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

Don't worry! (Even if you have anxiety!)

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on September 28, 2025 for Trinity 15. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: Don't Worry!

Text: Matthew 6:24-34

24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.

25“For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27“Which of you can add a single moment to his lifespan by worrying? 28Why do you worry about clothing? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin, 29but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not clothe you even more, you of little faith?

31“So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32For the unbelievers chase after all these things. Certainly your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Mt 6:24–34.

We are so blessed! With that blessing, comes a warning not to forgot God, but to receive his gifts with thanksgiving.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on September 21, 2025 for Trinity 14. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: When You Eat and Are Full, Praise God

Text: Deuteronomy 8:10-18

10Then you will eat, and you will be filled, and you will praise the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you. 11Be very careful so that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping his commandments and ordinances and his statutes that I am commanding you today. 12When you eat and are satisfied, and you build nice houses and move into them, 13and your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold increase, and everything that you have prospers, 14watch out so that your heart does not become arrogant and forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. 15Do not forget the LORD, who led you in the great and terrifying wilderness, where there were venomous snakes and scorpions, where the thirsty ground had no water, but the LORD made water come out of a flint rock for you. 16Do not forget the LORD, who in the wilderness fed you manna, which your fathers had not known before, to humble you and to test you so that it would be good for you later on.

17You might say in your heart, “My ability and the power of my hand have earned this wealth for me.” 18But then you are to remember that the LORD your God is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth, to confirm his covenant that he promised to your fathers with an oath, as he does to this day.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Dt 8:10–18.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on September 14, 2025 for Trinity 13. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: The Questions Love Asks

Text: Luke 10:25-37

25Just then, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26“What is written in the law?” he asked him. “What do you read there?”

27He replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself.”

28He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”

29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. He fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31It just so happened that a priest was going down that way. But when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32In the same way, a Levite also happened to go there, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 33A Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was. When he saw him, he felt sorry for the man. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He put him on his own animal, took him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day, when he left, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him. Whatever extra you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”

37“The one who showed mercy to him,” he replied.

Then Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 10:25–37.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on September 7, 2025 for Trinity 12. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: How Do We Tell Our Kids?

Text: Psalm 78

Psalm 78:1–11, 57–61, 65–72

1Give ear, O my people,to my instruction.
Turn your ear to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth to share a lesson.
I will speak about puzzling problems from long ago,
3things we have heard and known,
things our fathers have told us.

4We will not hide themfrom their descendants.
We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders that he has done.
5He set up testimony for Jacob.
In Israel he established the law.
He commanded our fathers to make it known to their children.
6Then the next generation would know it,
even the children not yet born.
They would rise up and tell their children.
7Then they would put their confidence in God,
and they would not forget the deeds of God,
but they would keep his commands.
8Then they would not be like their fathers,
a stubborn, rebellious generation,
a generation that did not keep their hearts steadfast,
whose spirits were not faithful to God.

9The tribe of Ephraim,equipped and armed with bows,
       deserted on the day of battle.
10They did not keep God's covenant,
and they refused to walk in his law.
11They forgot his deeds, the wonders he had shown to them.

57Yes, they turnedaside and were treacherous like their fathers.
They were as undependable as a crooked bow.
58Then they angered him with their high places,
and they made him jealous with their idols.

59God heard, and heshowed his anger.
He completely rejected Israel.
60So he abandoned his dwelling in Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelled among people.
61So he sent the symbol of his strength away into captivity.
He gave his splendor into the hand of the foe.

65Then the Lord awokelike someone who has been sleeping,
like a warrior overcome by wine.
66Then he drove back his foes.
He gave them everlasting shame.

67Then he rejected thetent of Joseph,
and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68But he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69Then he built up his sanctuary like the heights,
like the world that he established for all time.

70Then he chose Davidhis servant
and took him from the sheep pens.
71He brought him from following the mother sheep
       to shepherd his people Jacob
       and his possession Israel.
72So he shepherded them with a sincere heart,
and with skillful hands he led them.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 31, 2025 for Trinity 11. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: Not I, But God's Grace (For Me, and With Me)

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:1-10

Brothers, I am going to call your attention to the gospel that I preached to you. You received it, and you took your stand on it. 2You are also being saved by that gospel that was expressed in the words I preached to you, if you keep your hold on it—unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

6After that he appeared to over five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, he appeared also to me, the stillborn child, so to speak. 9For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God’s church. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not ineffective. On the contrary, I worked more than all of them (and yet it wasn’t my doing, but it was the grace of God, which was with me, that did it).

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), 1 Co 15:1–10.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 24, 2025 for Trinity 10. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: The Other Time Jesus Wept

1. He wept over future destruction

2. He confronted current destruction

Text: Luke 19:41-48

41As he came near, he saw the city and wept over it. 42He said, “If you, yes you, had only known on this day the things that would bring peace to you. But now, it is hidden from your eyes. 43In fact, the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. 44Within your walls, they will dash you and your children to the ground. And within your walls, they will not leave one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time when God came to help you.”

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 19:41–44.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 17, 2025 for Trinity 9. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: How to Get Ahead in Life

1. Be Like "That Guy" 2. Be Better than "That Guy"

Text: Luke 16:1-9

Jesus also said to his disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager who was accused of wasting his possessions. 2The rich man called him in and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.’ 3“The manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, since my master is taking away the management position from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my position as manager, people will receive me into their houses.’ 5“He called each one of his master’s debtors to him. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He said, ‘Six hundred gallons of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write three hundred.’ 7Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘Six hundred bushels of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and write four hundred and eighty.’ 8“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the children of the light are. 9I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon, so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.
Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 16:1–9.

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 10, 2025 for Trinity 8. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: Watch Our for False Prophets!

1. They are Dangerous 2. They can be Recognized

Text: Matthew 7:15-23

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? 17So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Mt 7:15–23.

"Six Godly Habits" is a course recorded to continue learning for students who completed our Bible Basics Class at Mt Olive. This is Godly Habit #5: Confessing Christ

These videos/recordings are Pastor Buelow's summaries and thoughts based on the book "Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey" by William Weedon. It can be found here: https://www.cph.org/thank-praise-serve-and-obey-recover-the-joys-of-piety?srsltid=AfmBOopaLJkXIdUgz21x1TycN6pvxcB01T3SHFX5U5fqvBc-J-WVOe9k

Concordia Publishing House and Pastor Weedon have also produced a high quality online Bible study based on his book, available on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOkt9R5uUwg

Sermon preached by Pastor David Scharf, Professor of Theology at Martin Luther College. Preached at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on August 3, 2025 for MLC Sunday. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Theme: The Reason Jesus Heals You

Text: Luke 4:38-44

38Jesus got up, left the synagogue, and went into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever. They asked him to help her. 39He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. 40As the sun was setting, they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases. He laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41Demons also came out of many people, crying out, “You are the Son of God!” He rebuked them and did not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. 42When it was day, he went out to a deserted place. The crowds were looking for him. They went up to him and were trying to prevent him from leaving them. 43But he told them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is why I was sent.” 44And he continued to preach in the synagogues in the land of the Jews.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Lk 4:38–44.