St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

We know as Christians that Mary received a great blessing, and so did she, but then she does something strange, or at least unexplained. She goes with haste from Nazareth to the hill country of Judah. She goes from one part of the country to the other to visit her relative, Elizabeth.

Today is the true birthday of the Lutheran Church, June 25, 1530, the date of the presentation of the Augsburg Confession. In 28 articles, the Augsburg Confession defines from scripture what it means to be Lutheran, which is no less than to believe the true gospel of Jesus Christ, free from errors and impurities.

Although this genuine call goes out, and the invited guests hear it, they all alike begin to make excuses. All these excuses are lame excuses. No one buys a field before he goes out to see it, or a yoke of oxen, nor does marrying a wife forbid someone from coming. This is not a case of God’s call being at the wrong time, it’s the people decide they don’t want what He is offering and therefore make...

Saint Barnabas is one of the fathers of the faith who is probably not well known to most people. More people are aware of St Paul of course, or even St Nicholas and St Valentine. But we actually know a lot more about Barnabas than we know about those other two. Barnabas is a prominent man in the early church, a companion of Paul on his first missionary journeys. As Luke writes in Acts, Barnabas wa...

Nicodemus here is a step ahead of the other Pharisees who hate Jesus, but not much. The wisdom of the world isn’t much interested in what God is interested in. The world loves show and things that the eyes see. It loves great buildings, amazing miracles, and mighty works. God is interested in faith. He is interested in salvation. He is interested in birth and rebirth. This rebirth, being born agai...

By the Holy Spirit, all people in the church who believed in Christ were boldly confessing the truths of the creed, that Jesus is Lord, He is the God of the Old Testament, the Son of the God who has taken on human flesh to save the world. His coming has begun the last days. As Christ has finished His work on earth, He now on Pentecost begins His work by the Holy Spirit through the church, to conti...

Jesus knows the disciples will naturally, in their sinful flesh, want to think back to the days when they were with Jesus, and not the post-Ascension future. It will seem strange and scary to be without Jesus, how can the kingdom of God continue if He is not there personally with them? Jesus gives them three important assurances here for after his resurrection: 1.    Jesus will send the Helper, th...

Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon king. And all the people rejoiced and said: God save the King! Long live the King! God save the King! May the King live for ever. Amen. Hallelujah.

Jesus says, “In that day you will not ask me anything.” What is “that day”? We have to remember a couple weeks back, Jesus talks about two little whiles. A little while, and you will see me no longer, and again a little while, and you will see me. Jesus is talking about being taken away from the disciples as he is arrested and goes to the cross, crucified, and buried. Then after a little while, th...

Those who are in the know say this account written by St. Luke in the book of Acts is the most detailed account of a shipwreck in the ancient world in existence. There are all sorts of geographic points and nautical terms, and amid them is the continuing story of the Apostle Paul. Paul is traveling to Rome from Jerusalem by ship, to stand trial before Caesar. He is a prisoner, under guard of a cen...

This morning we return again to the Upper Room on the night when Jesus was betrayed, Maundy Thursday night, to hear his farewell address to his disciples. Last week we heard about the joy of the resurrection that Jesus here promises they will receive – a little while and they will not see him, and again a little while and they will see him and their sorrow will turn into joy. This joy is based not...

See, these little whiles are over, and now we live in the redeemed time, the time of the year of Our Lord, the time of the resurrection. We have now in the resurrection life given by Christ the gift of the eternal joy of the resurrection.

The people escaped bondage in Egypt, but then did not recognize the Shepherd who freed them. They were like sheep freed from wolves who wandered from their shepherd who saved them. While they were physically freed, they showed by their rejection of the sacrifice made for them that they were still in bondage in their souls, in bondage to sin.

Jesus is Risen from the dead, but sinful and fallible human beings still need his help to believe, and even believing, we need His help to be strengthened. Yet it is through these same fallible human beings that Jesus works in giving this help and strength. Through crooked sticks he draws straight lines and by the weakness of his ministers His own strength is shown. 

That’s what’s so much better about Jesus’ message than any other. You can hold it as a precious promise for the future, but it’s not from someone far away. He is Here, He is risen. He is strengthening you to believe it more every time you read it in faith, holding those words in your heart. So receive Him not with fear and trembling, but like little children, hearing their new favorite story. All...

Audio was cut off due to technical difficulties - here is the end of the sermon: The angel of the Lord demonstrates how easy it will be. Moving the stone? Try moving the whole earth. Guards, already comatose with fear. The dead Christ? He is risen from the dead, and already has gone ahead of you to Galilee. Catch up! He was dead, but you’re the one’s who are late. He gathers his people in Galilee...

Here Nicodemus sees the Son of Man who was lifted up and believes. We know he believes because He joins his fellow councilman, Joseph of Arimathea, in asking Pilate to take Jesus’ body for burial. What can they do at this point? Can they hope in the resurrection? Joseph gives his new tomb, just cut out, not far from the cross. Nicodemus buys much expensive ointment to anoint Jesus’ body. It’s not...

God regards those who are humble before them. Those who are most in need and call upon Him, he wants to know more and more closely. Those who set themselves up as great, he generally ignores. This is the opposite of how you usually think. You like to think that God is close to you if you are successful, and far when you struggle. The fear of the powerful in this world is compounded by thinking goo...

Many of you have probably been involved at sometime in your life in the distribution of an inheritance. Someone close to you had left their last will and testament and it decreed that something they treasured would be given to you. Maybe this was as a child, and you just received something from a grandparent, or as an adult maybe you had to be involved in all the legal proceedings. Possibly the in...

Readings from Isaiah 53 and the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Luke. Devotional reading from The Timetable of The Lord's Passion by Valerius Herberger, translated by Matthew Carver. Devotional can be purchased on Lulu: https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-carver/timetable-of-the-lords-passion/ebook/product-r5v85n.html?q=herberger&page=1&pageSize=4

Reading from John 12:1-36 / Devotion from The Timetable of Our Lord's Passion by Valerius Herberger, translated by Matthew Carver. Devotional book can be purchase here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-carver/timetable-of-the-lords-passion/ebook/product-r5v85n.html?q=herberger&page=1&pageSize=4

Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Mark, New King James Version. Devotion from Valerius Herberger, Timetable of The Lord's Passion, translated by Matthew Carver. Ebook which contains this devotion is for sale on Lulu - https://www.lulu.com/shop/matthew-carver/timetable-of-the-lords-passion/ebook/product-r5v85n.html?q=herberger&page=1&pageSize=4

The devil loves to work in secret. His attack against Jesus at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in the temptation in the wilderness was in secret, out alone with no one around. That is part of the temptation – no one is around, certainly no one else will know. There is no one there to correct a wrong, no one who can call you out, no one to put you to public shame. When the devil can’t come against...

Kings come up all over this discussion between Jesus and the Jews, although they use different words for them. 

You could answer, well – it was only a test! Yes it was a test, but Abraham could not know that. Just like you don’t know the outcome of whatever you are going through in your life, but must trust in God to guide with His Word. Abraham knew that God promised that this son, his only son, Isaac, would be the father of a great nation. He also knew that God wanted him to sacrifice the boy. There could...