Click below to listen to audio recordings of the messages from our services.
Sometimes bible passages leave us with questions or desiring more information. If we are willing to look around a little, at least some of the time, we can find other passages that can fill in the blanks. Of course, God doesn’t always give us all the details we might want, but He gives us everything we need for faith and salvation and everlasting life. He also calls us to be His witnesses, to share what we have learned with others, so that they can also know Jesus and His love.
According to author Gary Chapman, there are 5 love languages that people speak to one another. God uses these same love languages with us and we also respond with the same languages as the Helper, the Holy Spirit, calls and enables us to live in relationship with our heavenly Father through our Savior Jesus Christ. God loves us, and He knows how to show us that love if we will listen.
For many people, it’s no fun getting lost. When we are trying to get someplace and we don’t know which way to turn to get there it can be frustrating or even scary. But we never have to worry about that with Jesus. If we know Jesus, we know the way. He is the way. When our time comes to depart from this earthly life, Jesus will come to take us to be with Him where He is – with our Heavenly Father. We don’t need to worry about how to get there, just trust Jesus and He will take us home.
Acts 2:42-47 tells us about how the early disciples devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. These are the very things that lead to growth in the church. As the existing members grow in their faith and understanding, they bear witness to what they have learned which the Holy Spirit uses to bring others to faith. “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
Loving the unlovable is not easy. Yet this is what God has done for us, while we were dead in our trespasses and sins. While we were still His enemies (our choice, not His) He sent His Son to die and rise again for us to set us free from the consequences our sins deserve: death. Today, we are living in sinful flesh in a fallen world and so we are in exile from “the promised land” of God’s presence. But God desires to bring us home to Himself, as a loving Father would.
When God created man he breathed the breath of life into His nostrils. Ever since then, we have known that breath is life. From those tense moments after a new birth before you hear the rush of breath and the first cry, to the last breath of a loved one as they depart this life, we know that breath is life. But the real breath of life is God’s Son who came to breath new life into sinners who were spiritually dead. New breath means new life.
We rejoice on Easter morning because the resurrection of Jesus proves that His sacrifice for our sins has succeeded in paying the penalty in full. He came to live, suffer, die and, most gloriously, rise again! Alleluia! Christ is risen!
Throughout Jesus life, He cared for people in many different ways. He healed the sick. He cast out demons. He fed the hungry. Even as He hung on the cross He cared for His mother, and He cared for the soldiers, and He continued to care for us. Even today, He still cares for His people. He cares for you!
While what is often referred to as the “Last Supper,” is indeed the last supper Jesus would share with His disciples before His crucifixion, it is in a very real sense also the first supper. For it was at that Passover meal that Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, also known as Holy Communion, the Eucharist or the Sacrament of the Altar, which is still celebrated today, nearly 2,000 years later. By whatever name we may be most familiar with, it is still the holy meal Jesus instituted in which we receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. We don’t try to explain how His body and blood are present in the bread and wine, we simply take God the Son at His word that it’s there, and it’s there for us – for our benefit. In a very real sense, the Last Supper was also the First Supper.
When Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified for our sake, it might have appeared at the time to be a terrible defeat, but it was actually only a necessary step on His journey to the ultimate triumph over sin, death and hell. All of this He did to redeem us sinners and give us eternal life.
Jesus came into the world to earn for us the forgiveness of sins, salvation and eternal life. He didn’t come to fill our stomachs, although He did that too on a few occasions, He came to fill our spirits. He came to satisfy that hunger for meaning, for fulfillment, for life that goes beyond what we see right now. He is the bread of life and anyone who “feasts” on Him will never hunger again.
Through the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God, either directly or as it is attached to the water of Holy Baptism, we receive the gift of faith and new birth into eternal life.
When God sent Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, He gave Moses some signs he could do to demonstrate to the people that God had spoken to him and sent him. The Lord then sent the plagues upon the Egyptians to fulfill His promise to bring His people out of their captivity. But as they were leaving, the Egyptian army came after them and God delivered His people through the Red Sea on dry ground and drowned the army that pursued them. This isn’t the only time the Lord led His people through water. Today, God still saves His people through water in Holy Baptism. It is one of the ways the Lord has chosen to deliver His grace to His people and make them His own.
Scientists have discovered that at the moment of conception the human egg emits a tiny flash of light. It is fascinating how light and life are so often connected in God’s word. In fact the first command God gave in the beginning of creation was, “Let there be light.” Now we know that at the beginning of a new life there is light. We know that Jesus is the “Light of life.” We know that the light of Christ overcomes the darkness of sin, death and hell and gives new life.
The following picture will be explained in the message.
The Passover in Exodus foreshadows the Gospel. Jesus is the Lamb of God, the Passover Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world. In Exodus, the blood of the Passover lamb was to be put on the posts and lintel of the doorways of the houses of God’s people so that the angel of death would know to “pass over” those houses and not strike the firstborn there. In the same way, the blood of Christ was shed on the post and cross beam of the cross, so that God would pass over those who have faith in Him and not judge them for their sins. Jesus was already judged in our place.
In speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus tells her the hour has come for the fulfillment of the promise of God to send a savior, a Messiah. But He doesn’t stop there, He reveals plainly that He is the long awaited Messiah. Because of the work Jesus did for us through His death and resurrection, we are freely able to enter God’s presence in spirit and in truth, anywhere and at any time. Jesus removed to barrier that separated us from our Heavenly Father.
When God promised to give a land to Abraham’s descendants, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. God kept His promise. Now, all who believe God are Abraham’s descendants by faith, not by biology. The promise continues to it’s ultimate fulfillment in the eternal promised land. When Jesus returns on the day of the resurrection of all flesh and the Father creates a new heaven and a new earth, all those who are counted righteous by faith will spend eternity in the glorious kingdom of God.
God sees the afflictions of His people, whether that is when His people were under slavery in Egypt or under slavery to sin, anywhere and everywhere. God hears when His people call out to Him and sends a deliverer. He sent Moses to get His people out of Egypt, and He sent His own Son, Jesus, to deliver His people from their slavery to sin, death, hell and the devil.
The Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus had to experience temptation so that He could overcome it for us, since too often we do not. What happened in the wilderness, and what happens when we are tempted is really a battle. It is the age-old battle between good and evil. While the war is over and God has won, the devil is still trying to drag down as many people as He can because He hates God and we were created in God’s image. But in the wilderness, Jesus didn’t fall for the devil’s temptations. He used God’s Word to resist and overcome. He won the war for us.
Sometimes in life we have “mountaintop” experiences, and like the disciples, we wish we could just stay there. But that’s not what Jesus tells the disciples or us. He says we have to go back down the mountain into the valleys where people are still lost and hurting. But He doesn’t send us alone. Jesus came back down the mountain after His transfiguration along with His disciples and has promised to be with all the faithful even until the end of the age.
Because we are conceived and born in sin, we are not able to love God or our neighbor perfectly, no matter how hard we try. God couldn’t just ignore our sins, for that would be unjust. Instead He sent Jesus to live a sinless life for us and then give His life to pay the penalty we deserve. The law has been fulfilled, and we have been saved.
What does it mean to be “blessed”? Why does the list of beatitudes in Matthew 5 include so many things that would not make us feel blessed, at least not initially?
We are called to be God’s Saints, called to be Jesus disciples (those who learn from Him), and called to be His witnesses to others.
It’s big news! We have all sinned and deserve God’s wrath but God gives us mercy through His Son Jesus instead.
Epiphany, 01-04-2026 – The Ongoing Epiphany
(Due to technical difficulties, the audio recording of the sermon is unavailable this week.
Below is a brief summary.)
Jesus is the light of life and truth. That light was revealed to the world when the Magi came to see the “One who has been born king of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:2) In that revelation, that epiphany, gentiles became aware that God’s son, had come into the world. His arrival had been announced to them by the appearance of a new star in the sky, just as the birth had been announced to the shepherds in the fields by the angels that appeared to them. With the visit of the Magi, Jesus is on His way to becoming known by the whole world. Even as that light of life and truth has shined in the lives of those who believe, so it makes all believers lights in the world.
Heavenly Father, enable all Your people to let Your light shine through them that multitudes may see and believe and receive Your love and Your gift of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
God patiently loves His faithful children with a steadfast love, even when His children fall into sin. He calls us to love others who sin, or who are hurting, or who are lost in the darkness of this world and in need of forgiveness, life and light.
God gives us grace in many ways. Most importantly, He has given us grace for salvation in His Son.
God’s great love led Him to send His Son, Jesus, as a bright light into our sin darkened world. In Jesus all the fullness of the deity dwelt in human flesh to atone for all our sins and give us new life.
“The obedience of faith” Romans 1:5 uses that phrase to show that faith (believing God) is a form of obedience. It is not suggesting that we somehow earn or merit our salvation by obedience beyond having faith. In John 6:28-29 the people asked Jesus, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” What does God require? That we believe Him! Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to Him as righteousness.
From the first promise of a Savior in Genesis to the time when Jesus was finally revealed, thousands of years passed. Generations of people had to patiently wait until the time was right. Now that Jesus has come and provided for our salvation, we wait for His return in Glory. Sometimes it’s difficult to wait, but He will come and save you!
God is able to work all things according to His will. God is able. We can trust Him.
There are different kinds of love. The most enduring love is not based on emotions but on a decision of the will.
In the busyness of life it’s easy to take God’s daily gifts for granted. But we don’t want to be the one takes the One who gives every good and perfect gift for granted. Instead, we can consider all the good we receive from the Father, and live in thankfulness and praise toward the giver.
Jesus never promised to save us from the trials and tribulations of this world. He never told us that if we had enough faith everything would go well and easily for you in this life. He promised us forgiveness and everlasting life. He promised to walk with us through everything the devil can throw at us, but never promised we would be spared all the problems. The false belief that God will protect us from worldly problems leads to despair and loss of hope when problems come.
In a world filled with all sorts of troubles, it’s so easy to worry – in fact it’s difficult or impossible not to worry at times. But God calls us to trust in Him instead of worrying. God has everything under control, even when we don’t understand what He’s doing at the time. Sometimes, when things seem their bleakest, our redemption is nearer than ever.
The name God gave to HIs people “I Am” or in Hebrew, “Yahweh.” He told Moses that he is to be remembered by that name throughout all generations. Why don’t we use it much? Should we?
We are Children of God now, but there is something greater yet to come. Just as the beatitudes base our present blessing on the future complete fulfillment of God’s promise, so the joy of being God’s children is rooted in the time when we will see Him face to face.
Jesus is the only One who can set us free from slavery to sin, death, the devil and hell.
Prayer is powerful not because of the one who prays, but because of the One to whom we pray! If an unjust judge who fears neither God nor man will give justice to the widow who cries out to him, how much more will our righteous and loving heavenly Father hear and respond to our prayers.
Ruth learned from Naomi and her son about the one true God; the God of Israel and the God of heaven and earth. Ruth follows Naomi faithfully and ultimately becomes an ancestor of our Savior Jesus Christ. In doing so, she passed the love and faith she received on to the whole world. We also are called to pass on the faith that we have received so that others may also receive faith and everlasting life.
Many people feel intimidated when it comes time to share their faith. They feel like they don’t know enough, but the truth is, Christians know the basic truths of the faith. They have to know, or they wouldn’t be Christians. Be bold and courageous as you share your faith!
Money is a tool, neither good nor bad by itself. The love of money, however, draws us away from trusting God and into idolatry.
If our lives were weighed on the scales of righteous justice, we would be lost. Our sins outweigh any good we could do, unless the blood of Jesus balances the scale for us.
Although Paul was previously the foremost of sinners, having blasphemed and persecuted the Lord and His people, Jesus still showed mercy to Paul, forgiving his sins.
Paul intercedes with Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, a runaway slave, just as Jesus intercedes for us who have run away from our heavenly Father, having run headlong into sin.