“He Will Surely Do It” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24) This has been an Advent series about the Second Advent, the Second Coming of Christ. Each Wednesday we’ve looked at the Epistle reading from the previous Sunday, and the connecting theme that … Continue reading
“When the Messiah Gives You a Makeover” (Isaiah 61:1-4, 10-11) Have you ever seen one of those makeover shows on TV? My daughter used to watch one. It was called “What Not to Wear.” The idea of the show was … Continue reading
“New Heavens and a New Earth” (2 Peter 3:8-14) This year’s theme for our Advent midweek services is “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” We’re looking at the Epistle readings for the first three weeks of Advent, all of … Continue reading
“A Baptism of Repentance for the Forgiveness of Sins” (Mark 1:1-8) Well, here comes John the Baptist again. He always shows up around this time of year. Always with kind of a depressing message: “Repent! Get your life straightened out!” … Continue reading
“A Day of Judgment and Salvation” (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) In thinking about a theme for our three midweek Advent services this year, I decided to go with the Epistle readings for the first three Sundays in Advent. For there is … Continue reading
“Oh That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down” (Isaiah 64:1-9) The Old Testament Reading for today, from Isaiah 64, is an intense prayer. The prophet is begging God to intervene on behalf of his people. As such, it … Continue reading
“The Sheep and the Goats” (Matthew 25:31-46) Are you a sheep or a goat? You will be one or the other, you know. When? When Christ comes again. Listen again to today’s Gospel reading: “When the Son of Man comes … Continue reading
“Three Words for Thanksgiving: Think, Thank, Talk” (Philippians 4:6-20) Today I have three words for you. These are three things you can do to celebrate this Day of Thanksgiving. They are three words that are easy for you to remember … Continue reading
“Faithful Stewards of Our Master’s Talents” (Matthew 25:14-30) Our text is the Holy Gospel for today, from Matthew 25. It’s the story known as the Parable of the Talents. A master gives his servants talents, varying amounts of money, to … Continue reading
“Let Us Go to the House of the LORD!” (Psalm 122:1) You may notice that we still have the white paraments up from last week, when we observed All Saints’ Day. That’s because today we’re doing a kind of “All … Continue reading
“Who Are These, Clothed in White Robes?” (Revelation 7:9-17) Today, on this first Sunday in November, we observe All Saints’ Day. On All Saints’ Day, we rejoice that we are part of that great communion of saints that is the … Continue reading
“Reformation 500: By Grace Alone” (Romans 3:19-28) Happy Reformation Day! Now I could say that every year on the last Sunday in October, which is when we observe Reformation Day. But this year it is something special. Because this year, … Continue reading
Here are two hymns for Reformation Day that I wrote, which we’ll be singing in our church this Sunday. If you click the tune links, you can sing along. BY GRACE ALONE WE ARE GOD’S OWN By grace alone We … Continue reading
“Render to Caesar, Render to God” (Matthew 22:15-22) Our text today is the Holy Gospel from Matthew 22, the passage that includes the famous saying, “Render unto Caesar.” But as we’ll find out, that is only half of the verse. … Continue reading
“Rejoice in the Lord Always” (Philippians 4) “Rejoice in the Lord Always”: So says Paul in our Epistle reading today. Really? “Rejoice”? “Always”? Are you kidding me? “Rejoice always”? That’s easy for you to say, Paul. You don’t know what … Continue reading
“Invited to the Feast” (Isaiah 25:6-9) There’s a big feast coming, and Bob is invited! In fact, his seat is already guaranteed. There’s a big feast coming, and you are invited too. That’s what I want to tell you about … Continue reading
“The Joy of Knowing Christ” (Philippians 3) I noticed in the news about a week ago–maybe you saw it too–that Monty Hall died. He was the longtime host of the television game show, Let’s Make a Deal. You remember how … Continue reading
“The Joy of Being of the Same Mind, the Mind of Christ” (Philippians 2) Today is the second in our four-week series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. We’re going chapter by chapter through the four chapters of this … Continue reading
“A Joyful Gospel Partnership” (Philippians 1) Today we start a four-week series of readings and sermons–and Bible classes, as well–on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. The official Epistle readings from the lectionary have big chunks of each of the … Continue reading
“The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” (Matthew 18:21-35) Forgiveness doesn’t count. Oh, don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean that it doesn’t matter of that it’s not important. By no means. No, forgiveness counts for a lot in that respect. … Continue reading
“Dealing Drastically with Sin” (Matthew 18:1-20) How seriously do we take the matter of sin? Our own sin? The sin of others? I think that is the theme running through the teachings of Jesus today in the Holy Gospel from … Continue reading
“How to Understand–and Do–Christian Exhortations” (Romans 12:9-21) Take a look again at the Epistle reading for today, as printed on your Scripture insert. It’s Romans 12:9-21, and it starts out as follows: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; … Continue reading
“Who Is This Man?” (Matthew 16:13-20) “Who is this man?” Who is this man Jesus? This is the most important question that has ever been asked. How will you answer it? The question comes up in the Holy Gospel for … Continue reading
“Jesus and the Canaanite Woman” (Matthew 15:21-28) What kind of faith do you have, in what kind of God? That is the question that our text today will help us to answer. For what we will see in our text … Continue reading
“The Last Enemy to Be Destroyed Is Death” (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 51-57) Over 25 years as a pastor, I have had a number of World War II veterans as members of the congregations I have served. Homer Rouggly was one … Continue reading