St. Paul Lutheran Church

You’ve heard the phrase “Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” It means you better make sure you have what you need, what is appropriate. Jesus declares that He has come not to bring peace, but rather a sword. This may be confusing because elsewhere the angels say that Jesus did come to bring peace on earth! What Jesus means is that there is a time to bring peace, and there is also a time to bring a...

In Romans, Paul sets up a scenario: serving an old master or a new one, sin or Jesus. While the choice might seem obvious to us all, we struggle to follow through on living that out. Join Pastor Josh as he dives into Romans 6 and discusses this problem, and what hope there is for us.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew chapter 9 to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into His harvest. Jesus says this after seeing lost sheep, harassed and helpless, and having compassion on them. There are plenty of people who are lost and in need of a Savior. There are relatively few people actively laboring to bring them to Jesus. Just a couple of verses later, at the start of ch...

Is the church a hospital for the sick or a hotel for the holy? Are sinners welcomed into the doors of the church building, or do you need to be “this holy” to enter? How we show either judgement or love to those viewed as “sinners and tax collectors” today makes an impact on if someone ever comes into the building. Join Pastor Josh as he dives deep into the Matthew 9 text and how it applies to us...

On this Holy Trinity Sunday, Pastor Smith explores how we can know the Triune God. This does not necessarily mean understanding all the inner workings and the mysteries of the Trinity. The best way we can know God is seeing what He does, all the saving actions He takes for us throughout history. We know the various roles the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have, but there are many aspects that a...

Don’t you wish you had a sign from God about if you’re making the right decision in big moments in your life? The Israelites wanted confirmation (a sign) that the 70 elders were rightful authorities under Moses and God, so God made them prophesy. The disciples were waiting for the Holy Spirit, and the tongues of fire (along with speaking in tongues) was a sign to them. What’s our sign that Jesus i...

Pastor Smith’s sermon this week is based on Revelation 21:1-8; 22-27 and the concept of the new heavens and new earth. We have a wonderful eternity in store for us. This keeps us going as we work our way through life in this broken, sinful world. This sermon uses the concept of a “vision board”--people have pictures of dream houses, vacations, promotions at work, children/grandchildren, etc. that...

Peter, in his first letter, is writing Christians who are being heavily persecuted for their faith. He tells them, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.” Pastor Josh dives into this and discusses how we, as Christians, should act and treat others when we are “squeezed” and mistreated. 

Ephesians 2:8-9 is a critically-important passage for us to know that we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ. We have no credit when it comes to our salvation–all the glory goes to God! And we Christians love and cherish these verses…but sometimes we stop reading before we get to 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand,...

We all deal with suffering at different points in our lives. What do we do with it? Many people try to numb or ignore it, but Paul tells us to rejoice in it. Pastor Josh dives deeper into what that means and what that looks like.

In Thessalonica Paul and Silas begin to preach the Crucified and Risen Jesus as Lord and King, just as they do wherever they go on their missionary journeys. They usually receive mixed reviews when they do this–some hear and believe the news about Jesus, while others hear, get angry, and try to imprison or kill them. This particular time the opponents of Paul and Silas say something especially int...

At Jesus’ ascension, the disciples stared into heaven, waiting for Jesus to return. They were brought back down to earth as they were reminded by the angels that yes, Jesus will come, but there’s work to do in the meantime. The same is still true for us today- that we have work to do while we are waiting for Jesus to return. Join Pastor Josh as he dives into this passage.

Throughout Lent we have looked at six of the seven “I Am” statements of Jesus. We’ve saved the best one for last here on Easter Sunday– “I Am the Resurrection and the Life.” We look at John 11 and the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. We see in this account three major differences in the way Jesus deals with death vs. how the world deals with death. How you deal with death says a lot a...

There is one thing all people in the world have in common: one day, we will all die. This may seem like a grim outlook, but it’s a reality we all will face. But Jesus’ claim that he is the resurrection and the life is the hope that we have in the face of death. Join Pastor Josh as he dives into this claim from Jesus found in John 11.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus rides into Jerusalem and is praised by the crowds. It seems to be a good start to the week…although we know what ends up happening. In this passage from John 12, we see some interesting things going on. Greeks are seeking Jesus. His enemies are making plans to kill him. And Jesus declares that it’s time for Him to be glorified. However, the type...

This week we read about that sharp shift in the story of Holy Week in which now Jesus’ suffering and death becomes inevitable. He’s been predicting that it will happen, we’ve seen His enemies making their plans, and now finally things that have been long foretold are set into motion. It is interesting to see how Jesus responds as these things unfold. In the past He has used His divine power to war...

In America today, a lot of people have the mentality that faith is just a matter of “me and Jesus.” In John 17, Jesus’ high priestly prayer, he prays for all Christians- that they would be one. Join Pastor Josh as he dives into what that actually looks like in our lives as followers of Jesus.

Are you ready to meet your maker? That’s a question asked in many different forms, but it’s one that needs to be asked. Jesus gives warning about being and staying ready to meet him. Join Pastor Josh as he discusses this challenging text, and see how, for those who are in Christ, we are ready.

We have arrived at Holy Week in our Bible reading plan. In the early part of the week, Jesus has a “head to head” with his major opponents. They try to trip him up in His words, but as usual, they fail. Jesus tells several parables directed at them to pronounce judgment upon them for their sinful rejection of Him, and by extension their rejection of the Father. These are difficult parables for fai...

The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is almost like a scene out of a horror movie. It is striking and haunting. The rich man is suffering in hell, but he wants to send a message back to his living brothers to warn them. Father Abraham, up in heaven, essentially says “They have God’s Word. That’s all they need.” Today the reality is the same–people have God’s Word. That’s all they need. People w...

Jesus takes sin very seriously. How seriously? He says to cut off your hand if it causes you to sin. But as Pastor Josh digs into the text, you will discover that: it’s not your hand that causes you to sin, it’s something else. And you can’t pass off the blame of what your hand does.

This sermon focuses on Jesus’ conversation with his disciples. He asks “Who do people say that I am?” Several answers are given, all of them kinda sorta close, but definitely wrong. The most dangerous false versions of Jesus are the ones that are kinda sorta close…but definitely wrong. We will explore some of these false Christs, and look for the real Jesus as revealed in the Scriptures. 

In the reading, there are 2 people very desperate for healing. God provides healing according to his timing, not theirs. Through this, he strengthens their faiths. And the same is true for us.

This week we take a look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Again and again Jesus reveals the original intent of God’s Law. Over the centuries, it’s been weakened repeatedly by sinful human beings looking for loopholes. Today we also love a good loophole, especially when it allows us to avoid a difficult aspect of God’s Law. This love for loopholes reveals a heart condition. We may go through the moti...

Why did Jesus come? A lot of people think God is a vindictive God, looking for opportunities to zap people to hell. People who look at it this way look at God completely backwards. God did not come as a way to say, “Gotcha! I’ve caught you in sin, now I can condemn you.” But came to give life. And he came to give us freedom from the guilt of our sins.