2024-11-10 – The Third Last Sunday in the Church Year – Sermon
The Third Last Sunday in the Church Year – Sunday 10 November A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 31:9a, 15b, 17a; 1–2a, 5, 24;74:4, 2a;46:4 ✠ Lection: Job 14:1–6;1 Thessalonians 4:13-18;Matthew 24:15-28 (Sermon by guest Pastor Rev. George Hansell. Transcribed by turboscribe.ai.) Grace, mercy, joy, and peace be multiplied unto you from God our Father and from our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text for our meditation this morning is taken from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, the fourth chapter, verses 13 through 18. Please hear these words once again. Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleepRead More →
2024-11-03 – All Saints – Sermon
Guest Pastor: Rev. Allen Lunneberg (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. With the approach of the closing chapters of the church year, our annual task of proclaiming the entire gospel of salvation today is given a standing ovation by the entire body of Christ. The whole church, throughout the world, of every time and every place, and as we say at the celebration of every Lord’s Supper, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. From Advent, through Christmas, Epiphany, through Lent and the great Holy Week, from Easter, throughRead More →
2024-10-27 – The Commemoration of the Reformation – Sermon
The Commemoration of the Reformation – Sunday 27 October A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 119:46;34:1-2, 11, 22;48:1, 12-13;48:14 ✠ Lection: Revelation 14:6-7;Romans 3:19-28;St. Matthew 11:12-15 (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In the revelation to Saint John, chapter 14, the apostle saw in his vision an angel flying in the midst of heaven. An angel, a messenger, bearing the message of God in the midst of heaven. The very place, if you look up to see the mid-heaven, the brightest place at which the sun shines at its midday. That is what the message thatRead More →
2024-10-20 – The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 20 October A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Esther 13:9-11; Psalm 119:1;90:1-2;125:1 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 25:6–9;Ephesians 6:10–17;St. John 4:46b–53 (Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. As the nobleman in John chapter 4 wisely goes up to Jesus to plead with him to come down, we too are wise to do the same, to ask the Lord to come down, especially when in the hour of deepest need. That is what prayer is, to ascend with our thoughts and our hearts to heaven, to the very throne of grace, to askRead More →
2024-10-13 – The Twentieth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians chapter 5, similarly to much throughout St. Paul’s epistle to the church in Ephesus, he gives us much contrast in his language that he uses, much contrast between two opposites through admonitions and exhortations, through warnings as well as encouragements to stand to hold. Consider his words through the lens of the gospel that you heard, through the parable of our dear Lord Jesus, for St. Paul is speaking in his letter not to unbelievers but to believers. Therefore he warns and encourages Christians asRead More →
2024-10-06 – The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, every present generation, in its present, bears the responsibility, yes, even the privilege, of establishing a godly legacy for those who follow. This means, of course, that life itself takes effort. Effort to cultivate joy it takes. It takes effort to grow stronger. It takes effort to stand firm. It’s only the flesh that wants to sit and to receive all good things without any effort, without putting anything forth to show the value of what is sought to be gained. Life also takes shared effort, meaningRead More →
2024-09-29 – St. Michael and All Angels – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Who is like God? Many Old Testament names, both of people and places, are actually confessions about who God is or what God has done in a certain place. If you see a name of a place or a person in the Old Testament that ends with the letters E-L, then it’s a confession or a statement or a question about God, about what he has done, about who he is. Names like Peniel, Bethel, Ezekiel, Daniel, or Michael, or as we would say, Michael. Michael isRead More →
2024-09-22 – The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One of the greatest tactics of the enemy in our day is distraction. Distraction by politics, distraction by TV, distraction by handheld screens, distraction by social media, distraction by jobs, distraction by entertainment, distraction by hobbies, distraction by leisure, distraction by on and on and on in a land with so great many things, the list surely is endless. From what have these things distracted us? We’ve become distracted from the table fellowship of Christ our Lord. Table fellowship can be understood in this way when IRead More →
2024-09-15 – The Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. This is what Psalm 116 says. So why then, if it’s precious in his sight, does Jesus reverse this? If this is his saint being carried out of Nain, why does he then raise him from the dead? We all have grieved over death coming very near to us, or we still do now. Most certainly, we will. This cannot be denied in this life that death does come near, both to us andRead More →
2024-09-08 – The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Let us not be like the Jews in John chapter 8 and assert that we have never been in bondage to everyone. For everybody this most certainly is not true, that we have not nor have we never been in bondage. We are all in bondage, in bondage to something or in bondage to someone. We are all slaves. We all serve a God. Even the atheists who deny that they serve a God, indeed whatever they look to for their happiness, their joy, their contentment, theirRead More →
2024-09-01 – Bible Study – Revelation – Part 21 – 5:11—6:2
Below is the engraving referenced in Bible Study today. (https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/dp/original/DP816773.jpg)Read More →
2024-08-25 – The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 25 August A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 74:20a, 21a, 22a, 23a;88:1 ✠ Lection: Leviticus 19:9-18;Galatians 3:16–22;St. Luke 10:23–37 (**Preached from an outline, so no manuscript is available to post. The transcript below was generated by turboscribe.ai**) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. A certain lawyer asked Jesus, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What shall you do to inherit eternal life? It’s a good question to ask, although in asking it, as the lawyer did, is slightly askew in thinking, what do I do to inherit eternal life? ButRead More →
2024-08-18 – The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 18 August A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 70:1-2a;70:2b, 4a, 5b;34:1-2;81:1 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 29:17–24;2 Corinthians 3:4-11;Mark 7:31-37 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Old Testament saints, those who before the first advent of Christ had faith in Him and His redeeming work as promised of old in the Garden of Eden, were given mighty words from the Lord as is testified to throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. Through the prophets, like Isaiah as we heard this morning, magnificent proclamations and prophecies filled with hope often came to their ears throughRead More →
2024-08-11 – Bible Study – Revelation – Part 18 – 5:1
The bottom middle panel in the image below is “The Adoration of the Lamb”, which was referenced in today’s class. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent_Altarpiece)Read More →
2024-07-21 – The Eighth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Eighth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 21 July A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 48:9-10; 1, 3, 11, 14;31:2b, 1a;78:1 ✠ Lection: Jeremiah 23:16–29;Romans 8:12–17;Matthew 7:15–23 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It’s never heard of for eyesight to naturally improve with age. As we all advance in years, such things deteriorate and most of us are bound to conclude this life under the same description as the patriarch Isaac when it is written that he was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. We do much to try to counterRead More →
2024-07-14 – The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Seventh Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 14 July A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 47:1, 47:3, 6-8;34:11, 5;59:1 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 62:6-12;Romans 6:19-23;St. Mark 8:1-9 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. From whence does your help come, all your help? Do you fear that the bounty, the provision, the health upon which you’ve grown to depend has or is depleting and you worry what shall you be able to do when certain conditions no longer exist for you in life? Indeed, challenges do come to us all, yet we are to trust not what we haveRead More →
2024-07-07 – The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Sixth Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 7 July A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 28:8-9; 28:1-2a, 7;90:13, 1-2b;31:1 ✠ Lection: Exodus 20:1-17;Romans 6:3-11;St. Matthew 5:20-26 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Blessed be God the Father for giving His children another day in His house where we might receive blessings from Him in His Divine Service, bestowing Christ upon us in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s Day affirms what we believe, teach, and confess as sacramental, Christ-centered, crucifix-focused Christians. We have plenty of other adjectives to boldly describe who we are, but theseRead More →
2024-06-16 – The Third Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Third Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 16 June A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 25:16, 18;25:1-2, 5, 15, 20;55:22, 16, 18a;18:1-2a ✠ Lection: Micah 7:18-20;1 Peter 5:6-11;St. Luke 15:1-10 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. The historic lectionary gives us the first two of three parables in Luke chapter 15, with the last being familiar even to unbelievers in our day. Many know and use the term prodigal son, but the real treasure in the story is the faithful Father. O, that we all had earthly fathers like the one in Luke 15! Not to pronounceRead More →
2024-06-09 – The Second Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The Second Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 9 June A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 18:18b-19;18:1-2a, 27, 30a;120:1-2;7:11 ✠ Lection: Proverbs 9:1-10;1 John 3:13-18;St. Luke 14:16-24 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. God has instituted a great supper that hasn’t changed over time. His grace is seen in bountiful food and drink set before us at home, at altar, yet we are fed by His hand in countless ways beyond what we chew and swallow and by what we gulp down. His grace abounds, but His forgiveness is given by specific means. When we see the imageRead More →
2024-06-02 – The First Sunday after Trinity – Sermon
The First Sunday after Trinity – Sunday 2 June A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 13:5-6;1-4;41:4, 1;7:1 ✠ Lection: Deuteronomy 6:4–13; 1 John 4:8b–21; St. Luke 16:19–31 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We love the here and now so much that the truth about heaven and hell don’t typically come to mind until death comes near to us; either in our own near pass to it or when a loved one’s death startles us to the impending reality that none of us live in this place forever. In those times, for passing moments at least, whatRead More →
2024-05-26 – Holy Trinity – Sermon
Holy Trinity – Sunday 26 May A✠D 2024 ✠ Psalmody: Psalm 8:1-2a, 3-5;Daniel 3:26 ✠ Lection: Isaiah 6:1-7;Romans 11:33-36;St. John 3:1-15 In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It’s an indescribable joy to be the one installed into the Office of the Holy Ministry, the Office instituted by God Himself, which is carried out in the lives of the Church by God the Holy Spirit Himself. The joy is immeasurable to have the honor and privilege of standing before you every Sunday morning, at the least, and beginning the Divine Service, His Divine Service of you, byRead More →