Grace Alone Online

Today is Epiphany Sunday.  Epiphany means "light."  We celebrate the arrival of the Magi to the manger of Christ who is the light of the world.  Stars have always been a part of magic, ancient mythology, worshiped millennia ago, and worshiped by some today.  Stars are displayed a lot at Christmas time; in fact, they replace the manger scenes of Christ in most public displays of...

In total darkness it is difficult to see where you are going.  Darkness usually frightens people.  they can't see where they are going; they might not know what lurks in the shadows.  There is also spiritual darkness: doubt, losing joy or the experience of closeness to God.  St. John of the Cross called this spiritual loneliness the "dark night of the soul."  There is only...

"From the stump of Jesse" Isaiah prophecies. King David, descendant of Jesse, was given the promise by God, that the Messiah would be born in the lineage of David. But, David, and his ancestors committed all sorts of grave sins.... Yet, God was faithful to his promised and from David's seed, a new shoot, unlike any other, came from David's seed in fulfillment of God's promise given through the pro...

In this second Sunday of Advent we celebrate another name of Jesus: The Shepherd. Shepherds were common int he Middle East as sheep were very important to commerce and life itself. Jesus calls himself the Shepherd which makes us...the sheep. discover some of the relationships that have commonly been brought out in sermons about the sheep/shepherd relationship....but then, go deeper with me into a...

Advent is the beginning of the Church years. It is a time when we focus on the historical coming of Christ as a child, but also a time of repentance and preparation for His return at the end of all time to establish His kingdom with a new earth and new heavens. This Sunday we focus on God, the potter, who has created all things for a purpose in this world. You have been created by God; he has mold...

What Scripture says about the end of the time, and the heaven that is waiting for those who believe shows that the idea of heaven by the general public is way off base. We explore just how Scripture teaches us the beauty of a new world and a new heaven so much different than the imagined heaven in popular society. Two videos used during this sermon can be found on YouTube: (titles: The Real Heaven...

In our society today, we glory on having an abundance of "things." Many times, people believe that the amount of what they have is the blessing, instead of simply having what they do have. People today easily say, "I am so thankful for..." but they leave off something very important: "TO WHOM are you thankful." Someone has to be thanked; there has to be a reason for thanks. True gratefulness to Go...

This is a hot topic in today's society. Amazon and You Tube have tons of videos and books written on "experiences" of near death, or coming back from death. How should we interpret these? While you can't deny a personal experience, you can call into question whether or not they are Christian. Scripture teaches us what to expect in death for those who believe and follow Christ as their Savior. As 1...

Most people know that they there is no truth to the statement, "something for nothing" even though we wish that is how it were. In reality, we get what we pay for; we get what we deserve for the effort made. But, when we pray, do we expect our investment in "prayer" and "faith" will bring us results? What if we pray but it seems we get no help from God. Then our faith in God is challenged and we n...

Today is Reformation Sunday. On this day, in 1517, Martin Luther challenged the Roman Catholic Pope to a debate on the abuse by the Roman church on the forgiveness of sins. Our text in Romans talks about being free through Christ; something which is unattainable even we try our hardest because we are born and exist under the law...that is flesh and blood. As humans, we can only exist under the law...

In the world of digital and social media is a new type of restlessness and anxiety that occurs in young people. But it does not only affect young people. The restlessness is caused by boredom and the drive to be on social media is because of boredom. But at the root of boredom is loneliness. Here more about why we fear to be alone and constantly need to be liked by others to the point of inventing...

The Rich Young Ruler who came to ask Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life was dumb-founded by Jesus' answer. In fact, he sadly walked away form Jesus. He had kept the commandments that Jesus listed off, but failed to realize he was his own biggest enemy. Listen to find out.

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1). These words from today’s Epistle are spot-on. In a culture that is quickly drifting away from the values we once held sacred, it’s imperative for us, as the people of God, to hold firmly to the Word we have heard. Today as we gather to listen to God’s Word and receive His gifts of grace,...

A description guide for themes on the Gospel given by our church organization makes the distinction between preachers and parishioners by calling parishioners 'ordinary' Christians. I take issue with that because Jesus does not make that distinction anywhere in the Gospel lesson for today. Ordination is not the power of the Gospel, it is the Name of Christ.

the Apostle John uses imagery such as DARK and LIGHT to talk about identifying who is the true Christian and who teaches the truth about God. But rather than remain vague with these terms, he goes deeper into a confession of faith that is based solely on God's revelation in Christ.

Monty Python had a skit called the Spanish Inquisition in which people were forced to "confess..." and then subsequently tortured with comfy cushions and feathers. The word "confess" and "confession" have make us feel uneasy and is misunderstood. But Scripture invites us to confess for the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. It is a gift from God.

Jesus commands, "Go make disciples baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching to obey all I have commanded you." Carrying out the commissioning, the Apostles did exactly that. Paul teaches that Baptism is a washing through God's Word, which cleanses us and makes us God's own children. God has "signed, sealed and delivered" our salvation through word and water.

The Lord's Supper, also known as the Sacrament of the Altar, or Communion, is where our Lord meets us one on one in his outpost int he Kingdom. Everything that goes on inside a Christian congregation is where his power and glory and promises are made. Here he promises, through His Word, "take eat this is my body; take drink this is my blood." to be present for the believer with the forgiveness of...

This closing to the Lord's Prayer blesses and glorifies God. It shows who is in control in this world, and who leads the Christian in spiritual warfare. In the prayer we ask for all we need to live our lives in the world, and reminds us in this closing that within the four walls of worship, we are an outpost of the kingdom of God.

The true mark of Christians is their confession of faith. We confess that there is only one God, who has created us, who has redeemed us from our failure to live as he created us, who sanctifies us in the true faith. This confession is our mark that gives us place, purpose and promise in this world. To walk in this faith, is to bear up under the assaults that Satan would throw at us. This, however...

Temptation is a daily struggle for all human beings. Christians, however, are more aware of struggling between what it is to live as God's children, and to be tempted to follow something else. In this sermon, we look at why the petition is so necessary for those who are following Christ, and a call to those who do not believe, to place their trust in Him for all things.

"And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." This is a difficult petition to pry. We err when we think that God only forgives us when we forgive others. to do so, would mean that we control God's free forgiveness for those who believe in Him. What, then, are we asking for in this petition whenever we pray the Lord's Prayer?

A special detour from the Lord's Prayer sermon series because SOYL (School Of Young Leadership) students were with us at Grace studying Law and Gospel. Scripture can be divided into Law and Gospel. Understanding how the law and the Gospel function in the hearts of all humans is the key to understanding sin and repentance, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the Gospel, which is God's life-giv...

"On your marks, get set, go..." The second sermon in the series on the Lord's Prayer. Being on our marks, means that our firm foundation is the true God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Savior, who forgives and grants eternal life. As in a race, we are called by our Lord to "GO" and make disciples, and live our Christian faith in the real world. What we need is to "get set" - be ready to...

This petition in the Lord's Prayer is typically misunderstood by Christians and non-Christians alike. what is the Will of God? How can we know it? The prayer, however, asks us to "live" it - not just know it. How do we confuse God's will thinking it is like ours.