God's Word in Our Lives

There's a reason Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. (October 31st). The next day, November 1st, was All Saints Day and the church would be packed! In our worship today, we commemorate the Lutheran Reformation and also celebrate All Saints Day all in one service! We'll find ourselves in the throne room of our God as we glimpse...

Wedding invitations often lead to a dilemma. To go? Or not to go? As a general rule of thumb, the closer the relation, the more likely that you’ll attend. But sometimes, you get an invitation to a wedding, and for one reason or another, decide, “I can’t go.” In this week’s parable, we’ll hear about a king who’s prepared a wedding banquet for his son. Invitations are sent out. Many decide, they can...

Forgiveness is a concept familiar to Christians because forgiveness is the heart and soul of Christianity. It's the centrality of forgiveness that sets Christianity apart from every other religion on the face of the planet. This week, we focused our attention on Jesus' authority to forgive. 

What you think about the Christ will show itself in your life. There is no doubt! If your idea of Jesus is the smiling white man in the painting on your wall at home, that will show itself. Maybe you forget that Jesus doesn't look like that anymore! His appearance is far more like John's description in Revelation chapter 1 than the typical artist's rendition. This week we'll di...

How much can you tell about a person simply by watching them walk? Perhaps the swagger of a young man walking on the sidewalk convinced you of his arrogance. Or maybe it was the slumped shoulders and dragging feet of the lone teenager that made your own heart sink for someone clearly struggling with depression. Can you really tell all that from the way a person walks? This week, we'll see tha...

A Christian loved one has just died. You mourn the earthly loss. You celebrate the eternal victory of the one you miss. In the blink of an eye, the funeral comes and goes. You transition from mourning a death, back to living life. Ah, but there is the problem! The life you go back to living will soon again be brought to a screeching halt by death! Another loved one will die. You will die. This wee...

Think back to your childhood. Can you remember a time when you were convinced your parents did not know what you needed? Parents, think back to the long nights where your child was crying and screaming. Can you remember a time when you were convinced you did not know what your child needed? Neither of these scenarios apply to our God! We may become convinced that our God does not know what we need...

Our God summarizes all 10 commandments in this way, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27) That sounds good to our ears. In fact, it sounds so good to our ears, that the second half is known by people all over the world as the "Golden Rule." Plen...

Uncommon mercy leads to uncommon thankfulness. Think about that for a moment. Uncommon mercy leads to uncommon thankfulness. This may seem obvious, but if you or I are going to show thankfulness/gratitude, we first need someone to thank. But have you ever considered how the amount of our thankfulness—the quality of our thankfulness—directly corresponds to the reason for our thankfulness? Today, we...

Imagine you are in the crowd huddled around Jesus. A man who is deaf and hardly able to speak at all is there with you. His friends are begging Jesus just to touch him. That's how convinced they are Jesus can help. Jesus then takes the man aside, away from the crowd, touches him and says, "Be Opened." The man can hear and speak clearly! Just like that! What power in Jesus' Word...

The God who created us gave us a conscience. That conscience is kind of like a little judge holding court over every aspect of our lives. The conscience either pats you on the back and declares you "not guilty" when you do good, or points the accusatory finger and slams the gavel when you sin. "Guilty!" This is why everyone feels "guilt." Everyone has a conscience. Th...

In Ezekiel chapter 11, God made a promise. "I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." That's a really important promise! Everyone human is born with a "heart of stone." That heart of stone is cold, dead and steeped in sin. It hates God. And yet, God has a heart for the har...

The history of slavery in America has made the concept of a "master" quite negative. In the context of employment, a promotion to "manager" is a good thing. And yet, if we're honest, as sinners we're never satisfied with "managing." We want to be "masters." This week we'll hear Jesus teach us about our role in God's Kingdom as he tells us...

Generally in Scripture, when we're described as "sheep" it's not the most flattering picture. The good news is we have the Son of God to serve as our Good Shepherd. That said, what happens when sheep on this earth are led by "bad" shepherds? This week, we'll wrestle with Jesus' insistence that the sheep judge their shepherds.

Have you ever been a part of a cost-benefit analysis? Maybe your line of work makes such an analysis necessary. Maybe not. Either way, I bet you do this just about every day. Have you ever asked the question, “Is it worth it?” How about, “Is this really worth my time?” If so, you’ve done a cost-benefit analysis! Today, our Scripture lessons will walk us through a Christian cost-benefit analysis.

When you look at Abra(ha)m, what do you see? Do you see a man who lives the way you should live? Do you see mainly what Abraham does for God or for others? Do you see what God does for Abraham? What you see when you focus on Abraham, or any other human found in the narrative of God’s Word, will often be reflected in what you see when you look at yourself. This weekend we’ll focus on what it takes...

It doesn't matter what your "line of work" is, as Christians, we work. That said, people who aren't Christians work too. So what's the difference? What's the difference between a Christian worker and a worker who's not a Christian? This week, we'll see that difference as we dig into Luke chapter 5:1-11.

It doesn't matter what your "line of work" is, as Christians, we work. That said, people who aren't Christians work too. So what's the difference? What's the difference between a Christian worker and a worker who's not a Christian? This week, we'll see that difference as we dig into Luke chapter 5:1-11.

What comes to mind when you think of "mercy?" In the Gospel lesson for this weekend we're told to "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." I suppose that means we should get our definition of mercy by looking at how God the Father treats us. How does the Father treat us? We deserve hell for our sins. The Father sends his Son to rescue us. Instead of hell, the Father...

“Though we easily forget our own sins, we sternly censor the sins of others. As insignificant as we generally regard sin, so easily do we refuse to forgive certain sinners.” Those words are the opening lines of a sermon on this week's Gospel Lesson by a pastor named CFW Walther preached around the year 1850. They set the tone well. This week we consider how easy it is for us to elevate oursel...

The greatest love story every told, motivates great love in us. This is especially true as you listen to this greatest of all love stories, and begin to realize you’re the one who is loved! This week, we’ll be reminded that the Word of God is the greatest love story ever told. It’s a story that motivates remarkable love in those who believe it.  

Absolutes are out in our culture. To stand up and say, "This is absolutely, undeniably true" is often viewed as the highest form of arrogance. It doesn't even matter what "this" is. Our culture has rejected the idea of absolute truth. This week, in John chapter 3, we hear Jesus teach us a much needed lesson about absolute truth.

What does a word used to put a boat into water and a rocket into space have to do with God's Church? We'll discuss that this week!

This week's sermon was preached as we celebrated Christ's Ascension! Take a listen!

Did Jesus come from the Father? Yes or no? Either he did or he did not. There can be no middle ground. If he did, Jesus is the Savior we need. If he did not, he's a fraud! If he did, you and I have the privilege of prayer at our disposal every moment of every day! If he did, not we could never approach the creator and judge of all. This week, we discuss a major theme in John's Gospel - J...