Category: Sermons
We are all beggars living under God’s Grace
Our homily for this Ash Wednesday is based upon a Psalm that is familiar to us
who have been receiving God’s gifts through the ancient public services (liturgies) of
the Church. It reveals that we are all beggars living under God’s grace. We pray the
Holy Spirit will guide our thoughts today as we contemplate the following translated
verse:
Mercy me, O Elohim, as to Your steadfast love, as to Your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions; cause to thoroughly wash me from my iniquity, and
from my sin cleanse me….For more, click on the title above.
Blind and begging
God has brought us to the last Sunday of Pre-Lent. In just a few days the greens we see before us will be replaced. Crosses will be veiled. There will be a lot to see and hear as the seasons change.
Of the five senses that we use to absorb information about the world around us and in the Church, sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing, we tend to rely on two of them more than the others. Sight and hearing are the two key senses we use more than anything else. Now, this is not to say that the other three senses are unnecessary or useless. We use all of our senses on a daily basis. …For more, click on the title above.
The Sower and the seed
Our text for this morning from the Gospel of St. Luke is commonly called the Parable of the Sower. This is actually a parable about four different kinds of dirt, or soil. The emphasis is not on the sower at all—although we will have a thing or two to say about him—but the focus is on the different kinds of soil into which the sower’s seed falls. To put it another way, this is not a parable about the preacher, it’s about the hearers….For more, click on the title above.
God’s Word: Our shield
At every ordination and installation of a pastor within the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod you will hear the following: “Do you believe and confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice?” And you will hear them answer in the affirmative….For more, click on the title above.
Why do we tempt the Lord despite His provisions?
Make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation
For many of this congregation’s members and friends, the words of a major portion of today’s Psalm, the 95th, may sound more familiar than those of any other Psalm. The words of today’s Psalm have continued being heard ringing out from this holy hill on most Monday mornings since last year. They echo among us during Holy Week, at each Resurrection Dawn service, and on this nation’s National Day of Thanksgiving. Today’s Psalm may also be chanted on a few Wednesday mornings when a pastor is not present among us to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. …For more, click on the title above.
No one but Jesus
Promises fulfilled in Jesus
Listen to Him
Today marks the last Sunday in the Epiphany season this year. It starts to guide our thoughts and studies to the season of Lent. That will conclude with the events in the city of Jerusalem during the Passover feast and the Passion of Christ. The reading our church fathers selected to fill this role is the Transfiguration of our Lord as recorded in the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew. …For more, click on the title above.