Sermons from St. Paul Lutheran Church, Westerville, Ohio

What does it mean to be a disciple? How is possible that God would consider me worthy of such a calling? Jesus calls the fishermen to follow him, and through their story, we find home and encouragement to follow faithfully, as they did.

Calls come when you least expect them sometimes. Calls when you are eating dinner...calls when you are just sitting down after a long day.In this sermon, Pastor Aaron speaks to the call of Samuel and what it means to listen and respond when God calls.

Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. As Jesus comes up out of the waters of baptism, the heavens are torn apart, and the Spirit descends upon him. The same promised Spirit comes to us in baptism as well - it is all about what God is doing - God desires to come to us, be close to us, and establish a relationship that will last forever. Jesus changes everything!

In this Christmas Eve sermon, Pastor Layne talks about how a baby changes so many things: from the way you dress, how much (or less) you sleep, to how long it takes you to get ready to go somewhere. A baby changes everything.The child of Christmas, however, changes more than simply your lifestyle. When you make room for Jesus, He changes your life.

The "fight or flight response" is our body's primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival.When Mary, the soon to be mother of Jesus, saw an angel from the Lord who asked her, on behalf of God, to be the mother of our Lord, there is a good chance Mary's "fight or flight" response kicked in at first. But God's message was able to cut through that fear so that she could hear the good news of the coming Messiah. God is still breaking through to us today, in the midst of our fear.

Have you ever been told "You're not doing it right?" Is it more important to do the right thing or do it the right way? John the Baptist is questioned by the religious leaders about what he is doing, and by what authority he is doing it. John responds by pointing to the one who comes after him - the Light of the World. He may not do it in a way that seems right, but it does seem right for him to do! As we prepare for the coming of Christ, may our focus be on the one coming.

Do you ever notice that some people seem to have the Christmas spirit and others just can’t seem to get in the mood? Which one are you? Are you the person that goes around singing Christmas carols, always feeling warm and fuzzy? Or, are you just aggravated that the Christmas season is just too overwhelming?How can we all get into the Spirit? Click play.

Happy New Year! As we begin a new church year on this First Sunday of Advent, we hear again the good news that Christ WILL come again. The beginning of a new year is often a time when we look back on where we have been and look forward to where we are going. SO I pose two questions in today's sermon - where are we going, and where are we now.

It was a privilege to have past M.I.C. student, now Senior at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Travis Wilson preach for us at this Thanksgiving Eve worship service.It can be tough, especially this time of year to put worry, wants, and anxiety aside and focus on the blessings of God. Travis does a wonderful job with this sermon and we hope it will be a blessing to you just as it was on that night.

We start sorting things out from a very young age with toys we like and don't like to Halloween candy to jobs and so on. Every day we sort...something.Today, on this Christ the King Sunday Jesus tells us a story about sorting sheep and goats. What does this mean? Click play to find out!