Gospel for life with Nathaniel Timmermann

Does anyone want me? Do I belong anywhere? For many of us, there is a real sense of alienation in life. Jesus uses all of his authority not to make war, not to get rich, but to be with us and bring people together. A sermon on Matthew 28:18-19 on April 26th, 2026

We don't deny all the bad in life when we follow Jesus. The first thing in the Easter story is this: the women went to the tomb. Evil and death is seen and known by us. That leads to the bold statement: there is still good news. Jesus lives! A message for Easter at Peace Lutheran Church, Otsego, MI preached on April 5th, 2026

Washing away what's outside is God's way, in part, to wash us clean within. When we see what God does to get rid of all the false worship in the world, we are going to be a bit shocked about how far he goes. But that action alone cleans our hearts to love him. 

Want to see life differently? Gain spiritual sight. We get eyes but even more we live in the dark. We live without light, and that is how we get sight.  A sermon on John 9 on March 22nd at Peace in Otsego. 

We are physical and spiritual beings, and as such, need to feed our souls with spiritual food. We tend to think that we are using the wrong thing to get our spiritual food - a different spouse, a different car, a different job will fix us. What we need is a different place to put our bucket.  A sermon on John 4:5-24 on March 8, 2026

Our champion has come rushing in, and we hold on to him. We don't live as people who are fixing everything and fighting our way forward, or as people who are drowning in the river. We live as people who are clinging to the one who has grabbed on to us and is saving us. A sermon on John 3 on March 1st, 2026

Each of us has 2 messages or forces or energies coming into our life, and those shape us. At the least, we have the message of disobedience and punishment. We hear that all the time. There is a champion out there who brings us a different message: gift and approval. Is that message working in our lives? A sermon on Romans 5:13-18 on February 22, 2026

Whether we are wrecks or we've got our act together, the Lord sees the state of the church and the gathered believers and says, "Return to me". He'll never forget you. This is the beginning of his work to remake us. We need to go back to him. An Ash Wednesday sermon on Zechariah 1:1-6

A sermon first preached on January 18th, 2026

A better spiritual life and spiritual practices is often recommended to improve our lives. But God didn't send us an angel and better spiritual practices for Christmas. A sermon on December 14th 2025 based on Hebrews 1:1-9.

Christmas is great, right up until it isn't. Over the years, the work, the anxiety, and the loss start to add up leaving us with a nagging question - do we really need Christmas? Maybe we would be better off without it. We do that with other dates. We stop celebrating birthdays. We skip over anniversaries and first dates.

While many gifts have downsides, some gifts are truly, and other gifts don't last, there are a few gifts that make a lasting difference. They are truly good gifts. A Thanksgiving sermon on November 26th 2025.

"the deepest principle of Human Nature is the craving to be appreciated, and I left it out altogether from the book, because I had never had it gratified till now." William James Favor is fabulous, but we need to receive it the right way. God teaches us this in Genesis 4, Jacob and Esau. A sermon on November 23, 2025

Can you and I even know the truth anymore? It seems so twisted and unclear. But beyond it all, Jesus triumphed over the twists and the tricks so that some truth remains. People will be cut as we come to the truth, just like he was - cut to untwist the truth. A sermon on Genesis 3:1-13, November 9th 2025

We have mastered freedom from certain restrictions, rules and laws, but I would argue that all this freedom has left us just as burdened. With Jesus we can regain a freedom that allows us to live out of faith - a freedom for faith. We have to continually go back to his rescue from evil. Sermon on November 2nd, 2025 on Galatians 5:1-6.

What an awesome marvel it is that God gave humanity a role to play in his work. We are not supposed to lay back and coast and just consume all this stuff, nor are we supposed to condemn the world and the good God put in it. We are supposed to craft it. To work. And God gave the woman to the man to help him in that task. Genesis 2:18-25 , October 26th 2025

Many myths present us with a "tree of life". But Genesis 2 goes beyond to present us with a sacramental life with God (the tree of life) - living with him and his promises and his grace; or living on our own with the many good things that can either ruin us or wow us. If we make the gifts our god, what will that do for us? A sermon on October 19, 2025 on Genesis 2:8-17

The Christian funeral of Mary Wright embodies for us the great truth that God brings joy after sorrow because of his immense delight in rescuing us. Sermon on Psalm 126:5

Who am I? There is no way to entirely answer that question in a few minutes with theology. But the basics will give me so much for my life. A sermon on Genesis 1:26-2:7 on October 12, 2025

It's not enough to describe the world we live in, the world that was created as "perfect". Genesis 1 shows us at least three good things about this world - its real, it's ordered, and it's good. It's a home, and that is what is should feel like. That uncanny feeling that you don't belong can only get fixed with the stranger who made this place his home. A sermon on Genesis 1:3-25 on October 5th 20...

Genesis 1:2 is a strange verse; it basically announces chaos after creation to the world. There are at least three ways to handle it. I argue that it is the creation of substantive stuff that can be filled with something. A sermon on Genesis 1:2 on September 28th 2025

What's the story you are part of? And who is the center of your story? The story begins at the beginning, Genesis 1. A sermon on September 21st, 2025

What an awesome thing that the God of heaven and earth wants us, wants to find us, and looks for us. However much you and I have messed up our lives or done our own thing, we don't have to work our way back or fix things to be with God. He comes for us. A sermon on Luke 15:1-10 on September 14th, 2025 

Do you love your vocation? Which one? Do you see the Lord working through your vocation? I find it both incredibly convicting that the Lord would work through me (he certainly could do much better) and also very encouraging. Wrap up on vocation. A sermon on September 7th 2025

Everything has its setting or context where it flourishes. Plants flourish in gardens; football teams flourish in schools with equipment and fields. Where do humans and humanity flourish? An answer from 1 Timothy 6 and Michael Berg's "Vocation" on August 31st 2025