St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

Sermon for Populus Zion, the second Sunday in Advent Christ describes the end as not a winter, but the end of winter, the beginning of spring leading into summer. What we experience now is the winter, even with all the marvelous gifts God has given us in this life, he has an eternal summer of even more gifts to bestow on us in the life to come.

Sermon for Advent Midweek Service on St. Nicholas' Day What if our work here was not for us just to get the prize, like gifts from Santa, but to be the work of Jesus Christ in the world. That was what St. Nicholas thought that He was supposed to do. That is what we as Christians are really being a part of. We are the vanguard of the new world, established by Jesus cross and resurrection and contin...

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent - Ad Te Levavi You think it’s kind of weird how everyone acts at the triumphal entry? Here we have Jesus coming in on a donkey, and everyone is partying, shouting, people throwing cloaks and branches on the ground. What is the true Christian expectation and preparation for Christmas? Prepare for Christmas by recognizing our need for a righteous King. Jeremiah’...

Sermon for the Last Sunday of the Church Year Thinking about the End of the World is not just a Christian thing. All sorts of people postulate an end all the time. They set forth their own prophecies, and because it is scientific or not put in religious language we don’t think to compare it to what God says in scripture. In the Cold War, the popular description of the end was a huge nuclear war be...

Sermon for Thanksgiving Day “IT’S MY MONEY AND I WANT IT NOW!” This is essentially what the man who calls out to Jesus is asking when he asks Jesus to help them divide his inheritance. It was the kind of thing Moses had to do all the time, so much that his father in law finally convinced him to delegate some of the authority. But Jesus says, who set me up to be your judge, and money-divider? Jesus...

Sermon for the Second Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 26) St. Peter describes the Last Day and gives a diagnostic in a way about how we look at it and what our response should be. I.               Scoffers mock the last day. II.               Weak Christians fear the last day because they value earthly things over God and do not trust God’s love. III.               True Christians look for...

The end times are a popular source of discussion among Christians. In America in the last 150 years or so, there has been a lot of speculation and interpretation about the end times. You can get these huge confusing charts that purport to interpret every prophecy in the Bible. But the stress of this can cause a lot of fear, not knowing, what do we need to know? Are we keeping up on current events...

Sermon for All Saints Day. THE STATE OF BELIEVERS BETWEEN DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION I.               They are safe in God’s hand, dwelling with Christ in Paradise II.               They are not in any way interacting with this world III.               They are anticipating the great day of Christ’s Return with us

Sermon for Reformation. Luther wrote, “O Lord Look Down From Heaven Behold” inspired by this psalm. It was sung in the town of Lubeck by a poor blind man, and when the town council heart it, favoring the papal cause, they banned him from the town. Then in St. James church the next Sunday, the preacher began to pray for the dead, as was custom, and two young boys began to sing this, followed by the...

God never wants us to doubt what he says. He is always sincere in His gospel call. Gospel reading and Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity.

We never want to use alien faith in a way that assures people in their sin, falsely. But alien faith is a wonderful use and assurance for those of us who believe. Christ recognizes alien faith. He recognizes your prayers and intercessions for your loved ones. He is hearing you and he wants you to keep holding on. He shows it right here in the gospel with these men who bring the paralytic.

Zedekiah feared the opinion of powerful men rather than God. He did not love God with all his mind, but put fear as a priority over that love, and so did not defend his family either, loving his neighbor less than himself. This common way of life exemplified by Zedekiah, a son of David, was why Jeremiah preached that Jerusalem would be destroyed and Judah would go into exile.

Christ’s humility demonstrates three important things – the hatred of the world for the lowly, the example of his love we are to follow, and the way He won salvation for those who never asked.

We are able to continue with the daily death to sin and rising to repentance because we trust in the promise of the final resurrection. Without knowing that this promise is true, we would be like those who don’t believe in any resurrection -let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. We hold to resurrection to eternal life by faith.

Worry and walking in the Spirit are opposed to one another. One cannot be overcome by worry and also be walking in the Spirit.

Jesus says, “truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Note that Jesus says “Truly truly I say to you.” This means it is something that Jesus really wants to get across, really wants everyone to pay attention to. This is not some side comment but something essential. Jesus g...

Christ only draws all people to himself as the crucified one. Preached at NID Circuit S17 Winkel

Everyone wants the fruits of the Spirit.

Have you ever gone to one of those u-pick blueberry farms?

Jesus heals many people throughout His ministry, but reading the healing can seem kind of shallow. It’s like a getting a “wish you were here” postcard from someone on vacation. Good for you, but this only makes me feel worse that I’m still stuck here at work. So what is the promise for you in this healing that Jesus does for this deaf and mute man? By this healing, Jesus is concretely declaring th...

Let not your hearts be troubled. Jesus says, Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

You have probably been told at times to repent. You probably understand that the Christian life is one of repentance, or you have heard that said. Maybe you understand that we are saved by Jesus, by grace through faith alone, and not by works. Yet you also know that repentance fits in there somewhere. The action of changing your mind, living in a different way than you did before. After all, that’...

Expending resources, wisdom, and energy toward eternal rewards is the best investment.

Guest sermon by Rev. Richard Bellas

Guest preacher - Rev. Richard Bellas