Sermons 2025

Text: Revelation 21:1-7

Alleluia! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia! 

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation this morning is the Epistle Lesson of the Revelation according to Saint John, the twenty-first chapter verses one through seven. 

Boys and Girls, How are you doing this morning? I pray that you are doing well today. Have you ever heard of a move titled Aladdin? It was one of my favorite movies when I was your age. It is about a boy that does not have a family. He does not have a mom or dad. Aladdin’s life is broken and he wants a new life. He does everything he can to find a whole new world , to find someone who loves him. When something is old and broken what do you do with it? You would throw it away, right? It is broken. It does not work anymore. You toss it away and get something new. In our text for today, we see what God does with old things. We see that God does not throw them in the trash. Instead, He makes them new again. How does God do that? Ponder this question, as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you. 

Old has passed away, New has come 

In our reading, Saint John sees the old earth and heaven dissolves and pass away. They are no longer there. They are replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. Does this mean that everything we see here and now will be completely and totally destroyed? That there will be no more buildings, no more plants or animals? That everything will look like something out of a post-apocalyptic wasteland, void of anything living and full of emptiness everywhere you look? 

No, God does not utterly destroy the world. Rather, everything will be restored to perfection again. The voice of the Father, sitting on the throne declares, “Behold I am making all things new!” then He says, “It is done!”  

All things are made new again, here and now. This can be hard for our minds to understand. Everywhere we look at this present moment we see death and pain. There are still wars ,killings, and the shedding of innocent blood. There are still arguments, hatred, and anger in thought, word, and deed. We still struggle against our sinful flesh, the temptations of the devil, and the pressures of this sin-filled world. Yet, in the midst of this chaos and death, the voice of the Father says, “I am making all things new.” How can everything already be made new? 

New in and through JC 

It is made new because of the One who is making all things new. Notice the tense of the Father’s statement. This statement is in the present tense, “I am making everything new.” This is the consummation of God’s work of renewal and redemption, on the Last Day. Yet, already seen here and now in our present time. 

Everything has been made new because of the work of the everlasting Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What did Jesus do? He came down out of heaven for us. What does Saint John see? He sees the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven! Our restoration is not a matter of us ascending to God, but of God descending to us! God entered His creation, took on our flesh, that through His perfect life, death, and resurrection, the crown jewel of creation, humanity itself, might be restored. With the crown jewel restored, all creation follows as well.

The voice says “It is done!” John must have been reminded of a word he had heard years earlier: “It is finished.” That’s what Jesus said on the cross, as he was hanging there, dying for the sins of the world. Because Jesus shed his blood and  died for your sins and mine, our debt has been paid. The goal has been reached, and the deal has been sealed, with something more precious and more valuable than gold, the blood of the Lamb. Jesus’ “It is finished” on the cross guarantees the “It is done” of  the new Jerusalem. The proof is in the resurrection of Christ, when he conquered the grave and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. “Because he lives, we shall live also.”  

Jesus takes upon Himself all of the anger, guilt, and much more of our sins. Instead of destroying us as we deserve, He removes them from us by giving us His perfect righteousness. In Christ we are perfectly restored in a right relationship with the Father here and now. Our relationship with God is made perfect once again because of the shedding of Christ’s blood. Thus, why there is no longer any sea, not a reference to physical water but in terms of chaos and separation from God. There is no more separation. He is our God and we are His Sons and Daughters because of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the dead.  

Sons and Daughters of God forever! 

Jesus has made us new creations in the waters of Holy Baptism. There, God has washed us in the blood of the Lamb and made us His dear children, now and forever. At this present moment, we suffer and endure. We suffer because of our sins as well as the sins of those around us, still living in a sinful world. Yet, we endure, steadfast in repentance, constantly turning towards God in contrition, seeking His grace and mercy.

We endure our pain and suffering, not because we enjoy them, but because we know the end result. Because of Jesus Christ, there will be a whole new world. A new heaven and a new earth. What exactly that will look like, I do not know. What I do know is what we have seen in our text for today. The holy city, the new Jerusalem will come down from heaven on the Last day. We will be made new. A holy people, a new you, one that will never have to worry about sin or death ever again. The Triune God will be your Emmanuel, God with you forever. 

Until that blessed day arrives, hold fast to the faith that you have been given. Your sins are forgiven in Christ. You have been made new. Until the day when we see the consummation of all things, stand firm in the faith because

Christ has Risen!
He has risen Indeed! Alleluia!

May the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.  

Text: Psalm 23

Sermon Outline
Introduction: The image of the Lord as our Shepherd and us as his sheep strikes close to our heart.
3. Our myths about sheep . . . and the truth.
2. We are dirty, wandering, stubborn sheep.
1. Jesus, the Shepherd, became a lamb to save us.
THE SHEPHERD BECAME A LAMB TO SAVE US DIRTY, WANDERING SHEEP.

Conclusion: Jesus still shepherds us.

Sermon

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleuia!

My dear beloved friends, the text for our meditation today is the twenty-third Psalm.

Introduction: No image of the Lord, and his relationship with us, strikes closer to the core of our being than the image we see in today’s lessons: the image of the Lord as our Shepherd and us as his sheep. We read it in the Psalm for today: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (v 1). We hear it in the Second Lesson: “The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd” (Rev 7:17). And in our Gospel Jesus tells us, “My sheep listen to my voice” (Jn 10:27). We even teach our children to sing “I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb.”

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Why do you suppose this image has such power for us? Perhaps it’s because in a world as troubled and sin-filled as ours, we link sheep and shepherds together with peace, quiet, and contentment. Our psalm says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (v 2). When you have had a long day. When it’s been stressful and chaotic, you cannot get to sleep, what do you do? You count sheep. 1,2,3,100…z.zzz.zzzz (snore!)

Or maybe we like this image so much because of how we think of sheep. Many people enjoy the feeling of sheepskin. The wool is soft and clean and fresh. They say it has the amazing quality of being warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Surely the animal that gave it must be like that: soft and gentle, clean and fresh, without fierce teeth or sharp claws. Jesus, the Lord, is our Shepherd, and we are his sheep.

If only more of us knew how sheep really are, we might feel a bit more sheepish about ourselves! Laura Ingalls Wilder brings that fact home in the book Farmer Boy. The chapter called “Sheep Shearing” describes the process of taking the wool from the sheep. The first thing done is to give each sheep a thorough washing.

You see, all that thick, soft wool picks up a lot of dirt as the sheep lives from day to day. What comes to us as clean and soft starts out as filthy and muddy. When the sheep have been scrubbed, they must be sheared immediately, because if they aren’t, they’ll get dirty all over again.

Those who’ve tended sheep know that they have other unpleasant characteristics. Sheep are prone to wander from the flock. The sight of some greener grass catches their attention, and they wander until they find themselves far away. Sheep can also be stubborn, headstrong, willful creatures.

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We are God’s sheep, God’s flock. As Pastor reminds us by opening every sermon, My dear beloved…flock! The same as sheep in the field, we Christians have an amazing ability to pick up dirt from our surroundings. How often we find our thoughts and words reflecting those of our non-Christian neighbors! We may not be able to help passing through the valley of the shadow of death, but when we begin to walk like those who are spiritually dead, that’s peril of our own making—and we should be very much afraid!

How often we look at ourselves in the light of God’s Law, only to be dismayed by the sight of the filth and mess in our life! Instead of luxuriating in the oil the Lord pours over our head—and whatever good things he pours into our cup—we covet the luxuries of this world, never content, always wanting greener pastures, bigger lawns, houses better appointed than the Lord’s (and on a more desirable street!), valuing the boss’s praise and our friends’ envy well above goodness and mercy. Instead of trusting God to vindicate us in the presence of our enemies, we fear them, smear them, speak all kinds of evil against them, and gloat when we see them stumble. Isn’t it true? Every time we gather for worship in the Divine Service, as soon as the name of God is placed on us, we find we must confess our sins.

God’s sheep have a tendency to wander too. Perhaps something hurtful is said to us, maybe by the people of God. Or we experience some horrible, shocking event—a sudden death we can’t possibly explain in our understanding of a loving God, a rejection by a loved one that doesn’t make sense when we’ve been committed and faithful. Or maybe we catch sight of greener grass just over the next ridge—those worldly goods that draw us away, a catchier sounding philosophy or religion. We wander from God’s house—become angry with him, lose faith in him, lose confidence that his simple Word and Sacrament are the richest table anyone could ever spread before us. The next thing we know, months or even years have gone by, and we find ourselves alone, without him, maybe without the dear ones he’s given us.

Isaiah said it well: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Is 53:6). And stubborn? Us? Sadly, yes. When things don’t go our way, we sometimes respond by digging in our heels and forcing others to drag us along. Instead of praying, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we pray, “My will be done in heaven and on earth—or else!”

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Truly, we are sheep: dirty, lost, and stubborn. And so serious is our problem that God has taken a radical step to solve it. The Lord, the Shepherd of Israel, took on flesh and became the Lamb. Did you hear the words of John? “The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd” (Rev 7:17). Jesus is the Lamb of God. He took away the filth and grime of our sin by washing us in his own pure blood. And when we were lost, without hope and without God in the world, he wandered far from his heavenly home in search of us. His search took him to a lowly virgin in Nazareth, to a humble cave in Bethlehem, and, finally, on a dark and lonely Friday afternoon, to an accursed tree. He conquered our willfulness by yielding his own will to that of the Father—even unto death. Freely, willingly, lovingly he offered himself up for us through the Spirit to the Father.

The Shepherd became a lamb. And with his resurrection on the third day, the Lamb has become our Shepherd. He feeds us in the pasture of his Word. He leads us beside the still, deep waters of Baptism: springs of living water, because through this water he gives us life. He satisfies our hunger by giving us the heavenly bread and the cup of life, his own body and blood. Our cup runneth over with eternal blessing because we drink of the cup he pours out for us. 

He knows each of us as well as any good shepherd knows his own sheep. And the amazing thing is that he still loves us, still feeds us, still leads and guides us through all the perilous ways of this life.
THE SHEPHERD BECAME A LAMB TO SAVE US DIRTY, WANDERING SHEEP.

Little by little, as we feed on his love and stay with his flock, he breaks the old willfulness and stubbornness. He makes us his servants, who fear and love and trust in him above all things. He makes us his servants, who learn to give not only our wool but also, if necessary, our own skin for the needs of others.

Conclusion: When we come together each Lord’s Day, we come together as his flock. He is here, now, as our Shepherd. He speaks, and we listen. He leads, and we follow. And we have his word that he will keep on leading until that day when we sing his praise in glory and he wipes away every tear from our eyes.

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleuia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep, your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Text: Acts 9:1-22

(1) Resistless conviction that “Jesus whom he persecuted,” now speaking to him, was “Christ the Lord.” (See on Ga 1:15, 16). (2) As a consequence of this, that not only all his religious views, but his whole religious character, had been an entire mistake; that he was up to that moment fundamentally and wholly wrong. (3) That though his whole future was now a blank, he had absolute confidence in Him who had so tenderly arrested him in his blind career, and was ready both to take in all His teaching and to carry out all His directions. (For more, see on Ac 9:9). 

Blind rage to Physical Blindness to Physical/Spiritual Light

Outline

1.    Saul blinded by rage
i.    We blinded by our sins
2.    Saul literally blinded by our Lord
i.    TBTG that He does not literally blind us!
3.    Why? Turn into His instrument
i.    Made us His people in Baptism, strengthens through HC, that we can be His people.

Sermon

Christ is Risen!
He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

My dear beloved flock, the text for our meditation today is the First Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter nine verses one through twenty-two.

Boys and girls, I pray that you are doing well today.  Do you like the sun? The sun can be really bright sometimes. Many times, it can be so bright that it hurts our eyes as well as our bodies. Some people have even died because they were out in the sun too much. In our lesson for today, we hear of Saul, you would know him better as Saint Paul, He was blinded by our Lord. Why was Saul blinded? How does Jesus use Saul as well as us today? Ponder those questions as you hear the rest of the sermon. You may go back to your seats and those who love you.

1.    Saul blinded by rage

In 1976 Bruce Springsteen recorded a famous song on his album, Greetings from Asbury Park. That song, Blinded by the Light. In our text, Saul is blinded by more than just the light. He is blinded by pure intense and zealous rage. He has taken his intense zeal for the law of God as taught by the Pharisees and turned it against those people who call themselves Christians. He is constantly threatening punishment, even death, for them. Saul’s fury was no passing outburst but enduring. Like other indulged passions, it grew with exercise and had come to be as his very life-breath, and now planned, not only imprisonment, but death, for the heretics. Saul goes to the High Priest and asks him for letters, “that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ” Bound for trial to the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem all the way from Damascus, around 150 miles away, far outside of the Sanhedrin’s jurisdiction and authority to possibly face the same trial and death as our Lord.

I pray that none of us have been as blood thirsty as Saul was. Yet, Saul’s zeal goes to show just how far our sinful nature will go in the pursuit of something that it deems as good. How many of us have put time, effort, and energy into a wide variety of activities, only to find all of that effort simply tossed aside when something else comes by? We are enticed into thinking we need better cars, better electronics, better. We put all of our effort, all of our resources into getting bigger and better things. How has that worked out? We think that we are doing good by doing this, but it is vain and gets us nowhere. A chasing after the wind. 

Sometimes, like Saul, we fool ourselves sometimes into thinking that we are doing what God really wants us to do. Saul thought that he was doing God’s work by persecuting those who believed differently than himself. Many Christians fall into this very same trap of pride and sin when they think of themselves as better than those around them. When someone comes into church wearing tattered jeans, a bright pink mohawk, and covered in tattoos, how would we treat them? I pray that we would treat them kindly and welcome them with open arms. Yet, many people would have the same reaction as Paul, ‘Really Lord, they are so different! Why are they here? Why are they wearing that? Do they not have anything better to wear?’ It even happens on a daily basis. We are blinded by zeal then we think that we know better than our teachers and do not do our homework. When we mistreat friends and loved ones because they did something that we did not agree with. We puff up our pride and think ‘Certainly, I would have done things a whole lot differently. I would not have made the same serious mistake as them.’ Yet God was about to take Saul’s misplaced zeal and put it towards the use of His kingdom.

2.    Saul literally blinded by our Lord

It took an act of God to convert Saul. On that road to Damascus, the Lord Jesus appears to Saul. He reveals that in persecuting the Christians, Saul is persecuting the Lord Himself! “I, I am Jesus, whom thou, yea, thou art persecuting!” That charge, that accusation of persecuting is thus driven into the soul of Saul to the hilt. Here was the revelation, not only of Jesus, who with one stroke swept away all the lies Saul had believed about him as a mere man, etc., but also the revelation of what Saul was engaged in: persecuting this glorified Jesus in his disciples: “I—thou!”  Saul is literally blinded by the light of our Lord. He is led into Damascus and there eats or drinks nothing for three days. His physical blindness personifies how blind Saul’s heart really is inside. For all of His supposes good works, for all of his zeal, His fearful sin lay heavily upon him, and the Lord permitted it to crush him for three days.  Shut off from the world, blind, abstaining from food, with no one to help his soul’s distress, his proud self-righteousness was conquered, and there remained only a sinner in the dust who ever after felt himself chief of all sinners. 

Thanks be to God that He does not likewise cause us physical blindness because of our sins. Though we would well deserve it, God in mercy does not do it. Though like Saul, our sins should weigh just as heavy upon us. We should be crushed, our souls in pure distress, when we consider our sins against God. All those times when we have misplaced our own zeal. Gone after the things and pleasures of this world, rather than focusing on the things that God would have us do.  It should crush us into the dust.

3.    Why? Turn into His instrument

Why does the Lord so crush Saul as well as us? That we may put our zeal to the best use as His chosen instruments. As the Lord tells Ananias when he complains about going to Saul. But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”  Ananias goes and Saul is healed. Something like scales fall from his eyes. He is baptized and then refreshes himself with food and drink. Saul does not delay in doing the work that God has given him to do. He stays a few days with the disciples in Damascus then immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.  Saul’s unique purpose is that he was chosen by God to carry His name before Gentiles and kings. Saul was the one who would spread the Gospel to those who had never heard it before. In order to do this, he was blessed with a unique zeal. The same zeal and passion that had once been used to persecute Christianity God now uses it for His glory, to preach and proclaim the Gospel to people far and near.

We likewise are God’s instruments. God has chosen us solely by His grace, the same as He did Saul. God has called us through the waters of Holy Baptism. He has cleansed us with water and the Word. God places His name upon us and calls us His dear and beloved children. He takes great sinners, cleanses us, and give us the great task of proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God to the world. 
To this end, God has made all of us unique. He has given us a wide variety of gifts. Whether it be that you are good at speaking, good at playing a musical instrument, good with accounting and numbers, good at curing the human body of illnesses and sicknesses. Every single one of us is unique and special in our vocations, the roles that we currently are in in life. If you are a student, then you have the work and purpose of studying and getting good grades, of witnessing your faithfulness by obeying your teachers and others in authority. If you are a parent, you have the work of raising your children in a Christian way, and helping them to grow in the Christian faith. If you have a spouse, you have the work of caring for one another, of loving and treating each other in a kind Christian way, of modeling for others what a marriage founded upon Christ looks like. As Christians, all of us have the duty and purpose of spreading the Gospel to others, in whatever shape that takes in our daily lives.
Conclusion: Thanks be to God that He uses one as zealous as Saul, not for persecuting His church, but for strengthening it and growing His kingdom. Help us, likewise, dear Heavenly Father, that we may be so zealous for Your kingdom and to use our gifts and skills, for Your glory and the praise of Your name. Until that day when we will likewise see Your Son shining in all His Glory.
 

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
He is Risen Indeed! Alleuia!

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard, and keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.