Mt Olive Lincoln: Lutheran Sermons and Teaching in the Christian Faith

Does God Help Those Who Help Themselves?

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow on March 15, 2026 at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE for the fourth Sunday in Lent.

This sermon explores the dangers behind that phrase and how God operates entirely on a system of free grace which enables us to live freely for him.

Sermon text: Galatians 4:21-31

21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you really listening to the law? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the free woman. 23However, the son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born through a promise. 24These things can be used as an illustration; namely, the women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery. This is Hagar. 25You see, this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and she corresponds to present-day Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is in slavery along with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free. She is our mother. 27For it is written:

Rejoice, barren woman who does not give birth. Break forth and shout for joy, woman who does not suffer birth pains, because the barren woman has more children than does the woman who has a husband.

28Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of the promise. 29But just as back then the one who was born according to the flesh persecuted the one who was born according to the Spirit, so this is also the case now. 30But what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son, because the son of the slave woman will certainly not receive the inheritance with the son of the free woman.” 31For this same reason, brothers, we are not children of a slave woman, but of the free woman

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Ga 4:21–31.

The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth

Lent devotion preached by Pastor Joel Vogel at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE for a midweek service on March 12, 2026.

Don't Leave Out a Word

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow on March 8, 2026 at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE for the third Sunday in Lent.

This sermon explores the importance of sharing God's Word faithfully, the dangers of holding back, and how Jesus and Jeremiah exemplify boldness in proclaiming God's message. It emphasizes the power of God's Word to transform lives and the need for believers to be courageous in sharing it.

Sermon text: Jeremiah 26:1-15

 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, the following word came from the LORD.

2This is what the LORD says. Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s house, and speak to people from the cities and towns of Judah who have come to worship at the House of the LORD. Tell them everything I have commanded you to tell them. Do not hold back a single word. 3Maybe they will listen, and everyone will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring about the disaster that I was planning because of the evil things they have done.

4You are also to say this to him.

This is what the LORD says. If you will not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, 5and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (but you have not listened), 6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make the name of this city a curse word for all the nations of the earth.

7The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened as Jeremiah spoke these words at the House of the LORD. 8When Jeremiah had finished saying everything the LORD had commanded him to say to all the people, then the priests, the prophets, and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! 9Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will be like Shiloh and that this city will be desolate with no one living here?” All the people crowded around Jeremiah in the House of the LORD.

10When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they came up from the king’s house to the House of the LORD and sat in the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD’s house.

11Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, “This man deserves the sentence of death because he has been prophesying against this city, as you heard with your own ears.”

12Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, “The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the things that you have heard. 13Now reform your ways and your actions, and obey the LORD your God. Then the LORD will relent and not bring about the disaster he has pronounced against you. 14But as for me, look, I am in your hands. Do with me whatever seems good and right in your eyes. 15But you can be certain of this. If you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live here, for it is true that the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Je 26:1–15.

The Struck Sheep Gathers the Scattered Sheep

Lenten devotion preached by Pastor Julius Buelow on March 4, 2026 at Mt Olive, Lincoln NE.

Pray for the Crumbs

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow for Lent 2 at Mt Olive Lutheran in Lincoln, NE on March 1st, 2026.

Sermon text: Matthew 15:21-28

21Jesus left that place and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22There a Canaanite woman from that territory came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! A demon is severely tormenting my daughter!”

23But he did not answer her a word.

His disciples came and pleaded, “Send her away, because she keeps crying out after us.”

24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25But she came and knelt in front of him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

26He answered her, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to their little dogs.”

27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet their little dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

28Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! It will be done for you, just as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at that very hour.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Mt 15:21–28

AI Summary: The conversation explores the themes of faith, prayer, and persistence. It delves into the story of the Canaanite woman and her unwavering faith, highlighting the importance of humility and praying for others. It also highlights how Jesus' persistently reached out to us and prayed for us in perfect faith to save us.

Takeaways

• Pray with humility
• Pray for others

What Is Jesus Worth to You?

Sermon preached by Pastor Joel Vogel at Mt Olive on February 25, 2026.

Text: Zechariah 11:7-13

7So I shepherded the flock which is to be slaughtered, especially the most afflicted of the flock. I took two staffs for myself. One I called Favor and the other Union. Then I shepherded the flock. 8I removed three shepherds in one month. I grew very impatient with the flock, and they really detested me. 9So I said, “I will not shepherd you. Whatever is dying, let it die. Whatever is being destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

10I took my staff, Favor, and I broke it in two, to cancel my covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11So it was cancelled on that day, and the most miserable of the flock, who were watching me, knew that this was the word of the LORD.

12Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages. But if it does not, withhold them.” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver as my wages.

13Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter, this magnificent price at which they valued me.” So I took the thirty pieces of silver, and I threw them into the House of the LORD, to the potter.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Zec 11:7–13.

Things the First Christians Couldn't Do

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt Olive in Lincoln on the 1st Sunday in Lent, February 22, 2026.

Sermon text: Genesis 3:1-15

Now the serpent was more clever than any wild animal which the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3but not from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it. You shall not touch it, or else you will die.’ ”

4The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die. 5In fact, God knows that the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was appealing to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate. She gave some also to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7The eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for their waists. 8They heard the voice of the LORD God, who was walking around in the garden during the cooler part of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9The LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself.”

11God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”

12The man said, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13The LORD God said to the woman, “What have you done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14The LORD God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this,

you are cursed more than all the livestock,

and more than every wild animal.

You shall crawl on your belly,

and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15I will put hostility between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will crush your head,

and you will crush his heel.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Ge 3:1–15.

Why Repent?

Sermon preached at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE by Pastor Julius Buelow on February 18, 2016 for Ash Wednesday.

Sermon text: Zechariah 1:1-6

 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.

2The LORD was very angry with your forefathers. 3Therefore, now you are to tell this people that this is what the LORD of Armies says to them.

Return to me, declares the LORD of Armies, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Armies. 4Do not be like your forefathers, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed, “This is what the LORD of Armies says. Return, return from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”

But our forefathers did not listen, nor did they pay attention to me, declares the LORD. 5Your forefathers—where are they now? And those prophets—did they go on living indefinitely? 6But my words and my statutes, which I commanded to my servants the prophets, caught up with our forefathers, didn’t they?

Then they returned and said, “Because of our ways and our deeds, the LORD of Armies has done to us just as he planned to do to us.”

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Zec 1:1–6.

The Greatest Gift You Can Give

Sermon preached by Pastor Buelow on the last Sunday of Epiphany (Quinquagesima), February 15, 2026.

Text: 1 Corinthians 13

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and know all the mysteries and have all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3If I give away everything I own, and if I give up my body that I may be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not envy. It does not brag. It is not arrogant. 5It does not behave indecently. It is not selfish. It is not irritable. It does not keep a record of wrongs. 6It does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8Love never comes to an end. But if there are prophetic gifts, they will be done away with; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be done away with. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, 10but when that which is complete has come, that which is partial will be done away with. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. 12Now we see indirectly using a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I was fully known. 13So now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), 1 Co 13:1–13.

Which Self Do You Boast About?

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow on February 8, 2026 at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE, for Sexagesima (60 days before Easter).

Text: 2 Corinthians 11:19-12:9

19You gladly put up with fools, since you are just so wise! 20In fact, you put up with it if anyone makes you his slave, robs you, takes advantage of you, looks down on you, or strikes you in the face! 21I am ashamed to say that we were too weak for that!

However bold anyone might be (I am speaking in a foolish way), I am going to be bold too. 22Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s seed? So am I. 23Are they ministers of Christ? (I am speaking in a crazy way.) I am even more. I’ve done more hard work, been in prisons more often, been whipped far more, and I’ve been close to death many times. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods. One time I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day on the open sea. 26I have often been on journeys, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the wilderness, in danger on the sea, in danger among false brothers. 27I have worked hard and struggled. I’ve spent many sleepless nights. I’ve been hungry and thirsty. I’ve gone without food many times. I’ve been cold and lacked clothing.

28Besides those external matters, there is the daily pressure on me of my concern for all the churches. 29Who is weak without my being weak? Who falls into sin without my being distressed?

30If it is necessary that I boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is eternally blessed, knows that I am not lying. 32In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept the city of Damascus on alert to arrest me, 33but I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.

Carried Up to Paradise

12 I must go on boasting, although there is nothing to be gained. So I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, was carried up to the third heaven (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know—God knows). 3And I know that such a man (whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know—God knows) 4was carried up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words that a man cannot possibly speak. 5On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 6Indeed, if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from doing this, so that no one will think more highly of me than what he sees in me or hears from me.

7Therefore, to keep me from becoming arrogant due to the extraordinary nature of these revelations, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, so that I would not become arrogant. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that he would take it away from me. 9And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), 2 Co 11:19–12:9.