Sermon Texts

June 29, 2025 Text: 1 Kings 19:9b-21
Dear Friends in Christ,
King Henry V of England stands outside the French town of Harfleur. They have crossed the channel, and Henry is going after what he feels is his rightful claim – France. They are on the way to Paris, but Harfleur stands in the way. The English soldiers are tired, weary, and disillusioned, but good King Hal knows it is now or never. He must rally and encourage his men.
As Shakespeare tells it, Henry gives a speech to stir their English blood, and in that rallying cry, he utters the famous words, “Once more unto the breach!” He is saying, “get back at it and take the castle. There is still work to do.” People still use those words to rally the frustrated in the important and mundane. Sports, combat, school, job. Don’t give up, “once more unto the breach!”
Poor Elijah was feeling the frustration as he fled from Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab who wanted him dead. But God had to encourage Elijah because there were still tasks to complete. We know the feeling that Elijah had. Life can be a drain. We can get pretty low sometimes. But the Lord has the encouragement that we need. Listen to it today when you get . . .
“FRUSTRATED”
In this profession we get to hear a lot of frustrations. With family. With healthcare. With politics. With weather. With traffic. With others. With society. With prices. We could name 10 more but let’s stop there before you get frustrated with the preacher!
People didn’t care much for the prophet/preacher Elijah. He brought a message that went against their worship of Baal and the other gods. During the reign of King Ahab, the Lord had to hide Elijah. He had to provide him with sustenance to survive. He was on the run. The frustration is boiling over because he cannot see that there is anything more that he can do.
Elijah is afraid. He fled to the south and in the wilderness, he actually asks to die. Elijah is done. The frustration has boiled over. As we pick it up in our text, Elijah is hiding in a cave and Elijah is not afraid to tell God what he really thinks. The people have thrown down your altars, they have killed your prophets and now they are after me.
Have you ever been there? You have. Many of you. I call it bringing you in off the ledge. You get so frustrated with things going on around you that you want to jump into some abyss that will take your frustration away, just like the English army under Henry V.
But God still had work for Elijah to do. God had not abandoned Elijah. The situation was not good. But God was still in control. He was feeding and providing shelter for his prophet. Notice that God allows Elijah to voice his frustration. He allows you the same thing. He hears you. He knows. He puts you back on track.
How did it happen for Elijah? In the wind? No. In the earthquake? No. In the fire? No. It came in a voice. A low whisper. A calming tone.
Back when Karson played Pony baseball and I was his coach, we rallied in the top of last inning and took the lead when Karson hit a bases clearing double. He then went out to pitch with a slim lead. The bases got loaded and we still needed two outs. He was getting frustrated. I went to the mound and just talked with him. There was no big speech. Just a calming voice. God gave you this talent, smile and get these next two batters out. He did and all the boys got a dilly bar to celebrate the comeback.
God doesn’t bring the dilly bar’s but He provides the calming voice. God still has work for you to do and He knows frustration is not going to help or get the job done. He assures you of Christ’s victory. God has not abandoned you. I cannot say this enough in a sermon . . . God is in control. He is victorious for us in Christ Jesus. God is patient. Elijah after God’s words still voiced the same frustration. His words don’t reflect his change, but his actions do. He continued his work for the Lord’s kingdom.
Like Elijah God feeds and nourishes you in Word and Sacrament. He invites us to lay out what is on our minds. He listens. The Lord promises with His words that you are not alone. His Church will go on. He sends you and I out, with frustrations in check, to declare Christ’s victory over sin and death, because there is still work to do.
Once more unto the breach! Each and every day.
Amen.

June 22, 2025 Text: Luke 8:26-39

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the book Hell from the Heavens, John Wukovits describes the epic story of the largest single-ship kamikaze attack of World War II. The date was April 16, 1945. The battle was Okinawa. The target was the USS Laffey, a battle-hardened destroyer. The ship main purpose to protect other ships from enemy submarines. The ship had been involved in other assaults in the Pacific, but nothing prepared the men for this eight-minute ordeal when the Laffey was targeted over and over by these Japanese suicide aircraft. When the attack was over, the destroyer had been hit by twenty-two kamikazes. Yet, they sustained no significant damage. They were not destroyed.
Let’s head into another battle in our text from Luke 8. Jesus enters, it is time to be . .
“DELIVERED FROM THE DESTROYER”
Jesus had just been the calming influence during the waves uproar on the Sea of Galilee. Now he is heading to the ominous place called the Garasenes. A dismal place pagan property where demons roamed. Jesus meets a man from the city with demons. This guy had it rough. He was a “streaker” who lived among the skeletons. They tried to control him but this crazy man would break free. Jesus comes face to face with this deranged demon. He has a name – Legion – a unit of the Roman army was a legion – numbering six thousand. This guy was full of demons.
Jesus is outnumbered, but not outmatched. Pay attention to the story. Jesus controls the battle. The demons are begging Jesus not to obliterate them. Jesus goes easy on them and sends them into a bunch of pigs and the herd goes down the steep bank, into the lake and they all drown. They were sunk. What the Japanese could not do to the Laffey, the demons did to the pigs. Destroyed.
Hang on to your pew, there is more to the story. Where is the demon possessed man? He was free, “sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.” It was the posture of a disciple. This man is sticking with Jesus. Jesus still in control tells the man to go home and share his story. I have always wondered did he get an agent and do a book tour? It would be quite a read, wouldn’t it?
Life can be a battle. Scripture talks about “spiritual forces of evil.” The devil is a destroyer. John 10:10 says he comes to “kill and destroy.” Satan and his troops want to destroy. J.I. Packer wrote, “Stan has no constructive purpose of his own; his tactics are simply to thwart God and destroy men.”
Satan is doing a bang-up job destroying marriages, destroying relationships, destroying livelihoods, destroying the lives of the unborn, destroying families, destroying vocations, destroying churches, and destroying the minds of so many. The assaults just keep coming just like the planes hitting the Laffey.
Some of you are bound to ask, are there still demons among us? While maybe not as pronounced as the man in our text, people still have the devil inside. I have seen it twice in my lifetime. Once with a close relative. They were “in my grill” as people like to say. I will never, ever forget that look.
What did I do? I stayed calm. The Lord somehow that day reminded me, like we see in the text, that He is in control. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. You and I have been delivered from the destroyer. Jesus has disarmed the powers of evil. His death and resurrection have destroyed Satan’s power.
Do you know that in our Lutheran Service Book Altar Book there is this alternate form of baptism where the baptizer says, “Depart, you unclean spirit, and make room for the Holy Spirit in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The demons in the pigs were drowned. Luther’s catechism tells us that in our baptism our sins and evil desires are drowned and die.
Then go to the clear words of Jesus in His Word. Reminders of victory over sin and death and devil. Reminders of sins forgiven. Reminders of God’s power over the onslaughts of the destroyer.
Like the men of the Laffey, tell of your battle. Scarred but victorious. Return to your home and tell what God has done. It is an epic story – tell it well. How the Destroyer has delivered us from the destroyer.
Amen.

June 8, 2025 – Pentecost Text: John 14:23-31

Dear Friends in Christ,

They were a family of five. Dad, mom, two boys and a girl. The parents were both doctors. The dad was head of surgery at a big hospital in a midwestern city. As part of their work for the Lord they would go on medical missions throughout the world. This particular one around thirty years ago had the family going to the West African nation of Ghana. At the time, healthcare was very limited. Hospitals were nothing like the United States. It would be a challenge.
During their time there they were able to provide care for the people of the region. Medicines were dispensed, surgeries performed, and the mission was going well. A few days before the family was to return to the United States one of the boys started getting sick. High fever, a rash, fatigue. At first, they were not sure what it was. It was diagnosed as toxic shock syndrome. He was lethargic and needed care the city and country could not provide. If not, flown somewhere for care, his body would start to shut down.
This morning Jesus is addressing the disciples. He is about to tell them of his departure from the world. This message is going to be troubling to the disciples. It is confusing and causes them much anxiety. Where is Jesus going? What is going to happen? What can we do?
Maybe we have not faced these exact situations, but we to have had life events where things are confusing, we don’t know what to do and we ask, “What is going to happen?” “What can we do?” Let’s find some answers through our Savior . . .
“PEACE WHEN TROUBLED AND AFRAID”
The young man lay in the hospital. There was only one oxygen tank and once it ran out, their son would probably die. There was a flight the family was supposed to be on, the dad said the wife and two other children needed to go. He would stay with his son. As the family left it was going to be the last time they would see their son and brother alive.
Calls had been made to find more oxygen and it seemed like everything had been exhausted. Then a phone call came in. It was a professor at the university who had been in worship that morning and had heard the prayer for this young man. She knew of an oxygen tank. It was used to help train medical students, but they could have it if they could get it on time. They raced through the capital city, dodging traffic to get this oxygen tank which was on the other side of town. They got it. Took it back to the boy and while he still needed to get somewhere for better care, this bought them some time.
Jesus knew his time was limited, he knew these men who had followed him and joined in the ministry needed help. He told them this, “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (v. 25-27)
Accra, Ghana had and still does have direct flight to London on British Airways. Arrangements were made. Two things would be needed. They would fly the dad and son for $30,000 and the pilot had to give the ok. The pilot talked to the father but was hesitant. The boy could die in the air. But then another guiding of the Holy Spirit, the pilot thought he was talking to the boy’s Dr. When he found out he was also the father, it touched his heart, and he gave the ok. He would even fly low over the African desert if they needed to touch down.
The seven hour flight was made to London. They got the boy to a hospital, got him the proper treatment. He survived and is alive and well today. The cost was still hanging out there. What would the family do? When news of the flight made it back to British Airways and the amazing story of this young man’s survival, British Airways forgave the debt. There was nothing to pay.
If you don’t think the Holy Spirit isn’t working like this every day, you haven’t been paying attention. I see it in my life all the time and hope you do to. We daily fight the disease in our bodies, the devil, the temptations, our flesh. The peace of the Lord gives us comfort. It was earned on the cross by his flesh. It addresses our deepest need: sin. It reassures our conscience. We are forgiven. We are healed. The breath of life that we needed has been blown into our lungs through Baptism – how certain! In Holy Absolution – how personal! In the Holy Supper – how present! Served by the Office of the Ministry – how near! Where the Holy Spirit directs us, there Jesus dwells among us with the Father. He cares for you daily, body and soul. He forgives your debt.
I got the go ahead to share this story from the dad and mom. They hadn’t talked much about it. A question I posed got them to thinking and the father and mother told me all this in the back of a bus riding through the roads of Germany. You never know where the Holy Spirit is going to work. What’s your story? How has the Lord given you peace when troubled and afraid?
Amen.

June 1, 2025 Text: Psalm 133

Dear Friends in Christ,
On C-SPAN every week they have “Prime Minister’s Questions” from the British House of Commons. I love to watch this 40-minute program because it is a wonderful sociological study in human behavior. Two weeks ago, the opposition parties all had sympathy for the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer because that week, many properties that he owned were set on fire. In Britain you now have 3-4 main opposition parties to the Labour government that took over last year. What was interesting was they all felt bad for what happened to him, which was good to see, but after the short pleasantry, they ripped into him and his party’s policies. They try but they just can’t help themselves. I laugh every week at the human foibles on display.
I recently was thinking about the term hunky dory. What a strange term and how did it get started? I looked it up. “Hunky dory…Hunk (homebase) + dory (origin unknown)…meaning quite satisfactory: fine.” You’ve probably heard it or said in your lifetime. “How are things?” “Everything is just hunky-dory.”
But is it? When looking at the world, our community, our lives, and even the church are things hunky-dory? Or are we ready to go after each other like they do in British government?
In our Gospel, the night before Jesus died on the cross, he prayed about this whole subject. Jesus prayed for the church that people would not be jealous, backstabbing, power hungry, but one – as He and the Heavenly Father are one. Which begs the question this morning . . .
“CAN WE DWELL IN UNITY?”
Well, can we? Please note that what we are talking about this morning is spiritual unity, not political unity or sports team unity or what goes best on a hot dog. The first verse of our text, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity.” Look at that. The text gives no indication of disunity. It simply declares that there is good and pleasant unity among God’s Old Testament priests. It came from their common anointing.
We see this unity in our First reading from Acts. Luke writes “with one accord they devoted themselves to prayer.” Jesus had prayed for this unity. He got it. When they chose a new disciple there was no backroom dealings or power plays by the supporters of Barsabbas and Matthias. How pleasant is that? These 120 were united by their joy in the resurrection of Jesus. How wonderful that Jesus is alive. The ministry would continue.
This is what spiritual unity begins to look like. The oil in verse two of our text, specifically running down the beard of Aaron, points to the ordination of priests. The priest would feel the unity with the congregation, the people he was ordained to represent. In a broader sense we have one Lord, one faith, one Baptism.
“The dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.” (v. 3). Refreshing moisture falling on dry ground. Such is the blessing of spiritual unity. Zion is the source of blessing for God’s people, the place where the temple is established. It is in Zion that Jesus Christ, who is Immanuel, God with us, will lay down his life for his people. Zion is a picture of Christ’s Church where the life-giving Gospel will go forth.
Can we dwell in unity? Yes, because this is Christ’s prayer for us as well. We are one in the resurrected Christ. We are all forgiven sinners by the same cross. We kneel side by side at the altar to receive Christ Himself. We will spend eternity together with Christ and with one another.
In a world that loves disunity, you must have conflict to have drama, isn’t it nice to know that unity really does exist. One of the reasons we enjoy getting together each week like this is because we come together as like-minded Christians. We are not alone. We are one with fellow believers around the world. How good and pleasant that is. We can live this out in our own lives. Actually, it should be no surprise that something Jesus prayed for and gave his life for is answered.
Amen.

May 25, 2025 Text: John 16:23-33

Dear Friends in Christ,

We inhabit a culture of doublespeak. Either for politically correct reasons or to lessen the blow we change words. “Detainee” instead of prisoner of war. “Ethnic cleansing” instead of genocide. “Negative patient outcome” instead of the patient died. “Reducing costs” instead of cutting jobs. “Tree hugger” instead of environmental activist. “Twisted the facts” instead of liar. It invades our churches and religious talk. Here’s a biggie I hear from most of you, “passed away” instead of died in the Lord. Or this beauty, they are “not in heaven” instead of damned to hell.
Jesus and his disciples are on the verge of some unpleasant events. The earthly ministry of the Savior is in its waning days. Judas and the soldiers are on the way. Jesus is going to be charged, tried, and convicted all in a night. By 9:00 a.m. the next morning He is hanging on a cross. By 3:00 p.m. the Son of God will be dead. The disciples are going to see him again. He will return to the Father in a matter of weeks. But this is an unsettled group of people. What is going on? We need to know. So . . .
“JESUS SPEAKS PLAINLY”
We long for straight talk. When you call a help line, you want them to assist you in your problem, not try to sell you something. When you buy a car, you want the lowest price, not the paper shuffle between general manager and salesman. Mechanic, Doctor, Lawyer, and even Pastor just give it to me straight. We even have that in a commercial we constantly see, “Straight Talk Wireless.” Stop the doublespeak.
Jesus talks plainly about problems. Like these men who have been following Jesus for three years, we think we have things figured out. Uh, we don’t. In verse 28 He tells them plainly that he is leaving. The disciples reaction, “sure, we get it.” Sorry fellas, I don’t think you do. You do not comprehend at all what Jesus is about to go through.
We know we need Good Friday to get to Easter. But how many times do we just want to stay in the streets of Palm Sunday? I love a parade. This all feels so right. But, it can’t be. There has to be suffering and death before we can get to the glory. Life cannot be a perpetual mountaintop experience. Sometimes we are dropped in the valleys and all we want to do is dig a hole and feel sorry for ourselves. We forget the presence of Jesus.
Jesus speaks plainly. You will fail me, just like my disciples. That is why I must go to the cross. I will be earning your forgiveness each and every time you let God down. “Lord, we will never leave you.” Just wait. We fail Jesus in our talk. We abandon Jesus with our lack of worship.
Jesus speaks plainly. Like the disciples, we will have tribulation in this world. Scattered and troubled in so many ways. “Ok, Jesus, you got this one right.” We do have heartaches in relationships. Our health struggles cause us to doubt. The family dynamic is a mess.
We are not the people of God that he has called us to be. How about we try a little plain talk. We are tempted by the devil. The world does lead us down sinful paths that we follow. We do fail him as our sins consume us. We deserve nothing from him. He should turn his back and walk away. Oh, but he doesn’t. Instead, this Risen Savior of ours, assures us that we are at peace.
Jesus speaks plainly about our peace. “I have overcome the world. I leave the world not in defeat and death, but in victory.” He is eternal God that was brought into the world through his incarnation. He leaves the world in his crucifixion but goes to the Father in his resurrection.
We live this victory in our Baptism and in Holy Communion. The sin separation from God is forgiven. We are reconciled to the Father, that is peace. The Means of Grace renew this to us every day. He tells us all is forgotten when we forget his presence. He reminds us the crimson stains of failing and abandoning Jesus are washed in the sweat soaked cross of forgiveness.
“I have overcome the world.” Boy, that feels good, doesn’t it? Peace as we live our calling as followers of Jesus. Don’t conflict the world with your mixed messages. Stop the doublespeak. Speak plainly of the hope you have. Jesus speaks plainly today, the Savior who died and rose to make you his own.
Amen.

May 18, 2025 Text: Acts 11:1-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

Most Lutheran people know what we call the “Common Table Prayer” which most of us say before meals: “Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let thy gifts to us be blessed. Amen”. We call it common, but how common is it outside of Lutheran circles. Other folks may wonder if it is inspired or just brief and to the point. One thing I have noticed over the years is that when a Lutheran marries a non-Lutheran, and even if they attend the non-Lutheran Church, the family still says the common table prayer at home and in the restaurant.
For many in our world, the commo n table prayer is not so common. It united us as Lutherans, but it may exclude others. This is the way it was with circumcision and unclean foods in the first century or with modern divisions we ourselves create. By contrast, our text today calls us to see that God’s grace and promise goes to all people because we are…
“BOUND TOGETHER AS JESUS’ CHURCH”
Maybe we do get a little concerned about the Lord bringing the faith to those outside our little area of the world. The Jewish Christians did this with Peter. They were not supportive of him taking the Gospel message to the Gentiles. After all, in Deuteronomy 7 God himself had established a distinction of Israel from the Gentiles. Jews even thought that eating a meal with these Gentiles would make them unclean.
God had forbidden Israel to eat many foods that the Gentiles ate. But please remember what Jesus did. He ate with sinners. He sat down with the unclean. He did not stay away from certain foods. Jesus went well beyond in his effort to reach people with his message.
How about us? We have our comfort zone. Most of us like our space. You remember the joke at our house. I was already leaving in a covid world before we had even heard of the word covid. Relatives remarked that I wouldn’t have to change, because I was already giving people space. Are you the same way? Or are you like the people always behind me in the grocery line who think the closer they are to me the quicker the conveyor belt is going to move. “Let me pay please, thank you!”
What might disturb your comfort zone? The friend who wants to argue with you about our stance on Holy Communion? The relative at the family gathering that always has to engage you on infant baptism. How about the acquaintance who calls us the “exercise” church because we are always up and down?
God includes everyone. That is part of our confession. God made that very clear to Peter. God gives Peter a miraculous vision. Others were there to affirm the message and in the last few verses of our text God left no doubt.
Today, God affirms his promises to include all people by the testimony of His Word. The new covenant has been instituted with the shedding of Jesus’ blood. By Jesus dying on the cross, the sins of every man, woman, and child; past, present, future, has been paid for. Through the cross of Jesus, the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life have been given to all who believe. This plan of salvation means we can step out of our comfort zone. The gift of faith is for all. We see them differently. Not as a conflict lover, but as someone that Jesus would go to the cross for.
In the end, God calls all to faith through the same Word and Spirit. Whether by infant Baptism or the Holy Spirit working faith in adults, it is the same Word for everyone. The Gospel message is beyond our little corner of the world. God works the faith when He wants, with the soul that He wants. We don’t question, we just praise Him for His grace. We are “in” with Jesus because He paid for our membership by dying for us. Let us not stand in the Spirit’s way and we want to praise God when He brings others to faith.
Babette’s Feast was a 1987 Dutch film that showed people at odds with one another brought together by food and a gracious hostess. Babette was a servant in 19th century Denmark who devoted herself to bringing people together in a small and austere religious sect. She spent all that she had to prepare this feast for people that didn’t always get along. She introduced new foods and as they sat around the table together, beautiful things started happening.
As with Babette’s guests, Peter once questioned who he should dine with. Jews and Gentiles had always been at odds. But now Christ was gathering all who believed in Him to join as his feast, and how could Peter or the Church refuse? We can’t because we are bound together as Jesus’ Church.
Amen.