Sermons | Living Hope and Christ the King ELCA Lutheran Churches

As both Christ the King and Living Hope prepare to hold annual congregational meetings next Sunday, today's reading from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth offers encouragement and a powerful reminder that we're not doing this on our own. In his greeting to the Corinthians, Paul reminds his readers (and us!) that God has given everything needed for the church to carry out its...

For us as Christians, baptism is a means of grace, a gift from God offering forgiveness of sin and a welcome into God's family. But if baptism is for forgiveness, why does Jesus need it? Today's sermon from Pastor Daniel Flucke for Baptism of Our Lord Sunday explores baptism as identity. Jesus comes to identify with us—not to receive forgiveness, but to stand with humanity, offering grace....

Epiphany reminds us that God's light shines in the whole world. Reflecting on the Magi, King Herod, and the weekend's news of US intervention in Venezuela, this week's sermon from Pastor Daniel Flucke reminds us that there is no “them” in God’s kingdom—only a world deeply loved by God. As Christians, we are always called to pray for peace. Today's Scripture readings are Ephesians 3...

Merry Christmas! On this first Sunday of Christmas, we're looking at the lives lived by two lesser-known characters in the Christmas story who could not be more different from one another: Joseph & Herod. One pursues power at all costs, and the other gives of himself to protect another. Although this story of Herod's massacre of the innocents seems like an abrupt turn from the joy of C...

Merry Christmas! Tonight's Christmas Eve sermon focuses on the message of good news of great joy for all the people which the angels gave to the shepherds. But what if you don't feel great joy this Christmas? What if not everything feels merry and bright for you right now? Perhaps you are exactly who this news is for. Tonight's Scripture reading is Luke 2:1-20. Learn more about Christ...

This final Sunday of Advent is all about proclaiming good news. Heaven is breaking into earth, and God is turning the world upside down. We eagerly await the fulfilment of God's promised reign of peace. In worship, we'll hear Mary respond in song to the miracles God is working. God is entering the world—let us rejoice and sing with joy!  Today's Scripture readings are Titus 2:11-14 and...

How did you come to faith? Someone loved you and Jesus enough to introduce you to him! Today's sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent reflects on John the Baptist as a witness who points beyond himself to the true Light of the world. God uses ordinary people like us to share extraordinary good news. As we light the candle of joy, we’re reminded that we are not the light—but we are sent to testi...

This Sunday we continue our theme of Heaven and Earth by looking at the messenger sent to prepare the way, John the Baptist. In the wilderness, John proclaims that God is on the way, a savior is coming. So, get ready! Prepare the way! Just continuing in the path we're on requires no preparation. But God interrupts our lives. God claims us in baptism, declaring we belong not only to ourselves,...

This Sunday, we enter into the season of Advent, a season of waiting, watching, and preparing for Jesus. We often think about our participation in church and worship as us taking time for God, but Advent is about God taking time for us. Advent is about God refusing to leave us alone, and instead relentlessly insisting on breaking into our world.  In Jesus Christ, God is bringing heaven to earth an...

Today is Christ the King Sunday, the festival at the conclusion of the church year when we recognize Jesus as our Lord, our King who reigns over creation. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a redeemer to rescue God’s people and set them free from oppression. He is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Yet in our Gospel reading from Luke 23, we find Jesus not...

Don't panic! It's just the end of the world. As we near the end of the church year, the focus of our readings in worship moves forward to the end times. In this Sunday's Gospel from Luke 21, Jesus warns about the signs of the apocalypse and the end of the world—and then he says we don't need to worry about it. As Christians, our hope is in One who is greater than this world. Even i...

In this Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke 20, a group of Sadducees attempts to drag Jesus into a debate over the logistics of how the afterlife will work. But as Jesus points out, the questioners are missing the point. Their concerns and so many of our own worries in life fade in comparison to the promise of the Gospel:  I know that my Redeemer lives. As the hymn we'll sing declares, "...

In this All Saints Day message, Pastor Daniel explores what it really means to be a saint. You don’t awarded the title of saint for giving away over 38% of your income or volunteering at least twice a week; sainthood is about being loved by God. Every follower of Jesus is both sinner and saint, called to love, serve, and share God’s grace in daily life.  Today's Scripture readings are Ephesian...

On this Reformation Sunday, Pastor Daniel Flucke's sermon explores the new mission statement recently adopted by Christ the King: “Rooted in Christ, Nurturing Faith, Loving and Serving All.”  What does it mean to be rooted in Christ? How are we nurturing faith? What does loving and serving all look like? Today's Scripture readings are Colossians 2:6-8, 12-14; Psalm 67; and Luke 4:16-21 as...

If God is good and powerful, why do bad things happen? This Sunday in worship, we conclude our series  Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith  by looking at one more unavoidable, unanswerable question (and this one’s a big one): Why do the innocent suffer?  This week's sermon explores the problem of suffering, challenges common assumptions about God, and shares a hope rooted in Christ’s promise t...

As we continue our series on  Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith , we’re looking this week at the question of prayer.  “Does Prayer Work?”  Jesus invites his followers to pray, yet often, we wonder if our prayers are heard. Is God even listening? Or are we just talking to ourselves? Why aren’t our well-intentioned prayers always answered? There’s a lot to wrestle with this week, and this sermon d...

In John 14, Jesus promises he will prepare a place for us in his Father’s house. It’s a beautiful, comforting promise. Throughout the Bible, we’re given glimpses of what that eternal home God has prepared might look like, and yet believing in heaven still requires a lot of faith. After all, no one’s ever gone there and come back! As we continue  Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith , this morning w...

As we continue  Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith , we're spending two Sundays exploring one of the biggest parts of our faith: Life after death. Next week we’ll look at what the Bible says about heaven, but this week we start with the other potential destination. As Christians, we don’t need to be afraid of hell, because we are saved by grace through faith, redeemed by Jesus Christ. Because...

This week's sermon from Pastor Daniel continues our series Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith , exploring some of the big questions of faith. Today's topic is The Good Book? Wrestling with the Bible, and we're exploring what it means to claim the Bible as the “inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith, and life” (that’s from our church const...

This week's sermon is the first in a six-week series exploring some of the big questions of faith, titled   Wrestling with Doubt, Finding Faith , based on Adam Hamilton's book of the same name. We may not like to admit our doubts, but the reality is we all have doubts and questions, aspects of faith we wonder about, and if there’s anywhere we ought to be open to wrestling with doubts and q...

Welcome to September! It's a busy weekend at church, with new Bibles for some of our kids, blessing teachers and students for the new school year, service projects for God's Work, Our Hands" Sunday, and most importantly, a baptism at Christ the King. In today's Scripture readings from 1 John 3:1-3, 16-24 and Luke 15:1-10, we're going back to some basics of our faith: We are God...

Thank you to Pastor Brian Halverson for leading worship and sharing a message this Sunday while Pastor Daniel is away over Labor Day weekend. Today's Scripture readings are Proverbs 25:6-7, Psalm 112, and Luke 14:1, 7-14. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at  https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/  or  https://ctk...

As we near the end of summer, this week’s Scripture readings from Isaiah 58:9-14 and Luke 13:10-17 invite us to consider the importance of Sabbath rest time. God gives us the gift of Sabbath because we need rest. In the midst of life’s busyness, it’s important to take time to pause and reflect, to spend time in worship giving thanks for what God’s done. The prophet Isaiah makes it clear how much G...

Our circumstances are constantly changing, but one thing that will never change is a God in heaven who loves us. Thank you to Christ the King member Fred Walls for sharing a sermon this Sunday while Pastor Daniel was on vacation. Our circumstances can change our view of God, yet in all situations, we are still called by Jesus to love God and love people. Today's Scripture readings are Isaiah 4...

This Sunday’s Psalm concludes with a prayer: “Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”  (Psalm 33:22)  Our hope as people of God is rooted in God’s steadfast love. Even as the world around us changes, even as yet another story gives evidence of the brokenness and suffering around us, we trust that God is still faithful. God is still at work. God is still good. In our G...