Sermons | Living Hope and Christ the King ELCA Lutheran Churches

As people of God, we are created in God's image as spiritual beings and renewed with the promise of new life. Rooted in that identity in Christ, we are set free to live in a way that looks different than the world expects. In this Sunday's reading from Luke 6:27-38, Jesus calls us to radical new ways of living like loving our enemies, giving to everyone who asks of us, and forgiving as we...

Thank you to Pastor Dave Schoob from Trinity Lutheran Church in West Bend for leading us in worship today while Pastor Daniel attended the Quake youth conference with some of our teenagers. Today's Scripture readings are Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 6:17-26. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at  https://www.livingh...

This Sunday's Gospel reading is a perhaps familiar story of Jesus calling disciples to follow him. But rather than picking the elite of society, the cream of the crop of potential recruits, Jesus chooses a few ordinary fishermen. It’s a surprising choice for starting a movement, but it’s consistent with the way God typically works. Over and over in Scripture, we read stories of God choosing fl...

Last Sunday, we heard Jesus’ first sermon, a message in which he laid out his mission to proclaim the good news of God’s reign to all people. Today, we hear the second half of that reading, in which Jesus’ hearers move from enjoying his message to attempting to throw him off a cliff – it’s quite a transition! Today's sermon explores our call as Christians to share the good news of Jesus with l...

Thank you to Pastor Brad Brown for leading worship today while Pastor Daniel attended the ELCA Youth Ministry Network Extravaganza. Today's Scripture readings are 1 Corinthains 12:12-31a, Psalm 19, and Luke 4:14-21. 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://ctkport.o...

God gives many and varied spiritual gifts to the church, calling us all to use our gifts for the common good. Everyone has something to offer, and everyone's talents, abilities, and gifts are needed for us to do the work God calls us to. The key is to follow the directions Mary gives to the servants at the wedding in Cana, "Do whatever he tells you." Today's Scripture readings are...

For the last couple of weeks, we’ve celebrated the birth of the baby Jesus. In this Sunday’s Scripture readings, we find the Jesus all grown up and ready to begin his public ministry. And as an adult, Jesus’ first recorded act is to be baptized.   Through his baptism, Jesus takes his place with humanity. He identifies with the crowds of people coming to John to be baptized. We see that Jesus is tr...

Happy New Year! This week in worship, we wrap up the Christmas season with the celebration of Epiphany, looking at the story in Matthew 2:1-12 of Magi from the East coming to worship the baby Jesus. These foreigners symbolize the good news that God's grace and love are for all people, not just a group of insiders. As Paul declares in Ephesians 3, God has made us all members of the same body an...

Merry Christmas! Tonight, we hear the story of God's grace entering the world in the person of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. Tonight's Scripture readings are the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20 as well as Titus 2:11-14, and the text of this sermon is available at https://danielflucke.com/christmas-eve-2024/ Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port W...

On this final Sunday in Advent, we hear Mary’s song, a song of joy as she proclaims the ways her son will change the world.  In the midst of the overwhelming evidence of this world’s brokenness, Mary proclaims that God is at work. And God’s grace brings us joy. Because of what God is doing, we can join Mary in her song. Because of God’s grace, we can live with joy and hope no matter what our circu...

In this third week of Advent, John the Baptist calls for repentance. The crowds that hear him agree that change is needed, but they wonder, "What should we do?" Looking at the brokenness in the world around us, we wonder the same.  The answer, John says, is to love our neighbors. When we follow John's instructions to turn from our sin and greed, when those of us who have two coats give...

The season of Advent is about preparing the way for Jesus. In this time of waiting, we prepare our hearts to receive the King of Kings as he comes to us as a little child. There’s a paradox as we hear God’s messengers call us to prepare to receive the Messiah, while also recognizing that it is God who prepares us for grace. God comes to us whether we are ready or not. Today's Scripture reading...

This Sunday, we enter the season of Advent. Our Advent theme this year is “Grace-Filled Beginnings” and over these next four weeks, we’ll be exploring the significance of God’s grace in our lives as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, who is love and grace incarnate. This week, our focus is “God’s Grace is for Us.” In the busyness of the holiday season, it’s easy to forget what it is we’re getting...

This week's worship service is a bit different than usual. On this final Sunday of the church calendar, our service walks through each liturgical season, reflecting on God's presence with us in all parts of life. The service was a mixture of lessons, reflections, and hymns, but I've re-recorded just the reflections and lessons for you, our podcast listeners. Today's Scripture readi...

This Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 13 has Jesus making some gloomy-sounding predictions about the future. Buildings will be destroyed, nations will rise against nations, there will be famines, earthquakes, and similar apocalyptic happenings. It's a scary prophecy to hear and think about! But Jesus doesn't say these things simply to scare his disciples. He says it to encourage them—and...

November is often a month focused on giving and gratitude, and this Sunday offers what appears to be the perfect opening to talk about stewardship: The story in Mark 12:38-44 of a poor widow putting her last two cents into the temple offering. And yet, there’s more going on in this story than meets the eye.  Rather than a simple invitation for us to give more, Jesus calls us in this story to ask s...

On All Saints Sunday, we remember and honor all those who have preceded us on the journey of faith. Our Scripture readings call us to focus on the central command that unites us as God's people, the command to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This command and the basic confession that Jesus is Lord are what unite us with the great cloud of witnesses who hav...

This Sunday, we had the joy of confirming six youth as they affirmed their baptisms. Each of them selected a confirmation verse they found meaningful, so the sermon touches on each of their verses as well as the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation. Today's Scripture readings are Romans 3:19-28, Psalm 46, and Mark 10:46-52. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washing...

This message is pretty brief, as it's really just an introduction to showing the congregations a video recapping Lighthouse Youth Ministry's summer service trip. You can watch the trip video at LighthouseYouth.org . Today's Scripture readings are James 5:13-20, Psalm 19:7-14, and Mark 9:38-50. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran...

In this fifth and final week of our "PRAY Like Jesus" series, we're focusing on listening to God. Prayer is meant to be talking with God, not just talking to God. How do we hear God's voice and discern God's will? Today's Scripture readings are Proverbs 2:1-8, Psalm 119:97-106, and John 10:1-10, 27-30. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and...

This is week four of our series, "PRAY Like Jesus" looking at the Lord's Prayer, and today's theme is yielding to God in prayer. While God does answer our prayers, sometimes the response isn’t a simple “Yes.” Praying for God’s will to be done might mean accepting that our will won’t be done. Today's Scripture readings are Proverbs 3:1-8, Psalm 85, and John 15:1-8. Learn more ab...

Today's theme is asking in prayer. Asking is a tricky subject, because God is not a vending machine. Just because we ask for something doesn’t mean God will give us everything we want. At the same time, Jesus tells us God delights in giving gifts to God’s children, and God invites us to bring all our cares and concerns in prayer. Today's Scripture readings are Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 86:1...

This Sunday, we continue our sermon series on prayer by exploring the vital practice of confession. Jesus invites us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" but what does it mean to repent? Why is forgiveness important? How do we truly forgive others? And what’s a “trespass” anyway? Today's Scripture readings are 1 John 1:5-2:6, Psalm 103:6-13, and...

This week, we begin a new sermon series on prayer, diving into The Lord’s Prayer and uncovering its deeper meanings. Our focus is on the theme of gratitude, praising God, and recognizing God as our Father, as we consider the words Jesus taught us: “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” What an awesome privilege we have to come and pray to the Creator of the cosmos, who calls us to a...

Thank you to Pastor Steve Wolfheil for filling in on very short notice and leading worship today while Pastor Daniel is sidelined with covid. Today is God's Work, Our Hands Sunday, and our Scripture readings are James 3:1-12, Psalm 116:1-9, and Mark 8:27-38. Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at  https://www.livi...