Christ the King Free Lutheran

Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 40:1-8; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; and Matthew 11:2-11. John longed for reassurance, “Are you the Coming One, or shall we look for another?” The question is on the edge of being rude. Basically, John is complaining that Jesus is taking too long and isn’t being the Messiah that John imagined He would be. We could almost translate John...

Sermon for Midweek Advent 2 Vespers Service. The Scripture readings for tonight are Psalm 121; Proverbs 3:1-8; and John 1:43-51. Like Philip, you too have found the Messiah, the Savior and Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Well, probably more accurately you have been found by Him. Jesus came and found you lost and dead in your sin. He has raised you to new life, given you the forgiv...

Sermon for 2nd Sunday of Advent. The Scripture readings are Malachi 4:1-6; Romans 15:4-13; and Luke 21:25-36. Of all the passages of Scripture describing Christ’s return, this one (Lk. 21:25-36) might be the most encouraging and reassuring because it puts perspective on all the evil that surrounds you. The signs Jesus mentions are signs for you to straighten up. In other words, while the world and...

Sermon for Midweek Advent 1 Vespers Service. The Scripture readings are Psalm 139:1-12; Romans 10:8b-18; and John 1:35-42a. Evangelizing others doesn’t need to be super organized, flashy, or gimmicky. In fact, it probably works better when it isn’t. Evangelizing is simply having our eyes opened by Jesus, sitting under His teaching, and inviting others to come and see for themselves who this Jesus...

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 65:17-25; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ; and Matthew 25:1-13. Why did all ten virgins need to have lit lamps? Was it really that important? Apparently, yes. In the parable, not having oil to keep a lamp lit makes the difference between being in the feast and being left out. In fact, according to Jesus, having oil makes a pe...

Sermon for Trinity 22. The Scripture readings are Micah 6:6-8; Philippians 1:3-11; and Matthew 18:21-35. Jesus said to Peter, “No, forgiving seven times isn’t enough. Instead, seventy-seven (or it could also be translated ‘seventy multiplied by seven’) times.” Now, Jesus doesn’t mean that you forgive and forgive and forgive, but when you get either to 76 or 489 forgivings (sic) you warn the other...

Sermon for All Saints' Day (Observed). The Scripture readings are Revelation 7:9-17; 1 John 3:1-3; and Matthew 5:1-12. Our translation of each of the Beatitudes, begins with the word ‘blessed.’ It’s a good translation, but it might leave us with a superficial and limited understanding because people speak about being ‘blessed’ in very shallow ways. Today, when people talk about being blessed, they...

Sermon for Reformation Sunday (Observed). The Scripture readings are Revelation 14:6-7; Romans 3:19-28; and John 8:31-36. The hymn “Salvation unto Us Has Come” offers a full-throated theology of the redemption we have in Christ. Today, we let it preach to us.

Sermon for Trinity 19. The Scripture readings are Genesis 28:10-17; Ephesians 4:22-28; and Matthew 9:1-8. Jesus is a Pastor – in fact Jesus is the Pastor. The word ‘pastor’ simply means ‘shepherd.’ Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11), the Good Pastor. Christ knows when His sheep need to be fed by green pastures or led beside still waters, and He knows when His sheep need to have their soul rest...

Sermon for Trinity 18. The Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 10:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; and Matthew 22:34-46. The God of gods and Lord of lords is your God. He has chosen you. He could have chosen anyone, but He chose you. He has not chosen you because you were bigger, stronger, smarter, more obedient, or more faithful than others. He has not chosen you because of anything you have said, done...

Sermon for Trinity 17. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6; and Luke 14:1-11. Our text today, when it talks about unity and being one, refers to the unity that exists between Christians. This unity between Christians is twofold. First, there is a unity that all Christians simply have. We could call this a ‘vertical unity’ and consists of how sinners are united with God. Ch...

Sermon for the feast of St. Michael & All Angels [observed]. The Scripture readings are Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12; and Luke 10:17-20. We consider what the Scriptures have to teach us about angels, but most importantly, we see the defeat of the chief fallen angel, Satan, the accuser. Jesus’ proclamation of seeing Satan falling like lightening to the seventy-two (Lk. 10:18) and wha...

Sermon for Trinity 15. The Scripture readings are 1 Kings 17:8-16; Galatians 5:256:10; and Matthew 6:24-34. Jesus draws a line. After telling us not to worry about food, drink, or clothing or anything else we need for this life, Jesus adds, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Last week, we considered how thankfulne...

Sermon for Trinity 14. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 4:10-23; Galatians 5:16-24; and Luke 17:11-19. The account of the ten lepers is about thankfulness, but more broadly, this text is about worship. Worship is always about turning back. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” So, one act of worship is repentance...

Sermon for Trinity 13. The Scripture readings are 2 Chronicles 28:8-15; Galatians 3:15-22; and Luke 10:23-37. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saves us. It is true that Jesus calls us to go and do likewise (Lk. 10:37). We are to be like Jesus. Christians are to be little Christs who have compassion on their neighbor because Christ has had mercy upon us. Because we have been rescued by Jesus’ mercy...

Sermon for Trinity 11. The Scripture readings are Genesis 4:1-15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10; and Luke 18:9-14. Adam and Eve fell into sin, but they fell by trying to go upward. They rose up in pride. They exalted themselves. Believed in themselves. Trusted in themselves. They desired to rise high, up to godly and divine status. Ever since that moment, everyone who has ever been born has the same desir...

Sermon for Trinity 10. The Scripture readings are Jeremiah 8:4-12; Romans 9:30-10:4; and Luke 19:41-48. Do not think that you can find another righteousness. There is no other cure. When you sin, and sin you will, repent and return. Learn and know and grow in God’s Word. When God’s Word tells you that you have slid back into your old ways of sin and pain, come back to Jesus for the cure. When the...

Sermon for Trinity 9. The Scripture readings are 2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; and Luke 16:1-9. What you believe about God is how God will appear to you – in short, as you believe, so it is (Mt. 8:13, 9:29). If you believe God is merciful, and He is, you have no trouble seeing God’s mercy. If you believe God is blameless, and He is, His blamelessness is apparent. If you believe God is...

Sermon for Trinity 7. The Scripture readings are Genesis 2:7-17; Romans 6:19-23; and Mark 8:1-9. When we understand Ro. 6:23 apart from its context – especially the phrase, “the wages of sin is death” – we most often take it to mean that when we sin, the check we cash or the payment we get is death. In other words, we do sinful works and get paid with death. Now, I want to be clear. This interpret...

Sermon for Trinity 6. The Scripture readings are Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 6:1-11; and Matthew 5:17-26. It is easy to think that legalism and antinomianism are opposite errors because legalism leads to a strict keeping of the Law and antinomianism leads to ignoring or belittling the Law. But these two errors are not opposites. The two share the same basic problem. Both legalism and antinomianism lowe...

Sermon for Trinity 5. The Scripture readings are 1 Kings 19:11-21; 1 Peter 3:8-15; and Luke 5:1-11. A lot of sermons on this text will end up in the wrong place challenging you to be like Peter and leave everything to follow Jesus. Dear saints, God in His infinite wisdom hasn’t given you that calling, and that is totally fine. Maybe God will call you into the office of ministry one day. But for no...

Sermon for Trinity 4. The Scripture readings are Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:18-23; and Luke 6:36-42. Apologies for the sub-par audio quality this week. It is a known issue that will, hopefully, be resolved next week. What is Jesus teaching us when He says, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned”? It all hangs and hinges on what Jesus says both before an...

Sermon for Trinity 3. The Scripture readings are Micah 7:18-20; 1 Peter 5:6-11; and Luke 15:1-32. What is repentance? The word translated ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’ simply means “a change of mind,” but throughout the New Testament, you will find that repentance refers to a complete spiritual change. In fact, a many of the times you come across the word ‘repent’ in Scripture it carries the whole idea...

Sermon for Trinity 2. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 9:1-10; 1 John 3:13-18; and Luke 14:15-24. Love is not simply what makes you or someone else feel good. The world wants you to think that love can be defined in all sorts of different ways. The world’s attempts at love are only empty words and talk. The only way we can know what love is, is to look to Jesus and what He has done for us on th...

Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 6:1-7; Romans 11:33-36; and John 3:1-17. What God did for Isaiah, He does for you as well. It wasn’t the coal that removed Isaiah’s sin. It was God’s promise. Now, yes. God attached that promise to the coal, so the coal was the instrument that delivered that promise to Isaiah. But God’s promise is attached to more things than that o...