Category Archives: Sermons

All of Jesus’ parables invite us to think about ourselves in light of His word and kingdom. A sower sows seed that falls on four different types of soil, inviting us to ask, “What kind of soil am I? Do I receive God’s word in faith, or do temptations and persecutions make me reluctant to let the word bear fruit in me?” A man hires workers for his vineyard throughout the workday but at the end of the day each laborer, regardless of how long they worked, get the same wage, causing the labors who were hired first to grumble and be sent away. This invites us to ask, “Do I think I deserve more from God that the person who is new to the faith, or am I grateful for God’s graciousness to me and my fellow workers? Ten virgins wait for the Bridegroom, five are prepared with oil, five are foolish and unprepared, inviting us to ask, “Am I prepared for Christ’s return? Do I replenish the oil of faith in my lamp each day?” A widow brings her cause to a wicked judge who refuses it for a while, but she doesn’t lose heart, she continually brings her petition before him, and he eventually gives her justice, inviting us to ask ourselves, “Do I continue to pray confidently even when it seems my heavenly Father doesn’t answer immediately, or do I lose heart and give up praying?” Then there’s today’s parable. A wealthy man’s steward is caught wasting his master’s possessions on serving himself, but before he gives up the ledger, he rips off his master even more so that he can be welcomed into the homes of the people he helped in his final day as the rich man’s steward. This invites us to ask . . .. What does this parable invite us to ask of ourselves? Continue reading →

In our age it is generally accepted that all Christians basically believe the same thing and all ministers basically teach the same thing. The assumption is that anything with the name “Christian” is actually Christian and anything calling itself “Biblical” is just that. Many assume that if someone is prophesying, that is, preaching, in Jesus’ name, casting out demons in Jesus’ name, and working miracles in Jesus’ name, then they’re a true prophet and preacher of God. In today’s gospel lesson Jesus demolishes the assumptions of our age. Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen For three days this multitude—about four thousand—listened to Jesus’ teaching. For three days they heard Christ’s teaching about who He is, true God and true … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must be more righteous than the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus seems to set the … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today the church celebrates Mary’s visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. It is not usually worth celebrating a pregnant woman’s visit to another pregnant woman. But … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. “Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him.” Who are these folks and why are they flocking to hear … Continue reading →

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Jesus tells a parable in which a certain man prepares a rich supper and invites many people to enjoy it. But those whom he had … Continue reading →

Today’s epistle lessons sets the entire Christian life before us. It consists of two things. First, the apostle says, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” God is love. Not the way the world thinks of God as love. The world thinks “God is love” means “God loves everybody just the way they are and wants them to be happy just the way they are, no matter what they think they are how they’re behaving.” But God teaches us in Scripture that God’s love isn’t tolerance. “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son,” meaning, “This is the way God loved the world, by giving His only-begotten Son into death to pay for the world’s sins, so that “whoever believes in Him”—not just that He exists or that He is the Son of God, but repents of their sins and trusts Him as their only mediator with God—“shall not perish but have everlasting life.” This is the love that God is. And God wants all people to believe this, to repent of their sins, and to abide in His love by living in it each day, by using the gospel faithfully. Enduring, persevering faith is how we abide in God and God in us. Continue reading →

Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, approached Jesus one night to learn the gospel from Him. Jesus begins at the beginning. “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” There must be a rebirth, a second birth, for anyone who who wants experience God’s kingdom. It isn’t enough to be a child of Abraham, a ruler of the Jews, or a righteous man in the eyes of others. Rebirth is required. But Nicodemus doesn’t understand. “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” he asks. Continue reading →