Will Preach For Food Podcast

This sermon is for the 4th Sunday in Advent, which is also Christmas Eve Day, December 24, 2023, based on the Gospel reading from Luke 1:26-38. In this passage the gospel writer sets the stage—and the stakes—for the miraculous, prophetic, improbable birth of the Son of God, King of Kings, and Savior of the Nations. And it all begins with the courageous faith of a young, poor, unwed girl named Mary...

Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. I took the summer off from recording this podcast, but it feels good to be back. Thank you so much for tuning in. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . I am recording this for the 16th Sunday after Pentec...

This is the final podcast in my sermon series through the book of Romans. I'll be taking a couple months off from recording this summer, but will be back with more this fall. --Doug Romans 16:1-16 ...And it brings me to this final chapter 16. I’ll warn you, that it is a lengthy list of weird sounding names. But I want to read it, and as I do, see if you notice anything surprising or unusual. ...

We begin, therefore, by reciting a single verse, Romans 15:7. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. This is the word of God. Amen. Welcome Home!  Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here. We begin every worship service with a call and response. I stand up in front of the congregation and say “Welcome Home!” And the congregation responds “It’s g...

Romans 14:1-9 I want to look as well at the passage from Romans 14. In some ways, Paul is answering the same question: what do we need to do, what do we need to know? In particular, there are questions in Rome about worship practices and dietary restrictions. How often do we need to go to church? Is it okay to eat bacon? Can I eat bacon AT church? As you can imagine, there were, in Paul’s day—as i...

Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life, end over end, neither left nor the right. Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights: Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life. Amen. Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Fait...

In Romans 12 Paul begins to describe how God has designed Christian community to be like a single body with many members—body parts—each with a distinct function and purpose, but all belonging to and working together as one body. So today we’ll be talking about stewardship, spiritual gifts, and Christian vocation. Takeaways will include a “time and talents” form for volunteering at Faith , and a l...

We’re continuing a series through Paul’s letter to the Romans. “By Grace Through Faith” is my ongoing title, as it summarizes, not only the book of Romans, but really the message of the whole Bible. It’s always been about God’s grace, from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between. One of the most pressing concerns in the first century church was the simple but profound question: “What about...

Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . This podcast is being recorded for Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023. Christ is risen, we declare every Easter morning. He is risen indeed, Alleluia, which is simply anoth...

This podcast is being recorded for Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023. We’ve got the story of Palm Sunday from the 12th chapter of the gospel of John. We’re going to look ahead at what we call “Maundy Thursday.” I’ll tell you about a core Lutheran teaching based on Romans 7, called “simul justis et peccator”—recognition of our life in Christ as simultaneously justified and sinner. And we’ll end with God’s...

So far, in the first five chapters of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul has talked about sin, salvation, and suffering—all of us in the same boat, bound to sin and saved by grace, apart from any works of the law, including theories like substitutionary atonement. Suffering is neither a sign of blessing or disfavor. Suffering mostly just, well, is. Today, Paul addresses a fourth universal human...

Today’s big idea is Paul’s claim in Romans 5 that we have “peace with God.” This is by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. By grace we have peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and courage for life. Let’s read Romans 5:1-8 and dive in. Romans 5:1-8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gain...

This podcast is being recorded for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, March 5, 2023. I’m preaching through the book of Romans this spring. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part Two, looking at Romans 3-4.  Here Paul articulates his proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are justified by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. To this day, this is a radical and...

Introduction Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . This podcast is being recorded for the 1st Sunday in Lent, February 26, 2023. Over these next few weeks, I think I’m going to try my best to preach from...

As we come to worship the God who’s always loving us first, take a deep breath. Bring your shoulders up to your ears, then let them melt down you back. Today we’re going to enter the Gospel with our imaginations. As a warmup, I wonder if you can remember a moment of warmth and safety that you enjoyed, maybe near a cozy fire, or in bright and beautiful sun, or in the embrace of a loved one… Thank y...

Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . This week's podcast is a live recording from Sunday, February 12, 2023, at Faith Lutheran Church in Shelton. The text is Matthew 5:17-30. “Do not think that I ha...

Introduction Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . This Sunday, February 5, marks the 45th Anniversary of the first worship service held in our current sanctuary back in 1978. So dust off your disco album...

1 Corinthians 1:18-24 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;     the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wi...

Making Christ Known is today’s podcast title, and it is part of this congregation’s mission statement. Faith exists to reveal Jesus to the world. To make him known. What we say about Jesus, and how we live as a result of Jesus. Our talk AND our walk. One of my favorite verses talks about this: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works, and glorify the Father in heaven...

What is at the heart of worship? Today we’re going to talk about the Lamb of God and the Spirit of Christ. We’re going to consider what is a sanctuary, and how Baptism both invites us into worship AND sends us out for mission, service, and evangelism. Let’s start with a reading from the gospel of John, the first chapter, beginning at verse 29. John 1:29-42 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming tow...

In today’s Bible reading, the apostle Paul is writing to a congregation about its practice of holy communion in the earliest stages of the church. Today I want to spend some time learning from the Bible itself what Holy Communion is—and isn’t. You might be surprised to know that the Bible uses several images and metaphors for describing the meaning and power of this bread and wine: “given and shed...

Hello, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and welcome to this very special Christmas Eve edition of the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org . I hope this Christmas is one filled with joy, health, and peace. I’m going to read the...

Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is learning how to be a welcoming community, energized by God’s amazing love. We want to make Christ known in the world, we want to grow closer to and more like Jesus. We want to joyfully serve our neighbors, each other, and t...

Prepare ye the way of the Lord! In today’s Bible reading from Matthew 3, we read about a rock star preacher named John the Baptist. Long hair. Cool clothes. Trendy diet. Outdoor venue. Standing Room Only. John the Baptist is a pivotal character in the Bible story, and one whose example and message we consider every year around this time, at least, those of us who observe the season of Advent in th...

Here we are, at the end of 2022. It sure FEELS like the end times, doesn’t it? So many of our systems seem worn out. Things feel like they are getting worse. Armageddon. Apocalypse. The end of the world as we know it. People have a lot of ideas about Bible prophesies and what it says about the last days, the return of Christ, and the end of the world as we know it. It can be a little bit scary, es...