How Do You Know Your Faith Is Real? | Christ For You

Text: Luke 18:31–43 | Quinquagesima

Most people say they believe. They know the words. They know the stories. They know the Lutheran slogans. But what if you can be close to Jesus and still miss Him, like the disciples did? What is true, saving faith? What makes faith faith? And how do you know you actually have it?

Jesus answers on the road to Jerusalem. He tells the Twelve, with terrifying clarity, that He will suffer, be killed, and rise again, and they cannot “put it together.” They expect glory, not a cross. But a blind beggar sees what they don’t. He hears the promise, confesses Jesus as the Son of David, and cries out for mercy. That is saving faith: the heart’s confidence in God’s mercy for Christ’s sake, clinging to the crucified and risen Savior “for you.”

And the comfort is stronger than the doubt: Jesus still stops. He still hears the cry for mercy. He still gives what He promises through His Word, forgiveness, and His gifts. If you want to know whether your faith is real, don’t stare inward. Look to Christ where He has promised to be for you.

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Can We Lose Our Salvation? | Christ For You

Text: Luke 8:4–15 | The Parable of the Sower (Sexagesima & The Baptism of Gloria Kerstein)

Can a baptized Christian fall away?If faith can be lost, how does it happen?If Christ saves by His Word, what keeps you from drifting?And when you feel yourself slipping, where do you go?

Jesus answers with the Parable of the Sower. The seed is the Word of God, and the soils are hearers. Some lose the Word because the devil snatches it. Some believe for a while, then testing scorches what never sank deep. Some slowly suffocate as life, comfort, and a crowded calendar choke the Word out without a fight. The warning is real: salvation isn’t something you keep in your pocket while you live as if Christ doesn’t matter.

But the comfort is stronger: the Sower does not stop sowing. Christ keeps His people by giving what He promises, again and again, through preaching, forgiveness, and His gifts. This sermon was preached at the Baptism of Gloria Eve Kerstein, where God put His Name on her and gave her salvation. And the Church’s task is simple: keep bringing her, and you, back to the Word that saves and sustains.

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Why Isn’t God Fair? | Christ For You

Text: Matthew 20:1–16 | The Workers in the Vineyard (Septuagesima)

“Why isn’t God fair?” It’s one of the most common complaints people make about Christianity — and sometimes the quiet question Christians carry when life hurts. Jesus answers it with a story about workers in a vineyard, a grumbling crew, and a master who refuses to run His kingdom like a payroll office. The early workers want wages. The master gives gifts. And that difference changes everything.

This sermon exposes the dangerous assumption that God owes us for our faithfulness, our suffering, or our years in the Church. That’s Law. But then comes the Gospel: God does not deal with you on the basis of fairness, but mercy. Your standing with Him was settled not by your hours in the vineyard, but by Christ’s work on the cross. The “unfairness” of God is the very thing that saves you.

Here is the comfort: when you compare your life to others and wonder why theirs seems easier, Jesus points you away from the scoreboard and back to His generosity. At the end of the day, the wage is the same — forgiveness, resurrection, eternal life — not because you earned it, but because Christ did. What unbelief calls unfair, faith calls grace.

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Is Christianity A Man-Made Religion? | Galatians 1:11-24 | The Conversion of St. Paul

Who Is The Real Jesus? | Christ For You

Text: Mark 8:27–38 | The Confession of St. Peter

In a world that chants “Caesar is lord,” Jesus asks the question you can’t dodge: “Who do you say that I am?” Plenty of people will praise Jesus as a teacher, a prophet, a miracle-worker, as long as He stays safe and bloodless. But Jesus refuses that version of Him. Peter confesses the truth: “You are the Christ.” And then Jesus tells you what that confession really means: not glory without suffering, but a cross, first for Him, then for you.

This sermon drives it home: you can’t separate Jesus from His cross, because only the crucified Christ saves sinners. And that’s also where the comfort is: your peace isn’t your grip on Jesus, it’s His grip on you. When the world rejects you, when confession costs you, when death gets close, Christ’s wounds still say, “Paid,” and His resurrection still says, “You will rise.”

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You Don’t Understand The Bible? | Christ For You

Text: Luke 2:41–52 | Epiphany 1

Some parts of the Bible make immediate sense. Others won’t leave you alone because you can’t make sense of them. And life does the same thing: you pray, you try to do what’s right, and you still end up asking, “What is God doing?”

In Luke 2, even Mary and Joseph don’t understand Jesus. But Mary doesn’t quit. She treasures His words. This sermon draws the line between honest confusion that wants to be taught and stubborn rejection that refuses to listen. It also exposes the popular lie: “Jesus loves me, so it doesn’t matter what the Bible says.” Jesus’ love is not permission to ignore Jesus’ Word. It’s the reason you keep listening.

If you feel stuck, if Scripture confuses you, if you don’t understand why your life is going the way it is, this sermon is for you. You may not understand all things, but Jesus does. He knows your weakness and your sin better than you do. He kept the Law for you, shed His blood for you, and He treasures you in His heart. So you treasure His Word and cling to His promise that even what you can’t explain, He will still work for your good.

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What Does It Take To Die in Peace? | Christ For You

Text: Luke 2:22–40 | Christmas 1 & The Baptism of Luke Pirino

Simeon holds a forty-day-old baby and says something outrageous: “Now I can die in peace.” Why? Because salvation isn’t an idea or a feeling. Salvation has a face. Salvation is a Person. And Simeon is holding Him.

On Christmas 1, we see what Christmas really means: God puts salvation into a baby, small enough to be held and strong enough to hold you forever. And in Holy Baptism, that same Savior comes to you personally, by name, with forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and a future that ends in life.

If you fear death, if your conscience accuses you, if you find yourself doing spiritual math, this sermon is for you. You don’t depart in peace because you got your life together. You depart in peace because Christ got you.

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What’s The Most Christmassy Event? | Christ For You

Text: Matthew 2:13-18 | Holy Innocents 2025

Why would the Church make you hear about Herod’s slaughter right in the middle of Christmas? Why put blood on the floor while the lights are still up and the hymns are still sweet? What if this “least Christmassy” text actually tells you what Christmas really is?

Christmas does not happen in a safe world. It happens in this one. God moved in. The Son of God entered enemy territory in real flesh and blood, and the world greeted Him with a sword. And Herod is not just an “out there” problem. He exposes the crown we try to keep on our own heads.

But this sermon does not leave you in the darkness. Jesus came to take the world’s hatred into His own body, to atone for your sin, and to break death’s teeth. Herod doesn’t get to keep those children. The devil doesn’t get to keep what he takes. The grave doesn’t get the final word. As this year closes and a new one begins, you do not know what evils you will see, but you do know who reigns, and you do know where your future is.

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• Email: [email protected]

• Website: ZionWG.org

If this recording strengthened your faith, share it with others and leave a review. Your support helps more people hear the faithful preaching of Christ crucified and risen for you.

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