Sermons – St. John's Lutheran Church of Highland

Today our Gospel lesson isn’t an easy one. As people were speaking about how beautiful the temple was, Jesus shocks them by declaring that there would come a day when the stones of the temple would all be rubble and unfortunately the news that Jesus shares with them after that about what else will take […]

Today we find in our Gospel lesson that the people of Jesus’ time were curious about what heaven is like, just as many people today are. While we don’t have all the answers, we know what is important: just as we were blessed to be in community with others here on earth in this life, […]

We celebrate the saints this day who have gone before us, knowing what a blessing they were to our lives. But we also celebrate the fact that we are simultaneously saints and sinners, and that we have been blessed with the gift of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. May we always keep a faith perspective […]

Today we pause and consider the fact that we truly are slaves to sin because we are human and not perfect, and that through God’s great love for us we are freed from that burden as Christ hung on the cross. By His great sacrifice, the Son has made us free, so we are free […]

In our Gospel reading for today we hear the parable of the unjust judge. We too have an unjust judge of our lives because we have a loving God who hears our cries and comes to our help as Christ unjustly hung on the cross for us. Thanks be to God for this loving gift […]

In our story for today, Jesus says to the one leper who came back to give thanks, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Through Jesus’ words we realize that the man is well not because his physical ailment was healed but because his faith allowed him to give […]

In this Gospel lesson we learn that faith isn’t always about understanding everything or even trusting that everything is true. Instead faith is about action – about living out your call to serve just because those things need doing, and Jesus reminds us that we have all the faith we need. May we be so […]

Our parable for today reminds us is that it is not only important for our eyes to be open to our neighbors around us, but to go so far as being loving keepers of our brothers and sisters, because we have been convinced to do so by Christ raising from the dead. Luke 16:19-31

God calls leaders in the church to not only understand the treasure that is God’s grace, but also utilize that treasure to transform the people they serve and the communities in which they serve. On the occasion of Pastor Smail’s installation, this homily offers everyone an opportunity to consider what a blessing it is to […]

Today we hear a story of a man who was suddenly faced with an ending, as he had squandered his employer’s property and was being fired, so he summoned his employer’s debtors and cut their bills, showing them grace so that he might also know grace from them in the days ahead. We too have […]