St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

In three parables, Jesus shows himself to be the one who seeks and saves the lost. All who love Jesus and love the Father rejoice in what God rejoices in. Only the older brother does not rejoice. Every Christian must realize that he is a prodigal, received by the Father, and rejoice in what the Father rejoices in as his brothers are saved the same way in the forgiveness won by Jesus Christ.

Mary's Magnificat is an example of faith in thanksgiving that the Lord would turn his face to her, a humble virgin deserving of nothing, and lift her to be the mother of her Lord.

The church is founded on the confession of Peter and the apostles, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." To be apostolic is to be built on that Word of God.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus shows us that only the Word of God, Moses and prophets can bring people to faith. Miracles, even resurrection, without the Word do not create belief. A good life does not mean the person will be grateful to God and believe, nor does a bad life mean God has forgotten us. If we want to be carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom when we die, we must only trust i...

Holy Trinity comes at the end of the festival part of the church year, as we look back on everything that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have done for our salvation. With St. Paul, we take a moment to bask in the glory of how much the working of the Holy Trinity is beyond us. How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! Today, and every day, we submit our reason to and increase o...

The solution was found as the bishops searched the scriptures and openly debated the question. They did not allow things to be glossed over with such an important issue. Thanks to their determination to work through the conflict and stick to the scriptures, the vast majority came up with the first version of the Nicene Creed. Biblical doctrine held out, that, as we confessed just a minute ago, Jes...

Man creates a false tower based on false ideology to reach heaven and make a name for himself. God comes down and confuses speech and tongue. God comes down again to become man in Jesus Christ. Now by the power of Holy Spirit, Christ comes to us and makes His home with us. This is our foundation and strong tower, the strength of our homes.

As the disciples came down from the mountain of Ascension, they had two prayers. They prayed that Christ would send the promised Helper who proceeds from the Father. They prayed, "Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus." The church still prays for these things today.

Jesus, God and man, in His ascension makes a wonderful completion and prepares and even better future.

Christians do not have a promise of an easy life, that is not our joy. Asking and receiving is the key to joy in this life.

This is what the Lord says. Let’s go back to the plant. There are many wrong ways to grow a plant. There are many ways that a plant can die. God has created a plant to grow in a certain way. We do best when we follow that way. In fact, your marriage, in Christ, forms you to be a different person, a better person than you were before. You understand more about your vows now than you did a few month...

Jesus gives the living water of the Holy Spirit. Come to Him and drink. Come to Him for comfort and salvation. Though God has angry with you, that anger is turned away. The God of salvation will open many and manifold sources of salvation for you – in the coming of the Holy Spirit – the giving of the Word and Sacraments

We cannot separate the curse of the woman in childbearing from the promise that comes from her seed. When God cursed the serpent, He also said “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Although the woman would have pain in childbearing there was a promise even more than just the joy of a new human being...

Today we remember that Stuart was already made new, and will be made new on the last day. At his baptism, he received forgiveness of sins and new life by the Holy Spirit. God made Stuart new, changed his heart, so he could trust and believe in Jesus Christ as his savior. And as that faith endured in Stuart’s life, he is with Christ now, safe in his Savior’s arms, and will be raised from the dead o...

This is Good Shepherd Sunday - Christ has laid His life down for His sheep, and His sheep hear His voice. As sheep of our Good Shepherd, we learn that we should follow Christ, in what respects we should follow Him, why we should follow Him, and in what manner we follow Him.

In the gospel account we read the witness of Jesus' resurrection to the church. In giving the Holy Spirit to the disciples to forgive and bind sins, Jesus also witnesses His resurrection life by the church. We are in fact more blessed than Thomas and the ten as we do not see yet believe.

Preached for meeting of Northern Illinois Confessional Lutherans. Jesus , who conquers death and Leviathan, is recognized in provision and fruitfulness.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Easter is the greatest holiday in the church year, even greater than Christmas, because while you only remember the Nativity of Christ, you participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ today.

Dear Christian, as you look back on your life, what has made you the happiest? Of all the people you’ve met, for whom are you most grateful? Thing that made your happiest is you were called into God’s House, the House of Lord, the church of the living God. You are most grateful to have known those people who called you to be one of the people with whom the God of all grace dwells and lives through...

The Psalms are the prayerbook of the church. They are the songs which Jesus sang about the history of Israel as He went to worship in the temple at the festivals for 33 years. They are the words which Jesus clung to as He went to His crucifixion. As baptized into His death and resurrection, we the church can cling to these same words as well, trusting in the faithfulness of the Crucified One.

In all the passion accounts of Jesus Christ, He does not only die, but suffers, and not only suffer, but take mocking and spite in the midst of His suffering. This is for our good, as the devil, through sinful men, exhausts all his hatred upon Christ and thus through Christ's bearing of this hatred we may be redeemed and freed.

What is the Lord's Supper? What are it's benefits? How do we rightly receive it? For this, we must look to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed." Christ shows especially in Luke the nature of His kingdom as upside down from the world. The disciples argue about who is the greatest. Pilate and Herod plot against Jesus. But Jesus comes as One Who Serves.

We see from Judas that those who oppose Jesus act as if love is a zero-sum game, there are winners are losers. Jesus' complete self-giving shows that the one who is lifted up, who goes into the earth and dies, bears enough fruit for the entire world.

Jesus goes to His cross as it is written. Nothing in His passion takes him by surprise. Just as He showed the disciples He knew where the donkey's colt would be, He knew that He must be delivered over to the Gentiles, suffer, be crucified, and on the third day rise.