Pastor Quinn • December 25, 2022

Epiphany Festival Worship

The twelve days of Christmas culminate with the celebration of the Epiphany of our Lord. We commemorate the day when magi from afar worshiped the Christ Child. Before that day, Jesus had been worshiped by individuals of Jewish descent: the shepherds, elderly Simeon, the prophetess Anna. But Scripture said the coming Savior would be God’s gift to all nations. Epiphany proves that God keeps his promises, as he miraculously led foreigners to worship their Savior. Thus, Epiphany is sometimes called the Gentile Christmas. (The celebration of Epiphany likely precedes that of Christmas. Evidence of the Festival of Epiphany dates to Clement of Alexandria at the end of the second century.)


Epiphany continues to play out to this very day. God worked through a special star to bring the magi into the presence of their Savior—for Christ’s glory and the magi’s blessing. Likewise, God has controlled time and space to bring you into the presence of your Savior—for Christ’s glory and your blessing. Thus, the magi were only the first in a long line of Gentiles who would join Israel in worshiping Jesus as King. Indeed, a Savior is born for all the nations! Come, let us adore him!

By Pastor Quinn June 7, 2026
They never forgot their past. Moses never forgot how he killed a man in a fit of anger. Paul never forgot how he had savaged the Church of God. Matthew never forgot how, as a tax collector for the Roman Empire, he was considered a traitor to his people. But God forgot their past. He forgave all their sins and called them to proclaim his mercy. Christians are sinners whom God has mercifully called. Only mercy can explain why Jesus brings people to faith and promises them salvation. Only grace can explain how he calls them to serve as they are able, even in the ministry of the gospel. God loves sinners.
May 31, 2026
Without the resurrection of Jesus, death would appear permanent. No one would have come back from the dead to explain what happens after death. Jesus told his disciples what would happen. But they were slow to believe the Easter truth. God ensured that his people had witnesses to assure that Jesus did not remain dead. He lives, and it makes a difference! I too shall live. Death has become a pathway into paradise. Jesus has already made me spiritually alive by giving me faith in his resurrection. In every possible way, Jesus takes me from death to life.
By Pastor Zahn May 24, 2026
When the disciples were distressed about Jesus ascending into heaven, he assured them, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). That Advocate is the Holy Spirit. If Jesus had stayed in the grave, the Holy Spirit would have had no reason to enter the lives of disciples. But Jesus lives, and it makes a difference. The Spirit provides faith and purpose for life.  Pentecost, the celebration of the special arrival of the Holy Spirit, is the third great festival of the Church, along with the Nativity and the Resurrection. Pentecost closes the fifty-day period after Easter and ends the festival half of the church year. The Church dresses in red on this day to commemorate the tongues of fire that marked the Spirit’s gift as well as the blood of the martyrs.
More Sermons