Archives: Sermons

3-1-20 Invocavit

March 1, 2020
It’s very clear from the first temptation of Eve and then again from the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, and then once again by the temptations we face, it’s very clear that the devil is nothing if not consistent. There’s an old Latin saying, fas est ab hoste doceri, it’s a good thing to be taught by the enemy. When the Bible teaches us how our enemy acts, how he tempts, we’re not just…

2-23-20 Quinquagesima

February 23, 2020
The Bible’s full of commands telling us to mimic our God. You shall be holy as your Father in heaven is holy. That’s what Jesus says in His Sermon on the Mount. St. Paul copies Jesus and says, “Imitate me as I also imitate Christ.” He says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” This is the Bible’s command from beginning to end. Moses says it repeatedly, and St. Peter…

2-16-20 Sexagesima

February 16, 2020
Last week a master of a house went out to hire workers for his vineyard. This week “a sower went out to sow his seed.” The master of the house and the sower are both Jesus. It is important to note that both parables begin with Jesus going out, that is, they begin with the Son of God departing from heaven and coming to earth in the flesh. Everything good in both parables begins with…

2-9-20 Septuagesima

February 9, 2020
One of the most obviously false, false teachings ever thought up by the heart of man is the once saved-always saved doctrine so popular among the Calvinists and now among our modern American evangelicals. It asserts that once a person has accepted the Lord Jesus into his heart as his personal Savior, that person can’t fall away or lose his salvation ever. Now as with all false teachings, this one has a hint of truth…

2-2-20 Transfiguration

February 2, 2020
Our Gospel begins with the words, “After six days.” Six days previous Jesus began to tell his disciples that He would be going to Jerusalem to suffer and die and rise again. And when Peter heard Jesus say this, he scolded him, “Far be it from you, Lord. This will never happen to you.” Peter certainly trusted in Jesus, called him Lord; in fact, Peter had just made the great confession that Jesus was the…

1-26-20 Epiphany 3

January 26, 2020
“Many shall come from the east and the west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens, but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus is speaking here of the gentiles, the nations of the world, becoming Christians, and the Jews, the nation of Israel, the chosen nation of God, rejecting the Christ…

1-19-20 Epiphany 2

January 19, 2020
Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding. This wasn’t an accident. God doesn’t do things on accident. We actually asserted this in our collect this morning, ‘Almighty and everlasting God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth.’ That’s our God. He’s in control. And unlike us, who often do things on accident, He has a purpose for everything He does. I went skiing with some of the school kids on Friday, and…

1-12-20 The Baptism of Our Lord

January 12, 2020
During the Christmas season we focused on Jesus’ humility in coming in the flesh and the wonder of the Incarnation. Last Sunday began the season of Epiphany, during which time we see that Christ’s humility does not mean a loss of his divine nature. Magi from the east came to worship the child Jesus as their king and their God, and rightly so. As the season of Epiphany continues, we get a multifaceted view of…

1-5-20 Epiphany

January 5, 2020
We’re celebrating Epiphany today. Epiphany is simply the preaching of Christmas to the whole world, the beautiful fact that Christmas is for everyone. Our celebration of Christmas the last twelve days should instill in us the confidence of history. It happened. We know where – in Bethlehem, we know when – in the reign of Caesar August when Quirinius was governor of Syria, we know the circumstances – a census ordered by Caesar Augustus, really…

12-29-19 Christmas 1

December 29, 2019
When St. Paul says that God sent His Son in the fullness of time, he’s not simply saying that it was the perfect time in human history to send Jesus. Now, it was that. You couldn’t pick a better time, when all the known world was under Roman control, when the Greek language was spoken everywhere – St. Paul’s missionary journeys prove this – he can go through all Turkey, through Thrace, through Macedonia, through…
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