Sermon Texts

December 7, 2025                                                  Text:  Hebrews 5:5-10

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Have you ever won a blue ribbon?  God blessed me with speed, so I collected quite a few in track and field during my elementary and junior high days.  The boys have quite a collection in their rooms as well.  Safe to say all of ours are sports related.  But maybe you received one for academics or music or that Baked Alaska you presented at the county fair.  It feels good to use God-given talent to accomplish something.

            What about Jesus?  Could we say He has won top honors with a blue ribbon?  It would take a long time to list all the things Jesus did that could receive a blue ribbon, but Scripture boasts of at least one:  “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb. 5:6)

            This a.m. our Sunday morning theme of “Advent Blues” continues with . . .

“BLUE RIBBON:  JESUS AS PRIEST”

            There could be no loftier award.  Melchizedek was the most highly regarded priest of the Old Testament.  His family became the Levitical priesthood.  Melchizedek was both priest and king of Salem, Jerusalem’s old name.  He met the founding father of Judaism, Abraham with bread and wine following Abrahm’s rescue of his nephew Lot from the four kings.  This blue ribbon of priesthood is the most distinctive kind – ancient and honorable – like the formal blue sash nobles wear to signify a high honor.

            For us today we cannot see how being compared to Melchizedek has importance.  As it has been taught in Junior Confirmation over the years, I am not sure it has been fully understood.  The key thought is that Jesus is not just another prophet.  He is truly a high priest of the loftiest kind.  A blue-ribbon leader.

            The author of Hebrews sees Jesus as both priest and sacrifice.  He is Lord of Lords and King of kings.  Jesus is God in his redemptive role as healer and guide.

            That understanding, however, must stretch beyond the academic to reach the personal.  While knowing Jesus as a blue-ribbon priest like Melchizedek is vital knowledge, it is knowing him personally, knowing his sacrifice, that makes Him a life-giving friend rather than an austere champion or celestial celebrity.  Jesus is our priest, who ministers to us with his sacrifice, as well as his sacraments.  He ministers as a priest should – to heal the body as well as the soul.

            Look at what Jesus did.  He healed the sick and raised the dead.  The blind saw; lepers were cleansed; the bedridden walked; the mentally deranged made sane.  Jesus could not ignore these afflictions.  He does the same for us.  We are afflicted with sin, diseased with bad behavior and sometimes a little mentally unhinged.  The devil wants to use this to divide us from God, separate us from our Creator, and claim us as his own.  Jesus came to make us whole.  He doesn’t want to see shattered lives.  He wants to see us complete.  He preached not only to hearts and minds but to withered limbs and sickened organs.  His touch healed.  His Word cured.  His ointments of saliva and dirt were a prescription for wholeness.

            Let Jesus be your Melchizedek to bring you bread and wine as the original one did for Abraham, to forgive your sin so that you may experience healing of the body as well as healing of the soul and soundness of the mind.  Holy Communion is a healing gift that Christ, our great High Priest, has given to us.  Do not fail to celebrate it, not for the ceremony, the sip of wine and taste of bread, but for the assured forgiveness Jesus shares with his body and blood communicated in that gift.  It is his way of making us whole with him.

            As our priest, Jesus also offers up prayers for us.  Martin Luther wrote, “along with, and beyond, His sacrifice Christ prayed to God the Father in our behalf.  Isaiah 53:12 speaks of this function, ‘He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’..He continues to exercise this office as our Mediator and Advocate before God.”

            I, and many of you are not for participation blue ribbons.  A blue ribbon should be earned.  But in the salvation story, we pray that our Advocate and Priest Jesus who earned it for us, will grant to all who believe the ultimate winning ribbon – the salvation of their soul.

                                                                                                                                                Amen.       

December 3, 2025 – Mid-Week Advent                       Texts:  Hosea 14:4-8, John 11:17-27

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Do you know a Christmas tree once caused a scandal and in a Lutheran Church no less.  It happened on Christmas Eve 1951 in Cleveland, Ohio.  Pastor Heinrich Schwan, the 3^rd president of the LCMS, erected an evergreen tree in the church sanctuary, attached candles to it and placed a silver star on top.

            This tree was so revolutionary that the one newspaper called it nonsensical and asinine.  Some in Cleveland accused Pastor Schwan of heathen and idolatrous practices.  They maintained the tree was a pagan symbol.

            But the members loved the tree.  For these German immigrants it brought back memories of their homeland.  Still, it caused controversy.  So, Pastor Schwan did some research and was convinced they were a godly custom that celebrated the Savior’s birth.  He wrote letter to the papers and to people who objected making the case for the tree.

            The next Christmas, 1852, he erected a Christmas tree as did many of his members.  Even people not members of the church adopted the practice.  Within a decade, Christmas trees appeared in churches and homes across America.

            Indeed, the Christmas tree has become the universal symbol of the Christmas season in all cultures.  In our sanctuary we have a tree and wreaths and garland.  They point us to spiritual truths.  What is the significance?  That is what we will answer in our midweek Advent sermon series, “Every Heart Prepare:  Seeing Christ in the Holiday Decorations.”  Tonight then . . .

“EVERGREENS”

            Historians tell us these decorations were first used in Europe during medieval times.  The Christmas tree appeared in Northern Europe around 1000.  By 1400, most Germans had trees in their homes.  Around this same time green holly and ivy appeared in England during Advent and Christmas.  This presented the hope of life in the dead of winter.

            Green is the symbol of life.  In cold climates, many plants lose their green in winter and appear lifeless.  But evergreen plants such as fir, pine, and holly trees retain green leaves in the winter.  They have become a symbol of life when other plants appear dead.

            Moreover, evergreens are a symbol of eternal life.  This is because they are ever green.  They prevail over death, even in the dead of winter.  This is why people have decorated their homes with evergreens.  It is a reminder of the gift of eternal life that Jesus’ advent offers.

            Christ’s first coming was to restore eternal life that had been lost when Adam and Eve sinned.  They had access to the tree of life, but they forfeited it when they sinned.  Thorns infested the ground as a symbol of the curse of death.

            Jesus, the Second Adam, came to restore life that was lost in humanity’s fall.  In his advent two thousand years ago, God the Son came as a human being to give His life so that we sinners might receive eternal life.  The evergreen holly branch is associated with Christ’s death because its thorny leaves remind us of the crown of thorns He wore on the cross.  Its red berries remind us of the drops of blood that fell from His head.  His death destroyed death, and His resurrection restored life.  Jesus proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26)

            God the Holy Spirit indwells us and empowers us with His life.  He compares Himself to an evergreen tree in Hosea 14:8:  “I am like an evergreen cypress; from Me comes your fruit.”  God is our never-failing source of life and fruitfulness.

            So, look around at the evergreen decorations that were lovingly put up this past Sunday by members of Good Shepherd.  They convey the message of eternal life.  That is what Advent and Christmas are all about:  the eternal life Jesus won for us at His first coming, which we will experience fully at His second coming.  Every time you look at the evergreen decorations be reminded of this – Jesus has come and will come again to give you everlasting life.

                                    Amen.      

November 30, 2025                Text:  Romans 13:11-14

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Ever since we got these royal blue paraments that adorn our altar, lectern, and pulpit they have been a favorite.  We even used them for our Church Anniversary this past summer.  There is just something that feels right about that color for this season of Advent.  We are in preparation mood for Christmas.  This royal blue color symbolizes hope and expectancy. 

            Throughout the years our midweek Advent worship services have had a theme that has been preached on.  This year it is, “Every Heart Prepare:  Seeing Christ in the Holiday Decorations.”  We usually have not had a theme for our Sunday morning Advent services.  Well, this year we are going to.  The theme for our Sunday mornings and Christmas is going to be “Advent Blues.”  The color is before us, so let’s get started . . .

“THE COLOR OF ADVENT”

            Our text starts, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand.  So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (v. 11-12)

            “The day is at hand.”  Darkness is passing away.  Light is dawning.  When do we see blue?  During the day, right?  Blue skies that reflect the sun and give us the light that we so enjoy.  The light of the day is to reflect our spiritual walk.  Paul states that at the beginning of our next verse, “Let us walk properly as in the daytime.” (v. 13a)

            Unfortunately, we do not always walk under blue skies and sunshine.  Sometimes we are “singing the blues” because of our behavior.  Paul mentions a few in our text, orgies and getting drunk, sexual immorality and sensuality, quarreling and jealousy.  Our sin is readily evident, and guilt traps us.  Darkness finds us.  Darkness surrounds us.  We can be trapped in our dark thoughts and ways if we do not cast off these works of darkness.  Our relationship with God our Creator has been damaged, but God heard the agonizing cry from the souls of His people.  He responded.  He sent His Son to articulate clearly to this troubled planet that God still loves His people and wants them to be one with Him.  The Savior came for us.

            Jesus the prophet came proclaiming the good news.  Our shattered lives have been made whole again.  Jesus preached a love that chased away the blues, that turned hope into reality.  Jesus came to color our world with joy, to change the hues of sadness to shades of cheer.

            Jesus was different from the other prophets.  He was different from Elijah and Elisha, Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as his cousin John the Baptist, really the last of the Old Testament prophets.  Jesus was different because of how he spoke.  The other prophets spoke for God, but Jesus spoke as God.  That is why He chases “the blues” so successfully.

            At a performance of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg by the Danish Royal Opera, the soprano lost her voice.  She was able to act the role, so she moved her lips while a substitute sang the part from offstage.  Even if they had practiced, they could not have performed better.  They sang as one.  Likewise, the prophets of old were spokesman for God.  As they opened their mouths, so the people heard the voice of God.  They spoke as one.  They prepared the world for the coming Savior. 

            Yet Jesus is more than they, for the singers memorized a libretto and score by Richard Wagner, but Jesus composed his own lyrics and tunes – those that could only come from God himself.  Thus, Jesus came as a prophet singing a song of good news to people who had long sung “the blues.”  He did so not as an actor, but as the author – the one Peter called “the author of life.” (Acts 3:15)

            Paul says in our text we are to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh.”  How does that happen?  When Jesus colors your Advent season with love and forgiveness.  Come, then, to the altar, see the blue, feel the light, and taste the body and blood of Christ given and shed for you.

            In an age that can become bleak with sad news emanating from the world’s far corners, hear the good news.  Jesus paints our world with hope instead of dread, with joy despite sorrow.  Permit Him, through the Spirit, to occupy the pulpit of your life daily to preach the good news.  May the Color of Advent shine on you.

                        Amen.

November 26, 2025 – Thanksgiving Eve     Texts:  Genesis 22:1-14, Hebrews 11:17-19

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Could you have done it?  Could you have marched your precious child up that mountain and sacrificed him to the Lord?  Wrapping their wrists and ankles so they couldn’t move.  Could you take that knife in your hands and plunge it into the flesh of your child? 

            How many of you would turn your back on this sacrifice?  Is God being evil, cruel and petty?  Is  He is asking this of you just to prove you love Him?  How many have left the faith over the years because of this biblical story?  How can God be so harsh?

            Most people don’t know the whole story.  This isn’t about child sacrifice.  This story is actually about the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Maybe this text is a little odd for the holiday, but then again maybe it will make sense.  This Thanksgiving . . .

“THE LORD WILL PROVIDE”

            The text from Hebrews, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’” (v. 17-18).

            God had said this to Abraham, “through Isaac shall your offspring be named,” when Isaac was growing up in Genesis 21.  The story in our text for tonight is Genesis 22.  Isaac had to live long enough to have a son.  Had to.  Or God would be a liar.  And Isaac hadn’t had any kids yet.

            Is this a test to see if Abraham loved God more than his son?  No.  Is this a bloodthirsty God who wants child sacrifice?  Of course not.  This isn’t a test of Abraham’s obedience or his sacrifice.  This is about his faith.  This is about the promise God made.  Isaac has to have children and to have children he must be alive.  He cannot do that if he is dead.  Isaac must come down that mountain with Abraham.  Abraham was sure that God was faithful to His promises.  It didn’t look good, but he had faith that God would act in faithfulness.  The Lord will provide.

            In Genesis what day does it say they come down from the mountain?  When did Abraham figuratively receive his son back from the dead, his day of resurrection?  The Bible says, “on the third day.” (v. 4)

            Abraham saw the wood, the bonds, the crown of thorns, the Lamb of God, the third-day resurrection.  Because the Lamb slain in place of his son meant blessings for all the nations of the earth.

            Does all of this change the way you see Abraham and Isaac?  Do you understand God differently?  Do you think knowing what was happening, would it help someone who struggles with this story?  See, that is why we must read the Old Testament in light of the New.

            The Lord provided the Lamb.  He would be sacrificed for you.  Your sins would be laid upon Him and God allowed him to be strapped to a cross and nails pounded into his flesh.  He was the obedient Son who fulfilled the Father’s plan of salvation and provided for us the greatest gift this Thanksgiving and every day – the salvation of our soul.

            Ok parents, having you ever laid the cross of wood on your children and given them over to death in the certain hope of resurrection?  That what Paul says happens in baptism.  “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3-4). If you have never thought of baptism that way, let Abraham’s sacrifice help you today.  Don’t get distracted by the niceties of the font.  It is a place of sacrifice of drowning into the grave with Christ in his crucifixion, so that you, too, and your children can know the power of resurrection.  That is what you did for your child and what your parents did for you in baptism.  Thanks be to God!

            I pray this time meditating on the sacrifice of Isaac impacts your faith so that you can rejoice in your baptism day.  You can give thanks for what the Lord has provided to you and to your children.  God’s Blessings as you remember how the Lord has provided.

Amen.    

November 23, 2025                                                                     Text:  Malachi 3:13-18

Dear Friends in Christ,

            This week kicks off the holiday season.  From now until the end of 2025 it is a busy time of family gatherings.  I heard about an article where 50% of people were already mapping out their communication topics for these get-togethers.  What will people be avoiding?  In this order are the top 5:  politics, finances, personal appearance, job/dating, and religion.  People even have their outs – a phone call they may or not be receiving or a trip to the bathroom.  Why are things so difficult?  Because with many of these topics we may say hard words that people don’t want to hear.  We may make it personal.  We may offend.  So, talk about the turkey or ham or how nice the centerpiece is.  But do not ask if they have found a boyfriend or girlfriend yet.

            In our text for this last Sunday in the church year, Malachi the prophet writes of people who have spoken against God.  These are His children, the ones whom He created, and they come to the family gathering with harsh things to say.  But He also remembers in our text His children that fear Him and heard Him and paid attention to Him.  These also gather together because we are His. 

“THE LORD WILL REMEMBER YOU”

            The text starts out, “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.  But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’  You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God.  What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?  And now we call the arrogant blessed.  Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test, and they escape.’” (v. 13-15)

            How would you like that said at the dinner table?  Harsh, critical.  They are calling the Lord out.  These children of Jacob continued to resist the Lord’s Word.  They found no benefit in serving the Lord.  They found no gain in following God’s Law.  They think the arrogant and evildoers are getting away with their behavior. 

            Do you ever hear anything similar from your friends or family?  Who doesn’t like to stir the pot by wondering why their serving God is doing no good?  Who can light a spark and get into an argument about God’s Word and what it says?  Who wonders aloud where God is with all the evil that seems to be occurring?  Can anyone really expect to cajole God into doing what we want?  Can we put Him to the test or bend His will?

            Prayerfully we realize that we can do none of that.  What happens when the Lord remembers?  He says we are engraved on His hand.  God keeps His promises.  Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament.  It is God’s last word to Israel before the fulfillment of his greatest promise.  The next time God comes around it is going to be in person – in the person of the promised baby in Bethlehem.  It is going to be four hundred more years of waiting, but He is going to come.  What God’s Word says, happens.

            The Lord will remember you.  “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.  The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.” (v. 16)  The Lord wasn’t pleased about the words He heard against Him, but He does respond positively to the words of the believers.  They are remembered and written in the Book of Life.

            The text goes on, “They shall be mine says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.” (v. 17).  The irony here is that, while a man spares his son, in the case of this son, the Son of God, God did not spare him, did not have compassion on him, but sent him to the cross.  He gave himself up to suffering and death.  And Jesus could not save himself from the cross if he wanted to save us.  But God did all of that to have compassion on us, to put our sins on Jesus, to make us His sons and daughters.

            Turn from your questioning of God.  Don’t needle that relative that might strike back, don’t poke the bear who might growl.  Don’t test the faith if it is not an appropriate time to do so.  Let the Holy Spirt lead you His treasured possession to when the time is right.

            The Lord helps us to remember like the last verse says between the “righteous and the wicked,” “the one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”  You go out from here as God’s treasure.  You know Jesus is King and you have peace with Him.  The Lord knows you and will remember you on the Last Day.  He is returning you know.  You have His table ready, don’t you?

                                                            Amen.             

November 16, 2025                                                                             Text:  Luke 21:5-28

Dear Friends in Christ,

            Why must life be so complicated?  This next week I have a colonoscopy.  This will be my third because my mom had colon cancer, and I am to get a scope every five years as a preventative measure.  I am person that likes to do things right and in order.  I called to make sure the procedure would be covered at 100% like the other two were.  I was told yes.  I began the process.  Except now the process is so much more complicated.  Register with the company sending the medicine, register with the GI office, register with the surgery center.  I’ve got passwords flying everywhere.  Then the texts and phone calls come on a daily basis from those sending the mix to clean me out.  They want to send it badly though the procedure is not for two more months.  I get that all done.  Relax.

            Not so fast my healthcare friend.  Though they had two months, two weeks before the procedure I am told I owe a pre-payment or no scope.  This can’t be right.  Back on the phone.  With our church healthcare plan we have an advocate, I call them, and they will look into it.  I get a call back within two hours.  Nice.  I am told because a small polyp was found the last time it will not be coded as preventative.  I owe the pre-payment.  OK.  I go to the Dr.’s office.  Simple enough, right?  Except even though I am standing in the Dr’s office I must call an 800 number – their billing department.  What?  I do and then thankfully after this annoyance they do allow me to make the pre-payment in the office.  Hallelujah!  Believe me, I made sure to get a receipt.

            In our text, Jesus is speaking to his disciples.  He is going to tell them that life is going to get very complicated and challenging.  It does sound worse than scheduling a colonoscopy.  It will be, might they be thinking . . .

“WHY MUST LIFE BE SO COMPLICATED?”

            God is still working in our world, but sometimes we may wonder.  There are so many natural disasters and man-made problems – where is God?  There are so many acts of violence and fighting between nations – where is God?  The moral decay in our society is a stench that won’t go away – where is God?

            This shouldn’t be a surprise.  History has always asked, “where is God?”  He promises in our text that the noble stones and offering would be thrown down.  Terrors and signs would occur on earth and in heaven.  Worldly destruction and devastation are used by God to fulfill his plan.  He is saying to everyone, “I am right here.”

            Do you see life as complicated and challenging?  Do you see God as an absent God?  The whole reason Jesus came into the world was to reconcile us with His Father.  Sin had driven a wedge between God and his world, but Jesus’ death on the cross has removed that separation.  God grants wisdom in facing persecution and complications and challenges.  God will rein evil in.  Evil will come to an end.  The Son of Man will return to bring final redemption to the world.

            Life can be complicated.   Things we think are rock solid, can fall just like the temple.  Legal protections we always took for granted could be overturned.  We may be called before “kings and governors” to account for our Christian faith.

            Remember this little flock.  God will always be present in the life of the believer.  The cross and your baptism have reconciled you to God.  God promises his Spirit when things get complicated.  “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2). God does not abandon or leave us.  He even numbers the hairs on our head.  That is how intimately He knows us.  The Son of Man is coming in power and glory.  Christ Jesus, crucified and risen, is the real noble stone, the cornerstone of the Church.

            I cannot promise you today that life’s complications will end.  But there is something that I try to remember when facing these challenges.  It is a Scriptural promise of God that seems appropriate in light of what I am about to undergo.  “This too shall pass.” 

            Embrace the promises of God, whose Word and Spirit never fail to sustain the believer through life . . . and even unto death.

                                                                                    Amen.