Description
Our sermon from Ash Wednesday takes a look at Jesus' parable on the Pharisee and tax collector. Do you walk around with your head up so you can compare yourself to others or because you know your God has had mercy on you, a sinner?
*****
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent and is marked by emphasizing the need for a Savior. We are mortal sinners, made from dust and ashes, and the punishment for our sins is death, whereby we return to dust and ashes. So, on Ash Wednesday, we ask the Holy Spirit to create true repentance in us so that we not only turn from our sins but also to our Savior, whose suffering and death for us lets us walk into Lent with our heads up.
Description
Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr is credited with popularizing the phrase, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." He did so in 1849 because he was less-than-optimistic about another revolution happening in his homeland of France. Since then, skeptics, cynics, and sarcastic people have been muttering that phrase over and over.
On Transfiguration Sundaty, the last Sunday before Lent, we Christians speak it not from cynicism, skepticism, or sarcasm but from sincere celebration!
Description
Is it easier or harder to forgive family? And what does that forgiveness sound like and look like? Joseph, the one-time daddy's boy brat, models what Christ-like forgiveness sounds like and does.
Pastor Tom Bauer, who serves as a teacher at Shoreland Lutheran High School (Somers, WI) is our guest preacher. He brought us God's Word as part of our Shoreland Lutheran Sunday when we had the privilege of hosting the Shoreland Festival Choir as they enriched our service with music and song, helping us focus on Christ who forgives our sins, begins our faith, and finally brings it to its goal. We thank Pastor Bauer and the Shoreland Festival Choir and wish God's richest blessings to that school!
Description
We don't like to be weak. But what's worse than being weak? Being weak and not knowing it. What's even worse than that? Being weak and not admitting it. Through the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit tells us we have no reason to be scared to admit our weaknesses to God. He knows them and takes care of them through Christ's cross.
Description
From a distance, it looks like a clunky table with a colorful tablecloth hanging over the edge. As you move closer to the chancel, the area at the front of our sanctuary, you realize it's not a table. So what's the altar -- that wooden boxy piece -- doing front and center of our church? To help answer that question, we enter a vision by which God called a man named Isaiah to be his prophet seven hundred years before Jesus was born.
Description
This week's sermon text picks up where last week's ended. After making the marvelous statement, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing," how does the Nazareth synagogue react? How do we react to Jesus' claims to be a prophet?
Description
When Jesus read those seven hundred year old words from Isaiah, something special happened that Sabbath in that synagogue in Nazareth: scripture was fulfilled. Can it happen again among us?
*****
Readings for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany:
First Lesson: Isaiah 61:1-6
Second Lesson: Acts 4:23-31
Gospel: Luke 4:14-21
Description
When you love your church, it's easy to come up with reasons why it's so delightful. But might we be focusing on the wrong things? All that matters is whether or not God delights in us.
Description
Jesus shared our humanity not just to comiserate with us, but to destroy death, to help us when we are tempted, and to call himself our brother.
*****
Pastor David Kuehl is one of the pastors who serves St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Muskego. He is also the circuit pastor for the Southern Circuit of the Western Lakes Conference (Southeastern Wisconsin District of WELS). We thank Pastor Kuehl for bringing God's good news to us!
Description
Twelve days after December 25 takes us to January 6, which in the Christian Church has the tradition of being called "Gentiles' Christmas" since it celebrates the Magi visiting Jesus in Bethlehem. As Matthew records those wise men following the star, we are able to see Jesus as the spiritual King of all people -- Jew and Gentile. Indeed, he is our spiritual King, too!
Description
Luke sums up years of Jesus' early life with one sentence, "[Jesus] was obedient [to his obedients]." This not only was a blessing to his parents (think of how "easy" of a child he was to raise!) but also to us.
Description
A present's packaging often keeps you from recognizing what you're receiving until you open it. The human flesh of Jesus prevents many from recognizing him as true God, but after opening up the first chapter of John's Gospel, we're able to truly recgonize what our heavenly Father has given us at Christmas.
Description
Our midweek services have examined a comforting name (Immanuel) and a wonderful name (Prince of peace). Our third and final midweek Advent service looks at a glorious name -- the LORD Almighty.
Description
Admittedly, the sermon theme sounds like an oxymoron or contradiction, especially when you hear how the sermon text opens. But when we come to Christmas with the right attitude -- worked by God through his law -- we find a joy unlike any other. And that means when the holidays are all over, we can still go on our way with a joyful encouragement to do our everyday tasks.
Description
Part two of three of our midweek Advent series, "The Names by Which He'll Be Called", focuses on the wonderful name mentioned by Isaiah in chapter 9 of his book. The wonder is how a baby can do anything princely, let alone give us true spiritual peace.
Description
We continue our Advent Sunday worship series entitled, "He Comes, Bearing Gifts." Malachi, whose name means "my messenger," serves as God's prophet with this promise: the Lord will come with peace. But first, preparations need to be made.
Description
Our midweek Advent worship series explores the names by which Jesus would be, and still is, called. Our sermon texts take us through Isaiah the Prophet's book and through these names we better know who our Savior is and what exactly he came to do.
Description
The church calendar has begun a new year. The season of Advent starts the new church year and encourages us to prepare for Christ's coming at the manger on Christmas and on the clouds on the Last Day. Jesus' words shortly before he died prepare us and fill us with a genuine, sure hope that is better than any human-based optimism.
Wayne Shevey, one of the campus pastors at Wisconsin Lutheran College, proclaims God's good news.
(Note: This recording is from the Monday night service on December 3.)
Description
Life throws so much before our eyes that we often don't know what to focus on. The vision God gave to Daniel in chapter 7 of his book helps us with that problem. We keep our eyes on faith on the same thing that came before Daniel's eyes, "one like a son of man, coming witht he clouds of heaven."
Description
As a result of the devastating Camp Fire in California, the search and rescue efforts have been underway for over a week. They might be better described as "search and recover" because many of the missing are feared to be dead.
On this Saints Triumphant Sunday, Jesus' words in Mark 13:24-27 point us to a different search and rescue. It will rescue his living believers from this world and recover the bodies of his sleeping believers from the grave. The ulitmate purpose? Turning saints militant into saints triumphant.
Description
Need refuge from all the political talk? Need refuge from the colder, darker days? Need refuge from sin and guilt? On this Reformation weekend, we find refuge right where Martin Luther and the rest of the Christian Church has always found true refuge: in our triune God.
Description
We like to think we can do anything they put their hands to -- as long as we want to do it. In reality, we're not as capable as we think, nor are we as willing as we may seem. God knows us better than ourselves, and that's why he puts his merciful hand at work in our lives, just as he did with Moses.
Description
This side of heaven, you'll never be able to completely shake your selfish, sinful ambition to be served. Even those who trust in Christ struggle to balance glory and humility, authority and humility, being served and serving others. The solution to that struggle is found in Jesus, the Son of Man, who carried out his holy ambition: to give sinners the greatest service they never even asked for.
Description
October 14 was our Mission & Ministry Sunday, praising God for the work he's allowed us to do as Christians and as members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). This year, we especially thank God for the gospel work that has been going on among the Apache, started by two WELS missionaries over 125 years ago. Guest preacher Pastor Time Dolan reminds that from the mountains on an Arizonan reservation to Wind Lake and in between, wherever the gospel is proclaimed, the mountain of the Lord rises high above this sinful world. Then he encourages each of us to individually take part in gospel proclamation, in whatever way we can.
Pastor Tim Dolan is the Dean of Students at Luther Preparatory School (a WELS ministertial training prep school in Watertown) but also serves as the chairman of the Native American Mission Administrative Committee. To learn more about the gospel minsitry God in the Apache Mission, click here.
Description
Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court caused a lot of conversation, and much of it touched on issues connected to marriage and the family. In the wake of a contentious national dialogue that left many divided, what does God's Word say about how men should treat women or how to have a united marriage or how we should view children?
Description
On the Christian church's calendar, September 29 is set aside to celebrate the Festival of St. Michael & All Angels. Below, you can read a brief history on this festival, but, in short, this day is dedicated to praising and thanking God for the protection he gives his believers through his angels. Psalm 91 beautifully teaches us about what God created the angels to do.
The History of St. Michael & All Angels
‘Feasts’ or ‘Festivals’ were times of great rejoicing in the Middle Ages. In an age where backbreaking work from sun-up to sun-down was the rule, a special religious festival could provide some time off for worship and relaxation even in the middle of a week. One very popular festival in Lutheran Churches was the festival of St. Michael and All Angels. (Michael is the only archangel mentioned in the Bible.) This festival has been celebrated in Germany since 813 A.D. and in England since 1019 A.D. St. Michael and All Angels has remained a popular festival in the Lutheran Church throughout her history. This festival falls on September 29 in the church calendar.
This festival does not praise, worship, or honor angels. That would be idolatry! This festival is meant to thank God for his gift of angels – much like we thank God for the harvest at Thanksgiving or thank God for another year of grace at New Year. We live in dangerous times. Thank God for the protection that his angels provide. In an age where angels are often misunderstood, it is good to hear what the Bible has to say about these ministering spirits who do his bidding!
Description
Even the best sibling relationships have their problems. From time to time, siblings hold grudges, gang up against each other, and speak against one another. Moses handled such a confrotation with humility that only God can supply to his believers. From Moses' model of humility, we can draw applications for our various callings and confrontations.
Description
Nike made headlines recently by using former NFL Colin Kaepernick as a feature for the new "Just Do It" ad campaign. In it, Kaepernick tells you, "Believe in something, even if it costs you everything. Just do it."
The Apostle Peter writes something similar but about something much different and more important. When we understand what Peter is saying, the Christian gets joy even in the face of suffering.
Description
We have good reasons to fear God's vengeance and our personal condition. But Isaiah shows us that there are even greater reasons to find comfort in God and not to fear our condition.
