On the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, we hear St. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:13–21 and the raising of the widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17). These texts show us Christ’s deep compassion and His power to raise the dead.

As Christians, we confess that apart from the Holy Spirit we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. Yet in Christ we have been raised to new life. Through the Word and Sacraments, the Spirit renews our will, strengthens us in the inner man, and leads us to confess Christ before the world.

This sermon explores what it means to be set free in Christ: no longer slaves to sin, but soldiers strengthened by our Captain in the midst of the battle against the flesh, the devil, and the world. Just as the widow’s son sat up and spoke, so the Christian, raised with Christ, is given a voice to confess Him.

Join us at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Magnolia, Texas, as we rejoice in the Lord who works in us “both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13), and who promises that on the Last Day He will raise us to eternal life, free from sin forever.