Archives: Sermons

10-30-22 Reformation

October 30, 2022
Today we observe the 505th anniversary of the Reformation. On October 31st, 1517 Martin Luther, a German professor at the University of Wittenberg, posted 95 Theses for debate on the topic of repentance, and he also sent a copy of the theses to his bishop. But instead of leading to debate at the university or to the bishop correcting certain abuses, the 95 Theses led to much more public debate and examination, which began to…

10-23-22 Trinity 19

October 23, 2022
Jesus found himself constantly surrounded by people – crowds pressing in on him, even into the house where he stayed in Capernaum, even trampling one another, until late at night. And very often Jesus would get up before the sun and leave, go to a deserted place, to get away and be alone and pray by himself. That’s what He had just done before the events of our Gospel this morning. He didn’t leave to…

10-16-22 Trinity 18

October 16, 2022
Jesus is the great lover of the Law. He says, “Do not think that I came to overthrow the law, I did not come to overthrow but to fulfill. I tell you not one jot, not one tittle will fall from the law till all is fulfilled.” And that “until” there doesn’t mean that once Jesus fulfills it, the law will fall with all its jots and all its tittles. When mom leaves the kids…

10-9-22 Trinity 17

October 9, 2022
Jesus says, “Take the lowest seat.” It looks a lot like the advice many other wise men and philosophers give. Solomon, the great wise man of the Bible, says, Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence     or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”     than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. But Solomon comes far short of saying what Jesus…

10-2-22 St. Michael and All Angels

October 2, 2022
The angels are the lovers of humanity just as the devil is the hater of humanity. Angels are pro-human, the devil is anti-human. The angels love us because God loves us. Jesus says, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell you their angels are constantly gazing at the face of my Father who is in heaven.” They gaze at the Father’s face. And the Father’s face is…

9-25-22 Trinity 15

September 25, 2022
When Jesus tells you not to worry about your life, he doesn’t point you to Elijah or Moses or other great and holy men in the Old Testament. He doesn’t say, Look at Elijah, how my Father cared for him, fed him with food brought by ravens, multiplied the widow’s flour and oil to keep him alive. He doesn’t point to the manna that His Father made fall from heaven in the time of Moses…

9-18-22 Trinity 14

September 18, 2022
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever!” (Ps. 107:1). Consider with me what great benefits God has given us. He has made us, body and soul. Our very existence is a gift of God. He did not owe us life, but he gave it to us out of fatherly divine goodness and mercy. And he did not speak us into existence as he said, “Let there be”…

9-11-22 Trinity 13

September 11, 2022
God’s law is simply beautiful. The psalmists says he meditates on it day and night, that he gets up before the sun dawns because he’s so excited about the law that he can’t sleep. God’s law sets before you this amazing happiness that you could strive and strive for all your life and yet never even get close to. It sets unreachable standards and yet they are standards so obviously good and perfect that to…

9-4-22 Trinity 12

September 4, 2022
Of all the horrible things the devil has done to us, all the disease and pain and death he’s made us suffer, by far the worst is his making us deaf to God’s Word and silent in His praises. This was the dignity of man, our honor in the beginning, what raised us far above the beasts and made us sons of God, the envy of angels, that God created us in His image and…

8-28-22 Trinity 11

August 28, 2022
When King Solomon first built the temple and dedicated it to the Lord, it was very obvious what the temple was for. Solomon says in his dedication, “When they pray toward this place, hear o Lord in heaven Your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” Forgive. That’s the reason for the Temple, forgiveness. Solomon’s prayer is full of it, constant, again and again. “When your people are defeated by the enemy because they’ve sinned…
Recent Sermons