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“When the Messiah Gives You a Makeover” (Isaiah 61:1-4, 10-11) Have you ever seen one of those makeover shows on TV? My daughter used to watch one. It was called “What Not to Wear.” The idea of the show was that they would select a woman whose wardrobe and appearance wasn’t that great. Then they would help her pick out some new clothes that would look better on her. They would give her a nice haircut and do up her makeup. So this woman, who at the start of the program was looking all drab and dowdy, by the end...

“New Heavens and a New Earth” (2 Peter 3:8-14) This year’s theme for our Advent midweek services is “Waiting for the Day of the Lord.” We’re looking at the Epistle readings for the first three weeks of Advent, all of which are about looking forward to the second coming of Christ and, in view of that, how to live now while we’re waiting for that day. Last week we began by looking at the biblical background of the term, “The Day of the Lord.” We saw it as a day of both judgment and salvation--judgment for the unbelieving world, but...

“A Baptism of Repentance for the Forgiveness of Sins” (Mark 1:1-8) Well, here comes John the Baptist again. He always shows up around this time of year. Always with kind of a depressing message: “Repent! Get your life straightened out!” John the Baptist is like the Denny Downer of December. Everybody else is having a good time getting ready for Christmas--going shopping, listening to Christmas music, watching specials on TV, having Christmas parties--and here comes John, telling us to repent. John, is that any way to get ready for Christmas? I mean, listen to this part of our text today...

“A Day of Judgment and Salvation” (1 Corinthians 1:3-9) In thinking about a theme for our three midweek Advent services this year, I decided to go with the Epistle readings for the first three Sundays in Advent. For there is a common theme that you can see in all three. There is a phrase, a connecting thread, that runs through these readings. See if you can notice what it is. First, from the Epistle for the First Sunday in Advent, 1 Corinthians 1, the part where it says: “as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who...

“Oh That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down” (Isaiah 64:1-9) The Old Testament Reading for today, from Isaiah 64, is an intense prayer. The prophet is begging God to intervene on behalf of his people. As such, it is a fitting prayer also for God’s New Testament people, the church. And so, on this First Sunday in Advent, as we enter this season of waiting for the Lord’s coming, we cry out with Isaiah, “Oh That You Would Rend the Heavens and Come Down.” What is the situation for which Isaiah writes? With prophetic foresight, Isaiah looks ahead...

“The Sheep and the Goats” (Matthew 25:31-46) Are you a sheep or a goat? You will be one or the other, you know. When? When Christ comes again. Listen again to today’s Gospel reading: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” Dear friends, you...

“Three Words for Thanksgiving: Think, Thank, Talk” (Philippians 4:6-20) Today I have three words for you. These are three things you can do to celebrate this Day of Thanksgiving. They are three words that are easy for you to remember for the rest of this day. And here they are: “Three Words for Thanksgiving: Think, Thank, Talk.” We find all three of these ideas present in the Epistle lesson for today, from Philippians 4. First of all, we’ll start with the word “Think.” Paul addresses his brothers at the congregation in Philippi and he says: “Whatever is true, whatever is...

“Faithful Stewards of Our Master’s Talents” (Matthew 25:14-30) Our text is the Holy Gospel for today, from Matthew 25. It’s the story known as the Parable of the Talents. A master gives his servants talents, varying amounts of money, to manage on his behalf. When he comes back, we see what they have done with those talents and what the master says to them about their stewardship. This parable has real application to us, for you and I have been gifted by God with varying talents and abilities, as well as money, to be used faithfully for God’s purposes. You...

“Let Us Go to the House of the LORD!” (Psalm 122:1) You may notice that we still have the white paraments up from last week, when we observed All Saints’ Day. That’s because today we’re doing a kind of “All Saints’ Day, Part Two.” Last week we remembered those from our midst who entered the Church Triumphant over the past twelve months: Homer and Dorothy Rouggly, Bob and Dottie Worsham. This week, today, we’re remembering other departed saints from our midst, whom we commemorated at the start of the service with a plaque at the entrance to our church. The...

“Who Are These, Clothed in White Robes?” (Revelation 7:9-17) Today, on this first Sunday in November, we observe All Saints’ Day. On All Saints’ Day, we rejoice that we are part of that great communion of saints that is the church of Christ, both the church on earth and the church in heaven. All the saints, all those made holy by the blood of Christ. Saints, holy ones, set apart to belong to God alone. All saints, all of us who have been baptized into Christ and clothed with his righteousness. On All Saints’ Day we commemorate the faithful departed,...

“Reformation 500: By Grace Alone” (Romans 3:19-28) Happy Reformation Day! Now I could say that every year on the last Sunday in October, which is when we observe Reformation Day. But this year it is something special. Because this year, 2017, and this week, October 31--this is the 500th anniversary of that day in 1517 when the Reformation really began. And you and I are here as a result. We are in a church, this congregation, and a church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, that hold to the teachings that came out of that great Reformation. We are partnered with...

“Render to Caesar, Render to God” (Matthew 22:15-22) Our text today is the Holy Gospel from Matthew 22, the passage that includes the famous saying, “Render unto Caesar.” But as we’ll find out, that is only half of the verse. The other half is about rendering unto God, and really that is the main point of the passage. So today our theme: “Render to Caesar, Render to God.” We’re in Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Passover. Jesus has just come into town a couple of days ago. His enemies have been trying to figure out a way...

“Rejoice in the Lord Always” (Philippians 4) “Rejoice in the Lord Always”: So says Paul in our Epistle reading today. Really? “Rejoice”? “Always”? Are you kidding me? “Rejoice always”? That’s easy for you to say, Paul. You don’t know what I’m going through. If you did, you wouldn’t be telling me to rejoice always. I mean, come on! Look at all these bills I’ve got to pay! Rent, groceries, gasoline, maintenance on the car. Insurance: car insurance, health insurance, insurance on my insurance. Taxes: federal, state, local, and sales taxes, plus the fee for my tax preparer. Paying off the...

“Invited to the Feast” (Isaiah 25:6-9) There’s a big feast coming, and Bob is invited! In fact, his seat is already guaranteed. There’s a big feast coming, and you are invited too. That’s what I want to tell you about today, that we have been “Invited to the Feast.” What is this feast I’m referring to? It’s the one spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. You heard this prophecy in the reading from Isaiah 25. It begins: “On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of...

“The Joy of Knowing Christ” (Philippians 3)I noticed in the news about a week ago--maybe you saw it too--that Monty Hall died. He was the longtime host of the television game show, Let’s Make a Deal. You remember how the show worked? Monty would pick out a member of the studio audience and offer that person, say, $200 for the tennis shoes she was wearing. Then Monty would suggest a deal. Do you want to keep the $200 you have in your hand, or do you want to trade it in for what’s behind the curtain, where Carol Merrill is...

“The Joy of Being of the Same Mind, the Mind of Christ” (Philippians 2) Today is the second in our four-week series on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. We’re going chapter by chapter through the four chapters of this letter. Last week we introduced the series by noting that Philippians is often called “The Epistle of Joy,” because of the recurring theme of joy running through the letter. We saw it last week in Philippians 1. There Paul describes his relationship with the Philippians in what we called a “Joyful Gospel Partnership.” Through the message that Paul had preached...

“A Joyful Gospel Partnership” (Philippians 1) Today we start a four-week series of readings and sermons--and Bible classes, as well--on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. The official Epistle readings from the lectionary have big chunks of each of the four chapters over these four weeks, but since we’re diving in whole-hog, as it were, I decided I’d read the whole chapter each week, as you just heard. So today we begin with Philippians chapter 1. In trying to come up with a theme for this message--and really, for the whole book--I thought back to a sermon I heard long...

“The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” (Matthew 18:21-35) Forgiveness doesn’t count. Oh, don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean that it doesn’t matter of that it’s not important. By no means. No, forgiveness counts for a lot in that respect. In fact, it’s everything. We’d be lost without forgiveness. But when I say, Forgiveness doesn’t count, I mean it in the way that Jesus teaches it, which is to say, forgiveness doesn’t keep score. Forgiveness doesn’t count. It doesn’t keep score or keep track of how many times it has to forgive or how much sin it has to have...

“Dealing Drastically with Sin” (Matthew 18:1-20) How seriously do we take the matter of sin? Our own sin? The sin of others? I think that is the theme running through the teachings of Jesus today in the Holy Gospel from Matthew 18: the seriousness of sin and our need to treat it as such. And so our message this morning: “Dealing Drastically with Sin.” I think, generally speaking, in our culture today people do not treat sin as a serious matter, and we certainly do not deal drastically with it. We let it slide. We excuse it. We rationalize it....

“How to Understand--and Do--Christian Exhortations” (Romans 12:9-21) Take a look again at the Epistle reading for today, as printed on your Scripture insert. It’s Romans 12:9-21, and it starts out as follows: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.” What do you notice about all...