St. Paul's Lockport Sermons

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.

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 months ago when you made them. The longer you keep them, the more you will realize that you have to change, that marriage in Christ is forming you into the person that God wants you to be.

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.

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 come into the world. One of those who would be born of the woman would defeat Satan, crush the serpent's head. The woman participates in this first gospel that by her work, the Savior would come who delivers us from the kingdom of the enemy with a marvelous victory.

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 on the last day.

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 his gracious Word and sacraments.

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.

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.

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.

Sermon for Holy Monday with the Passion According to St. MarkWhat were the disciples expecting when they went to Gethsemane? An ascension like Elijah? A conquest like David? They certainly were not spiritually prepared. This is why Christ must go to the cross for sinners, to take our sin, and give His strength and life.

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.

We face many dangers in this world, even from other people. If God had not been on our side, we would never be able to overcome temptation or oppression from man. Thanks be to God, our help is in the name of the Lord, the name we are given in our baptism.

"Assuredly I say to you, if anyone keeps My Words, he will never see death." This word enrages Christ's enemies, but is sweet comfort to those who trust in Him. For we will all face death, but in Christ, we do not face it alone, nor forever.

Who is the Christ? When the man born blind is healed, no one is allowed to say. If the leaders of the Jews had read Psalm 132 rightly, they would have seen Jesus. Jesus is the true Son of God, who now makes His place in the Zion of the church, where people gather to receive His Word and Sacrament.

Laetare, the fourth Sunday in Lent, is a day of refreshment before Passion Week and Holy Week. On this day, as we consider Christ's miraculous feeding in the wilderness, we realize that we have physical and spiritual needs which can only be fulfilled by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures talk about life as consisting in Two Ways - the Way of Life and the Way of Death. We are brought into the Way of Life by Christ in baptism, and He keeps us solid and secure in that Way by His grace. Psalm 125 is a pray that we would say in that way and never fall away or into hypocrisy.

When Gabriel comes to the virgin Mary and announces the good news that she will bear a Son, everything changed. It was the beginning of God's big reversal of the curse. It was the beginning of our salvation, and the end of the devil.

There are two ways of looking at the Christian life. One is to make it like a hobby, a trinket, a small compartment which fits and molds to the greater part of your life. The other is to see the Christian faith as making you a new person, who is now separate from the life you had before. St. Paul tells us about the latter in Ephesians 5.

We continue our study of the Psalms of Ascent with Psalm 128, which speaks of the blessings for the man who fears the Lord and walks in His ways. Joseph, known as a "just" man, was one such man. Even though being Christ's guardian he faced many difficulties, he is an example of faith, fear of the Lord, and walking in his ways.

Reminiscere means "remember" and on this second Sunday in Lent we want God to remember us as we also remember that He is our only sure help. With the example of the Canaanite woman, we see what it looks like to cling to Christ as one's only help with strong faith. The Psalm of Ascent for today, Psalm 121, teaches to call on God as our only, sure and eternal Help.

Our second sermon on the Psalms of Ascent is on Psalm 131. Psalm 131 tells us to be calmed and at rest in soul like a weaned child with his mother. This comes from the soul being in a state of humility before God. God Himself grants that this may come to us by His grace.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, faced every temptation and conquered the devil in our place. In our baptism, we have become sons of God. When we are tempted, we are being asked to abandon the good inheritance we already possess. The Lord's Supper is here to strengthen us to hold onto that inheritance.

Psalms of Ascent - Psalm 130 - Our first sermon on Psalms of Ascent for lent midweek services. Psalm 130 is a cry for mercy from the depths of sin. Although we are like watchmen trying to keep our eyes open waiting for morning, we know that soon the sun will rise. Our trust in the hope of the promises of God is even greater.

Quinquagesima, fifty days before Easter, Jesus tells his disciples clearly that he is going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. The disciples do not understand, but a blind man sees clearly who Jesus is. Let us be like the blind man, calling out, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Sexagesima Sunday is about sixty days from Easter. As we get nearer to Lent, our Lord teaches us in the Parable of the Sower how faith is created, the dangers to faith in this life, and how to persevere in faith to produce much fruit.

Septuagesima begins Pre-Lent, 70 days before Easter. As we enter pre-lent, we refresh our minds and souls toward what is really important, repentance and forgiveness of sins, faith and its fruit. Here we see by Daniel's example how to redeem the time even when we find we have wasted it.

We can apply this in a similar way with our faith, it is hidden, but it is not secret. Christianity is not a religion of secrets. As we see, once Christ rose from the dead, everything is told. When people join our church, they are not being initiated into something secret. We have here a public worship service where everyone is welcome. We teach publicly the Small Catechism and the Scriptures. This is what all pastors are to teach both in public and private. There is no levels, no extra bonus paid subscriptions.

So when Simeon sees this little baby, it's not just that he's cute. Simeon takes the child in his arms and blesses God and sings this song “Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace…my own eyes have seen you salvation.” Simeon is saying “I can depart, I can die, because I have seen Jesus. I have seen the one who is going to save us all. I'm done, there is nothing more I need.” That is what Frank is confessing today at this funeral. 

Second, we see Joseph and Mary's faith in that they were always diligent in worship. We might think of the Jews as a people who universally observed all of God's laws, but that was not the case at all. Especially in the north in Galilee, where the holy family lived, there was known to be a general lax attitude when it came to religion. Mary and Joseph don't let their distance, their poverty, or the danger keep them from following God's commands and receiving His promises in the temple. How much more for us, who don't have to go far, who can get to church quite easily and are relatively wealthy in comparison? How much more for us, we who have the completion of all God's promises in His Son, Jesus Christ?

So if this is what Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ, says our pastors should be, we should hold him to it. Hold me to it. God has called me not to be Lord over you, but to lead you by example in teaching and life. If that doesn't happen, the pastor has no right to be there. 

But Jesus always saves the best for last. This is the miracle that looks forward to the greatest miracle. In Jesus' death and resurrection, He takes on our sin and guilt, and pays the punishment for us. As He is crucified and all of God's wrath is upon Him, He continues to be the innocent Son of God. Then He rises from the dead on the third day, Sunday, the day of new creation. 

. For Jesus, all the world has set up as His enemy. He has come as a king into a world that hates Him. He comes as the light into a world that loves darkness. But Jesus does not fight against flesh and blood. He is not anointed to conquer all sinners, captured them, and sentence them to death. He is anointed to save flesh and blood sinners whom He loves from the true enemies – sin, death, and the devil.

Herod is not particularly religious. He feigns being Jewish, but isn't. He has no piety at all, or interest in the scripture. He hires people to do that for him. But Herod must deal with the fact of this king of the Jews being born. It is not something which is left for theologians to debate, but is right there, affecting his very livelihood and life. Epiphany shows us that a light has come into the darkness of the world. Jesus Christ is that light that shines in the darkness. When a light shines in the darkness either you come near to it, or you hate it and run into the shadows. You either embrace the light or wish everything to still be covered. Epiphany means that all must reckon with the fact of this light, Jesus Christ, shining in the darkness of the world and the darkness of our hearts. Epiphany means there is ONE religion, and everyone must deal with that fact, whether to love it or hate it.

For Christ to come in humility, he relates to every struggle of the humble. He isn't some powerful king who doesn't know what it's like to be poor or despised. He knows what it is like to be hated, pursued, and cursed. All this He does out of love for us. When we face difficulty, mourning, or feel ignored or lonely, our Lord Jesus Christ is with us. He died and rose again to be with us through those times. He has redeemed us from them and promises ultimate good on the other side.

The twenty-fifth day of December. In the five thousand one hundred and ninety-ninth year of the creation of the world from the time when God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth; the two thousand nine hundred and fifty-seventh year after the flood; the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham; the one thousand five hundred and tenth year from Moses and the going forth of the people of Israel from Egypt; the one thousand and thirty-second year from David's being anointed king; in the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome; the forty second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus; the whole world being at peace, in the sixth age of the world, Jesus Christ the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and nine months having passed since his conception, was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary, being made flesh. The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

The story of Christmas is a message, a sign, and a response. 

I hope you are familiar with A Christmas Carol, the short novel, by Charles Dickens, or have at least seen an adaptation of it on TV (the muppet one is the best). If not, to sum up, a wicked man named Scrooge is visited by three ghosts at Christmas to show him how wicked he has been, the last one, the ghost of Christmas yet to come, even showing him his death, which no one mourns.This chapter of Nahum is the ghost of Christmas yet to come visiting the city of Nineveh, except unlike Scrooge, there will be no repentance, no chance of return. But like Scrooge, Nineveh cared nothing for any other people, only it enrich and empower itself. 

Remember, though, that in prison, John was encouraged by the word of God. And Jesus also sends himself to you by word and sacrament to encourage you. You have a Savior who has died for you and risen from the grave. We can be sad, we can mourn, but we always have hope. Never despair, because Jesus Christ remains with you. Without him, Christmas season is empty of meaning anyway. With him, even a Christmas alone is never truly alone. As the introit today says, rejoice!

The good thing is that your marriage is not based on your feelings or your moods. You fortress is not built on feeling or even your actions. “With might of ours could naught be done, soon were our loss effected.” By coming here, having your marriage blessed by God, you are showing to all of us that the fortress of your marriage is built on Jesus Christ and his Word. “But for us fights the valiant one, whom God himself elected. Ask ye who is this? Jesus Christ it is.”

What hope would we have without this holy sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood? Our Lord came in His first Advent, born of Mary, before he departed gave us this holy meal. We have a taste of His presence with us as we await for His return. We can say that wherever and whenever we live, we are entering that continuity between the Last Supper in the Upper Room on Maundy Thursday and the Final Wedding Feast of the Lamb when Christ returns in Glory. Of these two feast, Christ promises to continue to give us a bite, so we can press on in this world which is filled with despair. 

At the time Nahum prophesies, no one would ever think that Nineveh would fall. But this is exactly the message of Nahum. It is not Nineveh, or any great city, that rules heaven and earth, but God. This means two things: (1) Those who continue in wickedness will be judged by God and fall. (2) Yet at His essence, God is merciful and loving, and a fortress to even the weak who trust in Him.

To wake up is to realize that our imagination should picture and desire the things of God. To remember where God has answered prayer. Or the peace that comes with receiving forgiveness in the Supper or confession of sins. The strength that comes from bearing one another's burdens as Christians. When we turn our desire to these things, when we will find true joy.

True thanksgiving means contentment is not found in things, or accomplishments, or anything else. That is idolatry. Whether it is about how much we have, how little we have, or how medium amount we have. Contentment which leads to true thanksgiving has no relation to what we have at all. It is realizing that above all else, God has provided for us and will continue to provide. And that only God provides.