Dear Friends in Christ, I. Kingdom of Patience or Kingdom of Mercy? Peter gets the kingdom of heaven wrong. But this is a good thing for us, because we…
The Word of the Lord from Matthew 18:3: Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”…
Dear Friends in Christ, There are many stories about Simon Peter in the Bible. There are ninety-three references to Peter in the New Testament and he is referred to…
Dear Friends in Christ, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” That sounds like the kind of question you might get when someone is taking an opinion…
Dear friends in Christ, A close reading of the Bible reveals that many of the fiercest struggles that people have are not with the devil, not with the world,…
Dear Friends in Christ, This morning we have before us a collection of short parables that our Lord teaches in Matthew 13. It may seem at first to be…
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus, I very much enjoy being a homeowner, but I wish our house weren’t so preachy. It preaches to me all the time. It has…
Dear friends in Christ, We have, in today’s Gospel lesson, a well-known parable of Jesus—the Parable of the Sower. The Sower goes to sow seed upon his field. Some…
Dear Friends in Christ, Several years ago, Nancy and I were terribly saddened and disturbed by the news that a friend and member of our former congregation had taken…
The Word of the Lord from Matthew 10: Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace,…
Dear Friends in Christ, In last Sunday’s Gospel Lesson we saw that Jesus divided the twelve disciples into teams of two each. Jesus then sent them out, instructing them,…
I. The Savior Sends It’s no wonder the crowds gather: they’ve heard about Jesus. He’s going from town to town, city to village. He’s preaching about the Kingdom of God.…
Dear friends in Christ, Trinity Sunday is the one Sunday in the whole year which is devoted to a celebration of God. That may sound a little strange,…
I. Introduction Fifty years ago Mrs. Eilers was sitting at her desk, correcting papers, when she looked up at the clock on the wall and saw it was time…
The Word of the Lord from Acts 1:26: “And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” This is…
Dear friends in Christ, One of the advantages of attending a Lutheran elementary school is that you get to learn Lutheran hymns. One of the hymns I learned as…
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." What a thing to say -- and what a time to…
Dear Friends in Christ: Several years ago I served as a vice president for Lutheran Church - Canada. One of the joyful tasks of the council of presidents each…
The Word of the Lord from Psalm 16:11: "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy." c I. The Road to Emmaus It…
The Word of the Lord from John 20: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the…