Concordia Sermons

Luke 17:11-19 11 Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When He saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

King Jehoshaphat has a vast army arrayed against him. Before he goes to battle, Israel thanks God ahead of time for what He will do. We usually thank God in response to something. But how does thankfulness become so ingrained in us that we thank God before something - even something that looks threatening and menacing?

Jesus has given us our community – the city of San Antonio – to bless! Will we let our light shine to transform our community with the love of Christ?

Faith is the gift that allows us to follow Jesus! But how do we manage our faith? Do we simply regard it as an internal state of our heart, or something that flows from our heart in our actions that blesses those around us? One of the way that we can grow our faith and manage it well, and bless those around us, is in how we steward our financial resources.

Jesus has given us incredible forgiveness at an incredible price – the price of His very life. He asks that we manage that forgiveness by extending it to others.

Jesus is the One who has given us our wealth! Yet, too often, we hoard our wealth instead of being generous. Jesus explores in this parable how generosity is the key to good money management.

One of the reasons so many people struggle in silence is because they believe they're the only one and that others would not understand – or, worse, judge them – if they ever found out what they were going through. The preacher of Hebrews reminds us that we always have someone who understands – Jesus – and we can bring Him anything.

When something bad happens, it can be easy to let that bad thing become all-consuming. It becomes the filter through which we see our whole lives. The book of Lamentations was written during a tough time in Israel's history – when they were in exile in Babylon. Although the author does not minimize his agony, he also does not totalize it. This awful situation is not the whole story. There is hope in God.

Have you ever made someone your “project”? You think you can fix them, change them, or, perhaps, even save them? Paul reminds us that at the same time we may try to change someone, they are also potentially changing us. He encourages us, then, to choose our relationships wisely and reminds us that the deepest change comes through Christ.

When life gets challenging, it can be tempting to give up. We can be tempted to quit everything from our jobs to our relationships to even our very lives. Jesus encourages perseverance by telling a story about a woman who goes through terribly trying times. He also reminds us that our strength to continue comes from God through prayer.

Last weekend, we talked about how sometimes we don't feel as if we're enough. This weekend focuses on how we often think we don't have enough. “If I just had more money or more time or more energy or more whatever, life would be great!” When Paul writes to the Philippians, he speaks of his concern of not having enough, but also trusts fully that God will provide everything he needs.

“I'm not enough” is an interesting lie we tell ourselves because it's not totally untrue. We do fall short of being enough because we are sinful. Yet, God's Son Jesus is enough and redeems us from our sin to make us whole – to make us enough. Isaiah's call from God is a beautiful picture of how God makes people enough.

Right before Joshua dies, he invites the Israelites to serve the Lord, knowing they will not be able to. In their pride, the Israelites claim they will be able to serve Him. The next book of the Bible – Judges – tells us otherwise. Humility is the key to spiritual growth. How have we fallen short serving the Lord? Out of His grace, God continually invites us to try serving Him again.

As Joshua nears the end of his life, he reflects on how he has been merely a steward of God's Word and ways. It is God's Word that lasts. When we get to the end of our lives, will we have spent our lives with an eye toward what lasts?

A man named Caleb has been waiting for years to receive an inheritance first promised to him by Moses. But rather than becoming bitter because of the wait, he is grateful for his inheritance, no matter how long it might have taken him to receive it. What good things will come to us when we are willing to wait?

Though the Israelites win many battles in Joshua, it is ultimately God who gives them the victory. He is powerful not just against enemies, but over all creation. When we face battles we cannot win, who will we entrust ourselves to?

When we tell lies, we will eventually be told lies by others. In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites resort to a ruse to keep from being conquered by the Israelites. When we are lied to, how will we respond?

When we tell lies, we will eventually be told lies by others. In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites resort to a ruse to keep from being conquered by the Israelites. When we are lied to, how will we respond?

Each year our middle school and high school students serve on a mission trip in order to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, and to be a blessing to others in His name. Even as the focus is on serving others, our youth return home excited and encouraged, and end up being blessed and served more than they could've imagined.

After the Israelites conquer Jericho, one of them, Achan, steals some of its plunder. God sees what has happened and punishes all of Israel by allowing them to lose their next battle against Ai. The lies we tell always hurt others. We are called to be people of the truth.

When Joshua fights the battle of Jericho, before he fights, he waits. He takes six days to march around the city with trumpets. It is only after giving the residents a chance of Jericho to repent does God decide to destroy the city. God was patient with Jericho and He is patient with us. Will we use His patience as an opportunity to repent of sin?

As Joshua and the Israelites are preparing to march on Jericho, they send some spies to the city to do some reconnaissance work. A foreigner named Rahab helps them and is blessed for doing so. This reminds us that God's promises and God's work are not just for certain people, but for all people.

As Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan into the Promised Land, the Jordan splits so the Israelites can cross over – just as it did years before when the Israelites passed through the Red Sea. In commemoration of God's work, Joshua instructs that a monument be built. We are to remember God's work in our past, too, and perhaps even memorialize it in a monument, but what God has done is meant to spur us on toward the mission of what will yet do.

"Passing the Test of the Past" The book of Joshua opens with a recap of Israel's wandering through the wilderness. In this message, we'll recap the Pentateuch and discover how our past can both warn us and teach us.

Pastors Tucker and McIntosh answer your faith-related questions!

Pastors Tucker and McIntosh answer your faith-related questions!

Pastors Tucker and McIntosh answer your faith-related questions!

When we pray and a prayer goes seemingly unanswered, our faith can be rocked. In this message, we consider how God answers our prayers.

One of the primary criticisms of Christianity is that people believe it degrades women. But the Scriptures and history paint a different picture. This is a faith where all people find dignity as God's creations and as children of God in Christ.

There are many reasons that a good God may allow suffering in our lives. Sometimes, it is to train us. Other times, it is to call us to repentance. In every instance, God uses our suffering to ultimately bless us, even if we can't immediately see it.

Scandals involving hypocrisy have left a bad mark on the integrity of the Church. Living with integrity is paramount in our witness to Christ. Everyone is a hypocrite in one way or another, but rather than hiding this, we must confess it and repent of it.

Aren't Christians being exclusive when they claim that only Christ is the way to salvation? Claiming that all paths lead to the same God is itself an exclusive claim because it excludes those faiths that claim differently. Every claim is, in some sense, exclusive. So, we must discern which claims are true.

It is often assumed that either Christianity or science is true and that the Scriptures reject rational, scientific inquiry. In truth, the Scriptures invite it because they assert that there is a rational God who created a rational universe that we can joyfully investigate.

People want to know about the “weird” Bible verses, especially in the Old Testament – the ones against mixing fabrics and eating shellfish. Do we not take such verses seriously? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus invites us to see all Scripture as fulfilled and interpreted through Him.

Karl Marx famously said, “Religion is the opiate of the masses.” He saw faith as nothing more than a crutch for the weak to deal with the vicissitudes of life. The reality is that Christianity is, in some ways, a crutch – one that we all need, because we're not as strong as we'd like to think we are. But it is also more than just a therapeutic crutch. It is a divine reality.

When the women see a man dressed in white in Jesus' empty tomb, he invites them, “See the place where they laid Him.” When Jesus died, hope was laid to rest. But then hope got up again. Is there any hope you have laid to rest? How can Jesus' resurrection give your lost hope new life?

When Peter and John first go to Jesus' tomb, they do not understand what they are really seeing. They still do not understand that Jesus was to rise from the dead. So, in verse 10, they go back to where they are staying. When we truly understand what happened at Easter, there is no going back. Easter changes our lives because it changes our eternities. What burden, addiction, or sin are you going back to that Easter can free you from?

As the Passover approaches, Jesus' disciples want to make preparations for this most sacred meal. What they find out, however, is that Jesus has already been making preparations. He already has a room reserved. This is the message of the gospel. Jesus already has taken care of the most important things in our lives – our lives, our sins, and our eternities. On Maundy Thursday, we celebrate a meal that is a tangible indication of what Jesus takes care of for us.

Today we remember how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and went public with the fact that He was the King that God's People were waiting for.

So often, we conceal the things we should reveal – like our sin in confession – and reveal the things we should conceal – like our righteous acts. Jesus invites us to give up boasting and do our best work in secret. These are the works that God honors.

We may not like to admit it, but sometimes, we are not only the victims of thorns, but the cause of thorns. We hurt others with our words and actions and, instead of bearing the fruit of righteousness, we wound others with our thorns of sin. Jesus invites us to repent of the times we have hurt others and speak and act in accordance with His Word.

It can be difficult to confess sin because it requires you to give up your pride. The Pharisee in Jesus' parable is proud, but it is the tax collector who confesses his sin who finds mercy.

We all have struggles. The apostle Paul was no exception as he struggled with “a thorn in his side.” Though we do not know specifically what Paul's struggle was, his call to lean on God's grace when we struggle with sin or the effects of sin is the best way to address the thorns that afflict us.

As we celebrate service at Concordia, we remember that Jesus came to serve us. Jesus gave up His rights and privileges to be served and instead took up a towel to serve us. He invites us to do the same for others.

Because we live in a sinful world, there are thorns all around us that can try us and even tempt us to lose our faith. In a world that is thorny, Jesus invites us to have tender hearts that allow His Word to take root in our lives.

The Sabbath was a day to give up work so people could take up rest. Sadly, the religious leaders turned the gift of rest into a burden. Jesus invites His followers to experience the Sabbath as a gift rather than a requirement.

Before the Israelites enter the Promised Land, God tries to give them guidance on how to live in their future homeland so they do not fall into the thorny traps of the pagan nations currently living there. But the Israelites do not listen. How can we better heed the warnings of sinful traps that lie ahead so we avoid needless thorns?

In Matthew 4, Jesus spends 40 days fasting. The discipline of fasting – giving up food – can help us take up spiritual control. When we can tame our physical appetites, we can better endure spiritual temptations.

When Adam and Eve fall into sin, part of the curse God places on Adam in punishment for his sin is that his work will become, quite literally, thorny. There will be thorns for Adam. This sounds grim. Yet, the answer to Adam's thorns are more thorns – a crown of thorns twisted on Jesus' head.

Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar are a family who breaks each other's hearts. But even in the midst of pain and betrayal, God is giving them a new start. How can God give us a new start even when we struggle and suffer with a broken heart?

Because every human relationship is between two sinners, offenses will happen. Adam and Eve sinned against God, but also against each other – especially when Adam blames Eve for feeding him some forbidden fruit. Yet, Adam and Eve stayed together. How do we stay together when we hurt or are hurt by each other? The answer lies in how God stays with us – through forgiveness.