Sermons – St. John's Lutheran Church of Highland

Using the story of the Prodigal Son (Waiting Father, Jealous Brother), the preacher invites the hearer to seriously consider the scribes and Pharisees’ concern: “Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners and welcome them?” Luke 15

Today we hear the parable of the fig tree in Luke, where the owner of the fig tree wants to cut it down because it has not produced any fruit in three years, but the gardener advocating on its behalf and asks for one more year of nurturing to see if it will respond. As […]

Using Jesus description of Herod as a fox, and Jesus’ own self Identity as a hen sheltering her brood, this sermon invites the hearer into a lenten journey with Jesus mission to Jerusalem Luke 13:31-35

In our Gospel for today we hear that it is the Spirit who leads Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism where he is tempted by the devil for forty days. It could have been easy for him to question why the Spirit led him there and begin to doubt that the Spirit had his […]

For 190 years on this mountain in the North Hills, the Lord has prepared a feast for all peoples. Today is Miracle Sunday where an ingathering of funds to secure our future, on this mountain, will rain down upon us… And the Lord God will wipe away all tears from our eyes! Isaiah 25: 6-9

When we consider our reading from Luke for today, Jesus is challenging us to go outside our comfort zones for the sake of the Gospel. We are called to love, do good, bless, and pray, not just selectively, but generously, with all those we know and even those we don’t know, so that our world […]

Using the texts from Jeremiah and the first Psalm, we discover our authentic selves in the waters of baptism. For 190 years St. John’s has been rooted in God’s baptismal covenant! Jeremiah 17:5-10, Psalm 1

“Today in our Gospel reading we hear of some fisherman who want nothing but to catch some fish, and yet they have caught nothing. But after Jesus has them let their nets down one more time, they have the catch of their dreams and it becomes a life changing, perspective altering, experience for these fisherman, […]

Like most in the scriptures, Jeremiah’s reaction to God’s call is one of unworthiness or feeling of insignificance. Sound familiar to you? Included in this homily is the preacher’s sharing of his call to retirement! Jeremiah 1:4-10

Today we hear a story about Jesus reading Isaiah in the synagogue and telling those present that the scripture was fulfilled in their hearing that day. What we begin to realize in Jesus is that by his presence with us we know good news in the midst of our poverty, we are free even if […]