Pastor Scamman

Today marks seventy days until the great festival of Easter. From ancient times the Church has anticipated the season of Easter with a period of mourning and repentance from sin. I’m sure you’re familiar with the forty days of Lent, a time of fasting and repentance that corresponds with the forty days…

A substantial portion of this sermon is drawn from the faithful preaching of Pastor Rolf Preus.

St. Mark tells us that John “was proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” ( Mk 1:4 ). When we use the word “baptize” today, it’s always in the context of a religious ceremony. Baptism has become a very special word for a specific Christian ritual. Not so in John’s day. To baptize…

“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called my by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.” These words from Luther’s Small Catechism are a perfect summary of the theme…

When eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb ( Lk 2:21 ). The circumcision of our Lord occurred, as was prescribed in God’s covenant with Abraham, when He was eight days old. We celebrate this…

There were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings…

The Christian Church on earth lives perpetually within the season of Advent, awaiting the coming of our Lord Jesus. This is what it means for you to be a Christian. You are not a Christian because you are holier than unbelievers. You might be, but that’s not what makes you a Christian. You are not a…

John the Baptist is the spokesman for the season of Advent. This is historically true. John was sent to prepare the way of our Lord Jesus. It is also liturgically true. John the Baptist appears in eleven of the thirteen gospel texts appointed for the season of Advent. Therefore, just as the people of…

This sermon draws much from the faithful preaching of Pastor Rolf Preus.

On November 1stthe Church celebrates All Saints Day. This is such an important and holy day that when it falls during the week, we move its observance to the following Sunday. And as with Christmas Eve, we begin the holy observance the night before on what was called All Saints’ Eve, or Holy Eve, or…

We just finished singing Martin Luther’s most famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. During communion we will sing another of Luther’s hymns, also very appropriate for Reformation Day: Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word. In this hymn we ask God, “Curb those who by deceit or sword would wrest the…

The Sadducees and Pharisees were two rival factions within the Jewish religious system. Perhaps a secular equivalent in our day would be the Republicans and Democrats: always contending with one another, each party looking to gain an advantage, whether materially or in the eyes of the public. In the…

In every Gospel text you can always find Jesus. He is the central content of all the Scriptures, even when His name is not directly mentioned. It’s no surprise to encounter Jesus in the Gospel text, but it might be a surprise to learn that today, you too, are part of the story. Jesus is on His way to…

When I was growing up, my mother taught me the importance of thankfulness. Over and over, until I had internalized the habit, she would make me look people in the eyes and say, “Thank you!” It was a good lesson, and I’m better off for having learned it. Some people think that Jesus is teaching us this…

Today Jesus teaches us of the two kinds of righteousness that we need in this life. We need righteousness before men. Without this, you will have a miserable life here on earth. And we need the righteousness that avails before God. Without this, you have no hope of life in heaven. As an example of each…

Today marks the beginning of my fifth year as your pastor. Jesus’ warning to “beware of false prophets” was the text read at my installation. It was appropriately read then, and it is still fitting today. The greatest danger to the Church does not come from the outside. It comes from within: from false…

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Jesus feeds five-thousand men with five loaves of bread. Today, on the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, Jesus feeds four-thousand with seven loaves. Because these two miracles have some obvious similarities, unbelieving scholars have suggested that they are just two different…

Today in our Gospel text we find the passage of Scripture that is most often quoted by unbelievers. People who believe that the Bible is a book of fairy tales written by delusional prophets who were high on mushrooms are nevertheless happy to quote this passage authoritatively whenever it seems helpful.…

In our text from the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus tells a story, a parable, in order to explain the Kingdom of God. “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many” ( Lk 14:16 ). The man throwing the banquet represents God the Father. The banquet, to which He invites many, is God’s kingdom, which will…

Today, as you know, is a national holiday, Father’s Day. You may have noticed that I generally don’t allow secular holidays to intrude much, if at all, upon our worship. Today, I’m going to make an exception and speak on the subject about fathers. God, in His essence, defines fatherhood and shows us…

On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of Christ. On this day, the Day of Pentecost, we celebrate the birth of the Church. Now, in one sense, we could say that God’s Church began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and that all believers on the Old Testament were Christians. This is true. But on…

The Latin name for the Sixth Sunday of Easter is Rogate , meaning: “Ask.” It’s an imperative, that is, a command. God says to you, “Ask me for the things you need. Ask, and you will receive ” ( Jn 16:24 ). But you might wonder, “If God already knows what we need even before we ask, why does He command…

On the night our Lord Jesus is betrayed, He chides the disciples because, once again, they have failed to see what is important. They are filled with sorrow that Jesus is going away, yet none of them asks where He is going or what He is about to accomplish. Jesus tried on at least three occasions to…

This day marks the exact middle of the season of Easter. That most joyful of days in which our Lord conquered death was but three weeks ago, and yet, in the little while since, many of us have already attended a funeral. This day is called Jubilate , which means “Rejoice”, but the theme of this day concerns…

The Bible says that “the days of our life are seventy years, or even by reason of strength eighty” ( Psalm 90:10 ). Yet God granted to Mildred ninety-nine blessed years upon this earth. Perhaps we might be tempted to ask, “Yes, but is it really a blessing to live this long? Is it really a blessing to…