Sermons | Living Hope and Christ the King ELCA Lutheran Churches

This Sunday, we enter the season of Advent. Our Advent theme this year is “Grace-Filled Beginnings” and over these next four weeks, we’ll be exploring the significance of God’s grace in our lives as we prepare for the birth of Jesus, who is love and grace incarnate.

This week, our focus is “God’s Grace is for Us.” In the busyness of the holiday season, it’s easy to forget what it is we’re getting ready to celebrate. The miracle of Christmas—and thus, the point of Advent—is that God chooses to come and live among God’s people. When the days seem short and the nights long, when life feels disjointed and chaotic, we hold on to the hope of Advent: Christ is coming. 

Today's Scripture readings are Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25:1-10, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, and Luke 21:25-36.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

This week's worship service is a bit different than usual. On this final Sunday of the church calendar, our service walks through each liturgical season, reflecting on God's presence with us in all parts of life. The service was a mixture of lessons, reflections, and hymns, but I've re-recorded just the reflections and lessons for you, our podcast listeners.

Today's Scripture readings are Luke 3:1-6, Luke 2:1-7, Isaiah 60:1-5, John 12:12-16, Mark 15:15b-20, 37-39, 46-47; John 20:11-18, Acts 2:1-4, Luke 10:29-37, and Matthew 25:31-40 

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

This Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 13 has Jesus making some gloomy-sounding predictions about the future. Buildings will be destroyed, nations will rise against nations, there will be famines, earthquakes, and similar apocalyptic happenings. It's a scary prophecy to hear and think about!

But Jesus doesn't say these things simply to scare his disciples. He says it to encourage them—and us. All those struggles are real. We shouldn't be surprised, because if you look at the world around us, we're experiencing the things Jesus predicted. And not just now, as if this is finally the end times, but for all of human history. Suffering and disaster are not new phenomena.

Jesus makes a promise: Apocalyptic disasters are not the end. Suffering is not the end. Something better is coming: God's kingdom. We are given the promise of new life, life with Jesus that begins now and continues for all eternity. And in the disasters and catastrophes and suffering of this world, Jesus is with us. This is a word of hope!

Today's Scripture readings are Hebrews 10:11-25, Psalm 16, and Mark 13:1-8.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

November is often a month focused on giving and gratitude, and this Sunday offers what appears to be the perfect opening to talk about stewardship: The story in Mark 12:38-44 of a poor widow putting her last two cents into the temple offering. And yet, there’s more going on in this story than meets the eye. 

Rather than a simple invitation for us to give more, Jesus calls us in this story to ask some tough questions about who we are as a church and even as a society. This sermon wrestles with our call as followers of Jesus to stand up for the poor, the marginalized, and those society overlooks—and our complicity as part of that same society.

Today's Scripture readings are 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 146, and Mark 12:38-44.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

On All Saints Sunday, we remember and honor all those who have preceded us on the journey of faith. Our Scripture readings call us to focus on the central command that unites us as God's people, the command to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

This command and the basic confession that Jesus is Lord are what unite us with the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. Together as a church, we build on their legacy of faith. 

Today's Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Psalm 119:1-8, & Mark 12:28-34.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

This Sunday, we had the joy of confirming six youth as they affirmed their baptisms. Each of them selected a confirmation verse they found meaningful, so the sermon touches on each of their verses as well as the story of Martin Luther and the Reformation.

Today's Scripture readings are Romans 3:19-28, Psalm 46, and Mark 10:46-52.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

This message is pretty brief, as it's really just an introduction to showing the congregations a video recapping Lighthouse Youth Ministry's summer service trip. You can watch the trip video at LighthouseYouth.org.

Today's Scripture readings are James 5:13-20, Psalm 19:7-14, and Mark 9:38-50.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

In this fifth and final week of our "PRAY Like Jesus" series, we're focusing on listening to God. Prayer is meant to be talking with God, not just talking to God. How do we hear God's voice and discern God's will?

Today's Scripture readings are Proverbs 2:1-8, Psalm 119:97-106, and John 10:1-10, 27-30.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

This is week four of our series, "PRAY Like Jesus" looking at the Lord's Prayer, and today's theme is yielding to God in prayer.

While God does answer our prayers, sometimes the response isn’t a simple “Yes.” Praying for God’s will to be done might mean accepting that our will won’t be done.

Today's Scripture readings are Proverbs 3:1-8, Psalm 85, and John 15:1-8.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.

Today's theme is asking in prayer. Asking is a tricky subject, because God is not a vending machine. Just because we ask for something doesn’t mean God will give us everything we want. At the same time, Jesus tells us God delights in giving gifts to God’s children, and God invites us to bring all our cares and concerns in prayer.

Today's Scripture readings are Philippians 4:4-7, Psalm 86:1-10, and Luke 11:1-13.

Learn more about Christ the King Lutheran Church in Port Washington and Living Hope Lutheran in Saukville, Wisconsin at https://www.livinghopesaukville.org/ or https://ctkport.org/.