Some of them were called to duty there or elsewhere to care for the victims, both living and dead. Others knew the victims. So we prayed for the victims and the survivors at Redeemer on Sunday. . . .

It was a time of scandal. Churchmen did not act like you want your pastor to act, nor were they properly trained to preach and teach God’s Word to the people. The people were forced to give their money, not for the spread God’s Word, but to buy forgiveness and build a church in Rome you can visit today. Too many did not know the Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. . . .

There’s a war going on. Some of you have served in our armed forces. Perhaps you’ve been on the battlefield and experienced the horrors. Perhaps you were spared those things and served in peace. But you were taught to be prepared for it, and prepared you were. You served your country out of love for her and for your families. . . .

I’m Pastor Brian Westgate, pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oakmont. Have you heard of our school, Redeemer Lutheran School, at the end of Idaho Avenue in Penn Hills? Every other year Redeemer Lutheran School sends some of its high school students to the March for Life in Washington, DC. I and my family attend nearly every year; our church body holds a life conference every other year in conjunction with the March. . . .

Do you like to go to weddings? You may go to some next year or even this year yet, or you may not. But you like to go. You like to get all dressed up. You love the meal and the dancing and music, the conversation and being with family and friends. You hopefully even enjoy the Service that comes before it; that really is the most important part. . . .

Summer’s over. Things aren’t the way they were not that long ago. It’s getting cooler out. There’s definitely a lot less light today than there was a month ago. Darkness is starting to overtake the light. Cold is starting to overtake heat. The joys of summer are about to be replaced by the doldrums of winter. . . .

Sanctification is important. It is not enough for us to have a head knowledge of what Jesus has done for us. What He has done must be confessed. God wants it show in our lives. A change happens. The Christian does not live to please his sinful flesh. He lives to serve God. He serves God by serving his neighbor. . . .

It’s one of the greatest miracles in the Bible and we don’t realize it. Jesus. He’s that miracle. I don’t mean that God became man. That is a miracle, and many wonder why He would do that. But that’s not the real miracle. The miracle is that God did it and didn’t enslave anybody, didn’t rule over anybody, didn’t immediately take over the world. No, God humbled Himself. . . .

Don’t worry. Give thanks. Show mercy to others. Use what God has given you wisely. Produce the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of repentance. These are some of the themes we’ve heard sermons on over the last 10 weeks. The Church leads us to study sanctification during the Trinity Season. She wants us to see what our Lord desires of us. She has taught us what our Lord has done for us. Now she teaches us how to respond. . . .