Worship Anew

Sermon Text: Luke 3:1-20 John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament (old covenant) prophets, even though he appears in the New Testament. He calls upon people to prepare the way of the Lord. We, too, need to prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts and lives as we repent of our sins, receive God’s forgiveness, and walk in the newness of life. At the end of this earthly journey, we receive...

Sermon Text: Zechariah 9:9 Your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation. He came once in humility to die and rise. He comes now to bless, to forgive, to make you His own, and to give you a share in His life and royalty. He comes to establish His reign, not on earth, but in the hearts of men and women, turning hearts in faith toward Him and to the Father.

Sermon Text: Revelation 1:4 In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John presents us with a glimpse of the reign of Jesus Christ. Revelation 1 shows us that this King is almighty and that He is coming again on Judgment Day. The result is that we joyfully praise Christ the King.

Sermon Text: Mark 13:13 Christians face two major temptations – placing too much faith in things that don’t last and giving up on the one thing that is eternal. When you are tempted to invest your hopes and dreams in the things of this earth, fix your eyes upon Jesus and don’t give up!

Sermon Text: 1 Kings 17:8-16 First Kings 17:8-16 brings us to the encounter of the prophet Elijah and the unnamed widow at the town of Zarephath. In this meeting, the Lord provides a miracle to care and support His people. Perhaps you feel like this widow. You’re picking up sticks and expect nothing good to come. But wait upon the Lord!

Sermon Text: Matthew 5:1-12 All of us were destined to spend our eternity apart from God. Because of Christ Jesus and His suffering, death, and glorious resurrection, a great reversal of our fate has taken place. By God’s grace we are now saints and true believers who are destined for heaven.

Sermon Text: John 8:31-36 Psychologists speak of “self‐authoring” — a way of controlling the narrative to become the person you want to be. But what if God is writing the story of your life? In other words, what if we’re saved by grace?

Sermon Text: Mark 10:47 Faith is a beggar before God. It offers nothing; it receives everything as a gift. When we look at Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, we see what faith in Christ looks like, and we take our place at His side, praying to Jesus for mercy. 

Sermon: Mark 10:21 The Law of God is centered in a love that cannot bear to see us dying in our sin. The Law of God is given to us to show us how great our need truly is, to uncover our attempts to do it on our own, and to lead us to the one and only path to eternal life.  

Sermon Text: Hebrews 2:11-12, 17-18  Jesus is our brother because He is fully human as well as being fully God. The Son of God became man in order that He might be our great high priest and the sacrifice atoning for our sins. As our brother, Jesus knows all about the temptations that we experience. As the Son of God, He can give us the help that we need.

Sermon Text: Revelation 12:9 Popular today among both young and old are action hero figures. These heroes in different ways act in service of good. God gives Christ followers the greatest action heroes – angels – who act in and on behalf of the greatest good: in service of good and in service of God!

Sermon Text: James 3:13-4:10 The text is all about “Spiritual Warfare.” But that often isn’t a topic we feel comfortable discussing. Why is that? Might the difficulty lie in the fact that we might too readily be reminded of our sin? Our victory is through Jesus Christ. What makes it difficult?

Sermon Text: Mark 9:14-29 A seriously ill child demands the parents’ full attention. Parents will do anything possible to help their child regain physical health. Our heavenly Father did everything possible to restore our spiritual health, even sacrificing His Son to win for us spiritual health and wholeness. As we use the tools that God has given us, we are able to restore and maintain spiritual...

Sermon Text: Mark 7:37 Jesus wants to do for you what He did for that deaf mute man in the Decapolis that day. He wants to stick His Word into your ears, to cut through deafness, to open your ears, your minds, and your hearts. Thus He speaks His Ephphatha to you. Be opened.

Sermon Text: Mark 7:15 God always works from the inside out, and no matter what depraved things you have seen, and no matter what despicable things you have done, and no matter how dirty your heart has been, your sins have been placed on Jesus. Today, because He took your sins upon Himself, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Sermon Text: Ephesians 5:25-27 Wrinkles—we want to avoid them, but cannot. The good news is that God sees us, and all believers, as without wrinkle, in a way which is far more important than in the physical sense. This means that we will live forever.

Sermon Text: John 6:60-69 Our walk with Jesus, like so many of our relationships, appears so wonderful in its early days. Then comes an issue or crisis that intrudes upon our faith. God be praised that our Savior has “words of eternal life” (John 6:68 ESV) that can offer the “new deal” of forgiveness and life when our ideal has become an ordeal.

Sermon Text: John 6:35-51 Jesus tells us He is the Bread of Life. This is one of the great “I Am” statements in John’s Gospel. But what does Jesus mean by this? He gives Himself for us.

Sermon Text: John 6:22-35 Jesus tells us we are to labor for the food that endures to eternal life (John 6:27). That means we are to plan properly for the long term. Christians are to be long-range planners.

Sermon Text: Mark 6:50 It’s nice to hear and to know about Jesus walking on the water in the wind at three in the morning. It’s saving to know Jesus is walking on the water of your Baptism with the Spirit of God blowing over those baptismal waters. Walking on the sea, Jesus reveals Himself to be Lord of Creation; in the water of Baptism, He reveals Himself to be your Lord and Savior.

Sermon Text: Mark 6:42 We’ve all experienced times when our own resources simply aren’t enough—when we are backed into a corner and all we can do is throw up our hands, admit that our situation is hopeless, and cry out for help. And it’s in that moment of surrender and honesty that God works, and, in spite of what we lack, He provides what we need the most.

Sermon Text: Mark 6:14-29 To many people, John the Baptist had a miserable, terrible conclusion to his life. But the spiritual reality is that he had a triumphant death. The account of the end of his life speaks to you today and gives you great comfort and encouragement.

Sermon Text: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul wanted less “thorn” (suffering). Instead, God gave him more grace! What thorns plague your life? What could God be teaching you through this? What blesses us for eternity—less thorn or more grace?

Sermon Text: 5:21-43 Mark 5:21-43 contains two wondrous miracles of Jesus: a woman with a constant discharge of blood is healed and the ruler of a synagogue’s daughter is raised from the dead. Two memorable miracles! Borrowing and adapting a retelling of this account by Christian author Max Lucado in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” this message will tell in story form the joy of Jesus’ eternal l...

Sermon Text: Mark 4:35-41 Life’s challenges confront us all, even us Christians. When those calamitous life events occur we look to our God in confidence, knowing He is with us and will guide us through such challenges. In Him we have the ultimate victory over sin, death and the power of the devil.