Faith and Life Podcast

We sit at a very unique, and special time in human and gospel history: namely, with the questions of the prophets and kings answered by the reality and work of Jesus. This perspective causes a heightened appreciation for the scriptures, confidence in ministry/reaching out, and urgency and focus on how we use our time, energy and resources. In light of where and when we sit, we encourage you to eva...

We live out our purpose in our work, volunteering, and leisure. We experience real, deep, and lasting peace in our purpose when it becomes outwardly focused. When we see our primary purpose is to unleash God's love to meet the hopes and hurts of others, we are living the purpose God wants us to live and we experience his peace in our purpose.   After hearing this sermon, we hope you will evaluate...

God works in our relationships to authentically resolve conflicts, provoke spiritual transparency, and foster spiritual constancy. In this way we experience real, deep, and lasting peace in our relationships. When we intentionally open our relationships to be a significant arena of life where God shapes us to live by his values (sanctification), we experience this peace in our relationships.     O...

The peace that Jesus gives is real, deep, and lasting. To have this peace with God (Up) requires that one's god be able to deliver such peace. Learning and accepting the eternal and grace-filled love of the one true God brings this peace.   To maintain our experience of peace with God requires regularly putting ourselves where God breathes his love into us. It is within this active and passionate...

Lessons: Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Matthew 11:25-30

The lives of the shepherds were, at least for a moment, reformed following a similar path that we have articulated during our Wednesday Advent services: God's call, confusion, obedience, persistent seeking that involved movement, and giving God glory. Then we don't hear from the shepherds again. We can only speculate what happened, but it does give us a significant question with which to wrestle:...

Only Jesus, the Prince of Peace, brings real, deep, and lasting peace. Jesus said the peace he gives us is not the fleeting and superficial peace that the world gives, but his peace calms our fearful and troubled hearts and surpasses all human understanding ( John 14:27 , Philippians 4:7 ). It is God's shalom in our lives. We begin to experience this peace when we trust Jesus and this peace grows...

Leprosy isn't something that our culture deals with as much today, but it was a disease that was very prevalent during Biblical times. This disease caused many people to be ignored and treated as an outcast. While people we interact with probably don't have leprosy the chances are that we might treat them as if they do for one reason or another. As followers of Jesus we are called to resist the te...

After the recent election, let's reset our understanding of what is true greatness and how it is that we become great. In the gospel lesson, as Jesus reflects on John the Baptist, Jesus teaches that real greatness comes to those who are in the kingdom of heaven, where we are made great by the work of Jesus. As followers of Jesus we rest in the assurance that Jesus has made us great, which moves us...

Mary followed a similar path that we articulated last Wednesday: God's call, confusion, obedience, persistent seeking that involved movement, and giving God glory. Mary's life was reformed. When the Holy Spirit plants (conceives) in us the seed of faith to trust Jesus, he is born into us and we become blessed even as Mary was blessed. As Mary is now called the Blessed Virgin Mary, so now we are we...

John the Baptist called the people of his generation to repent. This sermon will invite each of us to wrestle with this question: What is the reformation to which God is personally calling me?" The challenge in preaching on one's personal reformation to everyone is that the reformation that God desires to bring into each person's life is unique to them. One size does not fit all here. At this poin...

During the Wednesday Advent services we will see a similar path to Jesus that those gathered around manger of Jesus experienced: God's unilateral and gracious call, confusion, obedience, persistent seeking that involved movement, and giving God glory. This path results in lives that are reformed and the path of lives are changed.   What step of being more persistent in seeking the Lord do you need...

"God's gifts and his call are irrevocable." We cannot lose our salvation because it is God who "calls us through the Gospel, enlightens us with his gifts, and sanctifies and keeps us in true faith." Faith creating and faith keeping are all God's work. God is the one who made the covenant with us and through the death of Jesus, God has kept both sides of the covenant. While everything else we hold...

The New Testament was written by people who believed that they were living in the last days and that Jesus would soon return. Because of this, there is a fair amount of apocalyptic writing in the New Testament, including what the N.T. writers chose to report of the teachings of Jesus. Jesus teaches us to live our lives as though we are about to meet him face to face.    Lessons: Isaiah 2:1-5, Roma...

God uses our sacrificial generosity to make an eternal change in us and in the lives of others.    Lessons: Malachi 3:10, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7, Luke 10:1-9, 17-21   Sermon Outline

God works in all areas of our lives to reform us to be imitators of Jesus. The religious word for this is sanctification, which means the process of becoming holy. One of the most influential areas of our lives is our wealth. God moves a follower of Jesus to be sacrificially generous. When God works in us to become sacrificially generous, a very significant step has been taken to reform us into im...

On this All Saints Sunday, as we continue our Reformation quincentennial commemoration, we recall that the 16th century reformer Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenberg on the eve of All Saints Day in 1517. Guest preacher Joy Schroeder will talk about the life of Martin Luther and his message of justification by grace through faith. Luther's S...

With the five pillars in place as our theological foundation, we will wrestle with this question: "What is the reformation to which God is calling you personally and St. Luke corporately?"   Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 5:13-16   Sermon Outline

God's work in Christ is 100% responsible for everyone's salvation. Through his Holy Spirit, God alone is the author and perfector of our faith, therefore even our saving faith is 100% God's work. Further, all our good works (sanctification) are the work of God, the Holy Spirit, working in us. Because of all of this, to God alone be the glory!     Lessons: Psalm 115, Colossians 1:9-14, Mark 3:20-21...

Martin Luther described how the Word of God, for us as Christians, gives our lives their true meaning.  In effect, Scripture as God's Word interprets our lives, to reveal to us what they mean and bestow a new significance on them, in the light of Christ.  A wonderful example of this is the story of Jacob at the Jabbock Brook.   Lessons: Genesis 32:22-31, Psalm 121, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8

We live in an increasingly pluralistic culture. While this causes conflicts, it is good and enjoyable to experience the diversity of people and cultures around us. With this growing plurality comes the tension in our belief that eternal salvation comes through faith in Jesus alone. Anyone with a shred of Christ's love in them hopes that all people will be saved, but the New Testament teaches that...

Faith is the only basis upon which an eternal relationship can be built. Martin Luther said that the teaching upon which the Church stands or falls is fourth article of the Augsburg Confession which teaches that we cannot be justified before God by our own strength, merits, or work but are freely justified for Christ's sake through faith when we believe that we are received into favor and that our...

Salvation is 100% God's work that he accomplished for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus and is given to us as a true gift. God planned, initiated, accomplished, and gives to us his gift of forgiveness, new life, and eternal life.   Lessons: Genesis 15:1-17, Ephesians 2:1-10, Luke 23:38-43  

Paul calls us to always be ready to give a defense to anyone for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Through unpacking the story of the woman at the well, we will gain a better understanding of the nature of God, his ability to overcome any barrier, and his desire for us to share our faith and make disciples of all nations.   Lessons: Isaiah 59:15b-16, 1 Peter 3:13-18, John 4:1-42

The parable of the Unjust Steward may be the most difficult of Jesus' parables to interpret, let alone find a life application. (Now, get ready for a really long, but magnificently crafted sentence.) But, if we see the Unjust Steward as Jesus who loses everything and is cast out (dies) from the employment of the rich man (God, the Father), becomes the hero (raised again) in the eyes of the rich ma...