Palos Lutheran Church

People tend to feel a lot of pressure this time of year. We want our houses to look good for out-of-town guests. We want to impress people with the thoughfulness of our gifts. What a welcome relief, therefore, to hear what is required to meet the Lord: only repentance. You see, Jesus is not someone we need to impress with our good works. Indeed, repentance is the opposite of work. Repentance is the humble admission of our sin combined with the joyful trust that everything needed to bring us close to God has already been done by him. Sermon is from Luke 3:1-6

What would it be like to meet God? We know he is almighty and holy. He loathes sin. No wonder that when God appears to his Old Testament people, their first response is typically terror. But when Jesus Christ came into our world, he hid his glory and power. He humbled himself so that sinners would be drawn to him rather than driven away in fear.

Sometimes it's hard to be thankful. We know we can be thankful for the  blessings in our life, but what about the sorrows? Sometimes it's hard  to be thankful. Tonight, we hear the Apostle Paul's secret to being  thankful in all circumstances. The sermon is taken from Philippians 4:10-13.

What do Ramesses II, Alexander the Great, & Genghis Kahn have in  common? Besides being great rulers in their time, all of them are dead.  The same can be said for every other ruler out there...except one. The  one we call Christ the King. Listen to Pastor Rieke remind us what  Christ accomplished as king, and why that can give us grace and peace.  The sermon is taken from Revelation 1:4-8.

Ben Franklin once said, the only sure things in life are death and  taxes. Today in our sermon, Pastor Rieke reminds us of not one, not two,  but four certainties there are in this life. These certainties don't  come from our observations of the world around us, but from the  absolutely reliable Word of God. The sermon message is from Hebrews 9:24-28.

504 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis (or discussion points)  on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, which was the spark  that started the Lutheran Reformation. But the Reformation is more than a  splitting of Christian denominations, but a reminder of the reformation  that needs to go on in our hearts daily. Using a pottery object lesson  from Jeremiah 18, Pastor Rieke reminds us of the potter's greatest  desire.

Jesus says that the way of a Christian is different. It's not that  Christians should act different, it's that Christians do act different.  Listen to Pastor Rieke's sermon describing this difference in how we  view the world when it comes to glory and when it comes to service.  Sermon is taken from Mark 10:35-45.

Why does the Bible talk so much about money? It's not because God needs  your money. It's not because the Church needs your money. It's because  God knows how easily money can become an idol in our life. In Pastor  Rieke's sermon from 2 Kings 5, he shows us God's power to transform a  greed for material wealth into a greed for spiritual wealth.

Why think about other's before yourself? Why should wives submit to  their husbands? Why should husbands love their wives like Christ loved  the church? Why should children obey their parents? Why should parents  not exasperate their children? We see the reason why in Ephesians 5.  Because Christ gave himself up for us.

God's gifts are so generous to people. Yet, how often do we rejoice in  the blessings of others, compared to envying those blessings? In Pastor  Rieke's sermon this week, he reminds us that envy has been around a long  time, and he also reminds us of God's solution to envy. This sermon is  taken from Mark 9:38-50)