St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

Children imitate parents. If our baptism is to be born again, birth from above of water and spirit, as Jesus says in John chapter 3, then we become in baptism children of God. Since we are God’s children, we should live lives in imitation of Father. That is why Paul says “Be imitators of God as dear children.”

Jesus says, “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Phyllis heard the Word of God and believed in the Father who sent Jesus Christ. She already had been given everlasting life at that point. Now that promise of everlasting life even continues after her death. 

Jonah leaves himself in a place of complete helplessness and need. Here, in the dark belly of the fish, Jonah finds his place to pray. He finally prays. In that dark damp place Jonah finds that God hears him. God will not let him drown. At his lowest and darkest, from death and hell on earth, God was there. This finally moves Jonah to call on God in prayer.

He seeks their willing desire, as Christians, to walk and please God as he had already taught them, and in fact to do so more and more. After the catechism, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, there is really not more concepts to learn, but we come into the deeper knowledge of these things and of our own weaknesses. When Paul tells them “you know the commandments we gave you throug...

Think of yourself as a sailor, you are on a sinking ship in this world, your only hope is to appeal to the one who controls the storm, and who has given you a word of command. Pray with great reverence that you may be able to follow Him.

The heart of the devil’s temptation is for Christ to deny His Sonship to the Father. In a similar way, we are also tempted to deny the sonship we have received in baptism.

There is a temptation, a lie, that the devil will tell every Christian, that many of us in fact fall for again and again. He will tell us that repentance is something that is easy. He will convince us that we can sin, we don’t need to worry about sin, because we can always repent in the end. When we are in temptation and holding that decision in our mind, and know what we might do is sin, the devi...

Many of us have things in life we would like to do that we put off until it is easier. For some this can be the Christian life and its duties. We look at the parable of the soils and think that those who produce the fruit of faith must have an easy life with attacks of the devil, affliction, or temptations of the world. This is completely untrue, as Christ faced all these things, so must Christian...

Mark, Joseph, and baby Jesus appear to be just another poor Jewish family in the temple, giving the sacrifice for the dedication of the firstborn. Simeon, with the eyes of faith, sees in this six-week-old Jesus the coming King, and the suffering that He and His mother will face.

What is spiritual idleness? Refusing to do the work that is needed. Where do we find this work? In the Ten Commandments. Where is our spiritual job board? Look in your catechism at the table of duties. Not everyone who does physical work is doing spiritual work, but everyone who does spiritual work will be doing something physical, and in real time. 

He takes us to our own mount to be with him. Every communion is a heavenly mountaintop experience. But we are not alone. As Peter James and John were together so we come with other believers. We are strengthened in fellowship with one another as we are strengthened by His body and blood. We as strengthened as One Body under Christ, our Head.

What do you think about Jesus? Who do men say that He is? Who do you say that He is? In the beautiful climes of Caesarea Philippi, with snowy Mt. Hermon gazing down upon them, Jesus asks these questions of his disciples. They have been with Jesus for years. He healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the dead. He preached repentance and the coming of the kingdom of God. Thousands have followed...

If the Father speaks from heaven at the baptism of Jesus saying, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," then we should take these words to heart. This is an epiphany of Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, we would do well to worship Him. What He does follows the Father's will exactly, and we would do well to believe in and do what He does. It is imperative for us also to become belo...

This love He has for His mother and father is no less for all lost sinners. We don’t find Jesus in the place of our plans. We find Him in the place of the cross, because that is the place of His love for us. We must start at the cross where we see how serious our sin is, that it would cause this death. We see how great His love is, that He would do this for our life. And we do this not just once,...

The gifts of the wise men were just the first payment – tribute to a king who could not repay them back in gold or silver. But he pays with his own precious blood. He purchases and redeems us for His kingdom, and people from all over the world, in a way we never could. The Lord’s kingdom shall expand through the church and the preaching of the gospel to be the greatest in the world. Not in worldly...

What do we do with suffering? Suffering is a part of life. Since we live in a sinful world, we will never completely avoid suffering in this life. Yet the common wisdom is to just “avoid suffering.” That’s good enough as far as it goes, we certainly don’t want to try to suffer, do we? But what do we do when we must suffer? Matthew gives us a very good example with the early life of Jesus, and our...

Then let us also be all the more diligent to receive our inheritance. If you would resolve anything in the new year, resolve this. Resolve to live in the name and inheritance which you have been given. Put to death those sins which are foreign to who you are. Christ has already cut off those things by baptism, in the circumcision of your heart. Live honoring the name which you have been given, the...

In Revelation 14, God gives us an image of how He sees the church, with Christ, the Lamb, as it's strength and head. This is to comfort us, as the devil works through the sins of men to attack the saints and the innocent, and to strengthen us, a God redeems sinful men to protect and help the saints and innocent in both body and soul.

Jesus Christ, the baby in the manger, is the eternal Word, the source of all creation. He is the eternal Light, who enlightens the dark hearts of men to know God. He is the eternal tabernacle, who has sacrificed himself to redeem us, so that God may dwell with us.

To those who were at the birth of Christ, it appeared as nothing more than the birth of an ordinary child. To those who believed the preached word of God, this birth became something more more marvelous, the coming of the Savior, the Son of God.

The Israelites said they did not want God to talk to them on Mount Horeb, but Moses, a man, to speak for God. God said this was good. Moses prophesied a prophet like him would one day come from the midst of the Israelites, who spoke a new and greater Word of God - the gospel. This prophet is Jesus, the incarnate Son of God.

Ruth and Naomi find their hope fulfilled in the work of Boaz, their kinsman redeemer. Ruth bears Obed, who would be the ancestor of the great Redeemer born in Bethlehem, Emmanuel, Jesus Christ.

In a world where it seems like Jesus isn't ruling, where His church isn't very impressive, one can wonder - where is Jesus? How do we know if we have come to the right place? We need to trust his word that Jesus has called men in his church to be His servants and stewards of the mysteries of God.

"This is what happens for Christians who live in hope and faith. It shines through in good works. It was not just the works that Boaz saw, but the faithfulness of Ruth. He sees in her someone who has taken refuge under the wings of the Lord. Ruth is someone who trusts in God. She is not Israelite by birth, but is a true member of Israel, a true child of Abraham, in her trust in God. Likewise, trus...

When it comes to many things in scripture, we often try not to think about it. We stay on our little islands on the parts of the gospels we like, familiar Bible stories, comforting verses, and the 23rd Psalm. All these are good, but there is something for us in the roiling waves of the more perplexing and even scary parts of scripture. As Paul is telling us today in Romans, it all comes together i...