Sermons | Living Hope and Christ the King ELCA Lutheran Churches

Happy Pentecost! As we celebrate the birthday of the church, this week's message from Pastor Daniel Flucke looks at three aspects of the Holy Spirit's Pentecost work: The Holy Spirit fills the church. The Holy Spirit sends us. And the Holy Spirit goes with us. Those promises are as true today as ever. Receive the Holy Spirit!

This week’s readings are John 20:19-23, Psalm 104:24-33, 1 Corinthians 12:3-13, and Acts 2:1-21.

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 we celebrate the Ascension of Jesus, the moment when the risen Christ departs from the disciples and commissions them for the work ahead. Although we mention Jesus’ Ascension each time we say the Apostle’s Creed together, it’s one of those parts of Jesus’ story we often gloss over. What do we do with this strange, awkward, almost unbelievable story?

This sermon from Pastor Daniel Flucke explores what this story says about where God is now, what it means for the church to be the Body of Christ, and why the disciples are told to stop staring into the sky and get to work! Today's Scripture readings are Acts 1:1-11, Psalm 68:1-10, and John 17:1-11. The text of today's sermon is available at https://danielflucke.com/ascension-commissioning/.

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/. 

Many people imagine God as a distant heavenly being watching from afar. But as Christians, we believe in a God who refuses to stay distant. God insists on coming into the world. God wants to be involved in our lives. God is personal and knowable, hearing and answering our prayers. As Jesus promises in today's reading, even though he himself is no longer physically walking around in our world, we have not been left orphaned. The Holy Spirit is God present with us, God’s breath blowing through the world. 

Today’s Scripture readings are Acts 17:22-31, Psalm 66:13-20, and John 14:15-21. You can watch the video referenced in the sermon of Derek Redmond's race in Barcelona from 1992 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynhD-vq2DUE.

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/. 

What does faithful Christian witness look like? Stephen is remembered as the first Christian martyr, but his death is only part of his legacy. Today’s sermon explores Stephen’s story as an example of how the Gospel is proclaimed in both word and deed. Along the way, we look at how the early church’s ministry of compassion became a powerful witness to the world around them.

Today’s Scripture readings are Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 14-16; and John 14:1-14. The text of this sermon is posted at https://danielflucke.com/stephens-witness/.

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 last week's sermon, we met Jonah, a reluctant prophet given a tough assignment. Although he ran away from God's call, God refused to give up on him. We left Jonah in the belly of a big fish.

This Sunday, we hear the rest of Jonah's story, focusing on chapters three and four. It’s a great story about a shockingly successful sermon to some really terrible people, and a powerful object lesson from God about forgiveness and grace.

Additional readings for this Sunday are Jonah 2; Psalm 86:3-9, 15; and Matthew 12:38-42. The text of this sermon is posted at https://danielflucke.com/jonah-unfair-grace/.

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/. 

For the next two weeks, we're exploring the book of Jonah. Today's message on Jonah 1 introduces us to a reluctant prophet given a tough assignment. Listen along as Pastor Daniel Flucke explores themes of sin, forgiveness, and faith in Jonah 1, and look for the rest of the story next week as we get to the point of Jonah's story in chapters 3 & 4.

Additional readings for this Sunday are Acts 2:14a,36-41; Psalm 16; and Matthew 28:16-20.

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 welcome a special guest, Pastor Larry Harpster to Living Hope & Christ the King. He is the mission developer pastor for Milwaukee Wild Church, a new worshiping committee in our synod. If you’ve ever said, “I feel closest to God when I’m out in nature,” marveled at the peace and stillness of a forest, or been awed by the beauty of a sunset, you won’t want to miss his message. Wild Church meets outside in nature, and Pastor Harpster shares his passion for Christian nature spirituality, assisted by our own Leslie Brawn.

Today's Scripture readings are Joel 2:21-27, Psalm 96, and Matthew 6:25-34.

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/. 

Alleluia! Christ is risen! And the good news of Jesus' resurrection changes everything. Sorrow and grief are transformed into joy and hope! Because he lives, death no longer gets the last word. The grave is empty, and a new creation has begun. Good news! Happy Easter!

Our Scripture readings for this Easter Sunday are Colossians 3:1-4; Psalm 118:1, 14-24; and the resurrection story in Matthew 28:1-10.

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/. 

Tonight we wrap up our midweek community Lenten worship series "Tell Me Something Good" with a profound story of the forgiveness and grace Jesus offers. When the religious leaders drag before Jesus a woman caught in adultery, he refuses to condemn her, instead pointing out their hypocrisy and choosing to offer grace, mercy, and forgiveness to her.

The Scripture readings for tonight's Lenten service are Matthew 7:1-5, Psalm 130, Matthew 23:1-7, 23-24, and the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:2-11. 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/. 

Have you ever wondered why God takes so long to act? In this Sunday’s Gospel story, Jesus hears his friend Lazarus is sick—and then waits two days before going to him. By the time he arrives, it seems too late. Lazarus is dead. No wonder the people say, “Lord, if you had been here…” Sometimes faith sounds like frustration.

The good news is that Jesus doesn’t turn away from those questions. Instead, Jesus weeps with the grieving family. And then he calls Lazarus out of the tomb, back to life. This week we wrestle with the hard questions of faith and are reminded of the hope of resurrection. 

The Scripture readings for this fifth Sunday in Lent are Psalm 130, and John 11:1-45. 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/.