Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki February 22, 2026 Today we heard two stories — one in a garden and one in a wilderness — and though they seem far apart, they share something deeply human. In the garden, God spoke trust, saying you are free, you have enough, and you belong here. And then another voice entered asking, “Did God really say…?” It was a whisper — a suggestion that maybe what God has given is not […]

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki February 18, 2026 Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount were deceptively simple. He said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them.” Notice that he did not criticize prayer, generosity, or fasting. He assumed them. Instead, what he exposed was something deeper — the human desire to be seen as good, to be admired for our faithfulness, to measure our worth by how we […]

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth February 15, 2026 During Youth Group a few weeks ago, we were watching a video that talked about how important it is that Jesus came to the world as a poor baby from Bethlehem, which the video jokingly and not-so-nicely referred to as a “backwater of a backwater town in those days.” And after the video, I asked the youth why they thought it mattered that Jesus came to us in this form, […]

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth February 1, 2026 Our Gospel passage today is the beginning of the most famous sermon of all time: The Sermon on the Mount, the first of Jesus’ teaching. Pastor Jason and I joked a few months ago that sometimes we’re tempted instead of preaching to just read the Gospel again and sit down, because there’s nothing we can say that says it better than Jesus himself. So with that I’ll head out. No […]

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki January 25, 2026 There is a heaviness in the air these days. Protests across the country. Federal agents murdering U.S. citizens. You don’t need to follow the news closely to feel it. You can hear it in the way people talk to one another. And you can feel it in the exhaustion so many people are carrying — especially those who already know what it means to be watched, questioned, targeted, or […]

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Today, as Jesus rises up from the Jordan River, as the heavens are opened and the Holy Spirit descends like a dove, we get our first look at Jesus as an adult in the Gospel of Matthew. Just the chapter before he was a child in Nazareth! The huge time jump in Matthew’s Gospel can feel abrupt, can make it seem at first glance like Jesus simply appeared one day at the Jordan River, fully-formed and ready to begin his ministry...

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We’ve turned Epiphany into such a sweet story – with a leading star, three kings, and unique presents. But Matthew doesn’t tell a nursery story connected to Jesus’ birth. He tells us something far stranger — and far more serious. He tells us about magi who were outsiders, foreigners, even Zoroastrian priests who showed up in Jerusalem with gifts...

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Tom Gehring January 4, 2026 Listen to Rev. Tom’s sermon here!

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth December 28, 2025 Today’s Gospel would be an incredibly hard text to hear at any time of the year, but reading it just a few days after Christmas? It’s especially jarring! On Christmas Eve we read about a baby boy lying in the manger, about the angels and the shepherds, and Mary treasuring each moment and pondering them all in her heart. And when we hear this story, it’s easy to gloss over […]

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Wicker Park Lutheran Church December 24, 2025 Rev. Jason S. Glombicki It doesn’t really feel like Christmas tonight. After all, it’s unseasonably warm and the snow has melted. And maybe that’s exactly why the Christmas story sounds different this year. Every year we hear this same story. But every year, something different catches my attention. Some years it’s the angels. Some years it’s the shepherds. Some years it’s the thoughtfulness of Mary. But this year, it’s the contrast Luke sets up so […]

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