Sit Down to Stand Firm: A Sermon on 1 Peter 5:6-11

The Devil’s Work Undone | Martin Luther once said, “Where God built a church, there the devil would also build a chapel.” Satan and the other demons hate God. They demonstrate hatred by hurting those that God loves in any way they can. The epiphany Christ wants us to have is this: demons are real, they are plenteous, and they are dangerous. But Christ would also have us see that he is continually undoing the devil’s work. More, through his Word, Christ Jesus gives us the power to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith.

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God Speaks, Reality Results: A Sermon on Mark 1:21-28

Authority is the power to determine what happens, the ability to give direction or even commands. Authority is limited. Authority is limited in duration. Parents have authority over their children until they grow up and move out. Authority is limited in scope. A governor has authority over the people of his state only, not the neighboring state. Authority is limited by levels. A manager has authority over employees unless the company owner—a higher authority—demotes him. Authority is limited in duration and scope. It is limited by higher levels of authority.

This week we see that there is one man—only one!—who has absolute authority. There is no one, not even the demons, who is outside his authority. As the Son of God there is no higher authority than Jesus. And his authority is everlasting. But here is the best part of this epiphany: Jesus graciously uses his absolute authority for our benefit and blessing.

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Grace Given to Those Who Have Almost Lost Hope: A Sermon on Numbers 24:15-19

To whom does the work of salvation belong? Simple question. There is only one Savior. But this is how good Jesus is. So that our lives might have profound meaning and eternal purpose, he shares some of that work with us. He calls us not just to be followers, but to be follower-makers. Jesus asks some—pastors, missionaries, teachers—to do this full time. But ultimately Jesus asks all believers to serve as his ambassadors, sharing the gospel with whomever he brings into our sphere of influence. This lofty charge requires commitment—a willingness to abandon everything else should faithfulness require it. This is the life-changing revelation for this week. Jesus has committed us to a lofty charge: the privilege to play a role in his saving work.

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Bad News...Good News: A Sermon on John 14:1-11

Martin Luther once wrote that “A theologian of glory says that evil is good and good is evil. A theologian of the cross says that a thing is what it actually is.” Theologies of glory are approaches to Christianity and to life that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or else to defeat and move past them, rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. A theology of the cross, by contrast, accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or convert it. It looks directly into pain, and ‘calls a thing what it is’ instead of calling evil good and good evil. It identifies God as ‘hidden in the suffering’.

Even when we experience doubt, difficulty, and despair – even as we are following Jesus – we don’t need to “hope” for good luck, deny the bad news we hear, or try to defeat that which we do not enjoy. We have someone who did defeat everything bad for us on the cross. See Christ and be reminded that, because of Jesus, you are, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

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A Sermon for Christmas & New Years

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Good News That Will Cause Great Joy: A Sermon on Luke 2:8-14

We live in a world with a 24-hour news cycle. Between the cable networks or online sources or social media posts, news is flying at us constantly. Most of it seems awful. We doomscroll on our phones—bad news after more bad news. Our hearts grow heavy. Our minds grow anxious. The world is starving for good news. And that is exactly what we get at Christmas. On that first Christmas Eve, the angel told the shepherds, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy… a Savior has been born to you.” (Luke 2:10-11). News is not advice. The angel had not come to give advice about how to cope in a messed-up world. News is simply a report of facts. The angel reported a fact—the birth of One who would make everything right again. This child would remove all our fears and fill our hearts with joy.

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The King Shall Come: With Plans Better Than Our Plans: A Sermon on Luke 1:26-38

Has life always gone the way you planned? When life goes a direction that's different than what you were expecting, it can be difficult to navigate the new reality. This is exactly what Mary experienced about 9 months before Christmas. But even as he was miraculously conceived, God teaches us that we can trust Him in the midst of whatever life brings.

The historic Christian Church gave Latin titles to each Sunday. They titled the Third Sunday in Advent “Gaudete,” which means “Rejoice!” As we reach the midway point of Advent, we remember that when the King shall come, we can rejoice that God’s plans are always better than ours!

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The Reality and Centrality of God’s Gift of Repentance: A Sermon on Isaiah 40:1-11

Scriptures teach that King Jesus is the Son of God in flesh and the only hope for salvation. Jesus himself claimed that he is the only way into the glorious kingdom of heaven. You do not approach meeting someone like that casually or carelessly. You prepare meticulously. What does that mean? What does a life of readiness—ready to meet such a King—look like? In one word: repentance. If we insist on hanging onto our sins, how can we receive the One who came for the very purpose of taking those sins away? Throughout history, God has raised up called servants—like John the Baptist—to preach a message of repentance. This repentance is central to our preparation for the Lord’s coming. Without repentance, the King’s coming only terrifies. But all those who believe and repent look forward to the coming of the King and the consummation of his everlasting kingdom.

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The King is Coming to Save Us: A Sermon on Mark 11:1-10

Rulers plan and administrate and govern. They typically do not save. If your house is on fire, it will not be the mayor who shows up to save you from the flames. If America were attacked, the President would serve as the commander in chief of the armed forces. The President would not pick up a weapon, go to the front lines, and fight to save you from the enemy. Jesus is different. He is both infinitely greater than all other rulers, yet also infinitely humbler. He does not consider it beneath his rank as King to risk his life for his subjects. He is willing to fight for us. He is willing to die for us. For King Jesus came into our world for one reason—to save us.

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Consolation Unlike Any Other: A Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Consider the Christian man whose body aches from both the cancer and the chemo. Look at that faithful old woman, back arched by time, fingers twisted by arthritis, eyes close to blindness. These believers may pray for death, precisely because they know that for the children of God, death is not the end of life. Death is the end of sorrow and pain. They yearn for the end of those things, and the beginning of their perfect eternity with Jesus. We have come to the end of the Church Year. It is time to talk about the end of this world on Judgment Day. That day does not scare the believer. The first time Christ came he saved us from our sin and the accusations for the devil. The second time Christ comes, he will save us from everything else. On that day, disease, gone. Abuse, gone. Heartache, gone. Even death is ended. None of those things will exist ever again. But we will exist forever with our Lord Jesus. Until then we live in the time in between. As we look at all Christ did at his first coming, we yearn for him to come again to end this broken world and to usher all the saints into everlasting glory.

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