Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church

Gospel: Matthew 15:10-28

Description: When Jesus encounters a bothersome Canaanite woman while traveling, he responds in a way that seems out of character for him. How we make peace with that tells us something about how we make sense of Jesus as both a human being and the Son of God.

Gospel: Matthew 14:22-33

Description: Peter makes a questionable move when he sees Jesus walking across the water. But Jesus is already there, ready to grab his arm and rescue him. Wherever Jesus is, there is calm amidst a storm.

Pastor Beth Ann swimming as a child:

Gospel:  Matthew 14:13-21

Description: Jesus feeds the crowd.  Even in the midst of his own grief, he doesn’t send them away hungry.  With all the hunger and collective trauma we are going through, Pastor Krista suggests we all deserve to brought a casserole.

Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Description: God’s rescue mission (aka the kingdom of heaven) is found in the little things that grow into big things where all are cared for and included in God’s family.  When God reveals it to us, we respond by going all in. 

Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

What’s more powerful than a frontal attack? Getting your enemy to destroy itself from within. Listen to Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, and why we should let God worry about the final harvest (instead of us).

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Time for a soil test! Which kind are you today…the beaten down path, the shallow-depth kind, the crowded, weedy sort, or the ready-to-grow kind?

To see a 48-row planter in action, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfxGd4p9hcY

Sermon Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

As Christians, we are yoked to Christ in our baptisms. Just like two animals can be yoked together to pull a heavy load, we don’t have to carry the heavy load of life alone, when we lean into Christ’s strength.

Pastor Krista’s Ordination October 31, 2010. She’s wearing the red stole her mom made for her that is mentioned in the sermon. From left to right- Pastor Jason Chesnut (friend from seminary), Pastor Frank Hanrahan (home pastor), Pastor Krista and Bishop Gary Wollersheim, former bishop of the Northern Illinois Synod.