Archives: Sermons

8-16-20 Trinity 10

August 16, 2020
The Lord proclaimed his name to Moses in Exodus 34. And today’s Gospel reading is one of the best images we have depicting this name and character of the Lord.

8-9-20 Trinity 9

August 9, 2020
Jesus isn’t against money. He’s not against people making it or having lots of it. He does say, “How difficult it is for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.” But, he follows this immediately by saying, “With man this is impossible. But with God all things are possible.” A rich man can enter into the kingdom of heaven. But not the lover of money, rich or poor. Jesus means it when he says, “You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money.”

8-2-20 Trinity 8

August 2, 2020
Jesus’ command to beware of false prophets isn’t a suggestion, it’s the most necessary thing in the world, like drinking water and eating food. It’s necessary for your life.

7-26-20 Trinity 7

July 26, 2020
We see that the body and soul are quite connected. This is important to note, because we live in an age that tries to separate the body and the soul. The world associates the person or identity with something like the soul or the mind, and views the body as nothing more than a tool to be used for pleasure, or a prison to be escaped, or a wrapper to be discarded. Yet we heard in Genesis 2 how the Lord made the man as body and soul, and we see also from the man’s sin how tightly joined the body and soul are. And because body and soul are so connected, the consequences of sin for the body actually illustrate the consequences of sin for the soul.

7-5-20 Trinity 4

July 5, 2020
A professor at seminary liked to stress that a pastor’s whole job is to prepare people for death, which I thought was an unnecessarily morbid job description. But there is some truth to it. We all have to face death unless our Lord returns first, and it’s what we receive at this church that will give us the power to face it with courage and confidence and peace. Death is the wages of sin, but…

6-28-20 Trinity 3

June 28, 2020
The Pharisees despise the sinners coming to Jesus for the same reason Planned Parenthood despises unborn babies. They don’t understand the worth of humans. They think people are worth something because of what they do, what they make of themselves, and since these sinners have made nothing of themselves, and babies have done nothing to distinguish themselves, they consider them worthless and expendable. So Jesus tells the Pharisees three parables about the worth and value…

6-21-20 Trinity 2

June 21, 2020
It was the Sabbath, and Jesus was dining at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees. Jesus had just spoken of eternal life and the resurrection, and one of the dinner guests exclaimed, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Blessed indeed! At his banquet the Lord says to humble sinners who sit in the lowest place, “Friend, move up higher!” and exalts them in his presence with his…

6-14-20 Trinity 1

June 14, 2020
I once again heard sad news of a Christian I know abandoning the faith because, she said, ours is a fear-based religion. Now, she says, she is free from fear and can live her life as she wants to live it, independent and proud. This is a very common, very woke, accusation against traditional Christianity, as if our religion puts the fear of hell into people in order to keep them in line and force…
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