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“Only Jesus: No Other Name” (Acts 4:1-12; Revelation 1:4-18; John 14:1-14) Something significant, something momentous, happened in the city of Chicago 175 years ago this week. No, I’m not talking about the day I was born. I was born in Chicago, yes, but I’m not quite that old. No, but something else was born there 175 years ago. It was the birth of our church body, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It was on April 26, 1847, that representatives from fourteen Lutheran congregations came together at First St. Paul Lutheran Church on the north side of Chicago, and they formed a...

“The Power of the Easter Promise” (Luke 24:1-12) Alleluia! Christ is risen! (He is risen indeed! Alleluia!) This morning I want to tell you about the power of a promise. Our reading from Luke 24 puts on display the power of a promise. It’s a promise that was good, because of the one who made it. It’s a promise that was good, even though people forgot that the promise had been made; and even though when some people did think about it, they just knew that the promise wasn’t any good after all. It’s about what happened at the tomb...

“Evil Friday Is Also Good Friday” (Luke 23:44-56) The theme for our Lenten journey this year has been “You Meant It for Evil, But God Meant It for Good.” We have seen how God can just plain grab something evil and use it for good, in his larger plan. No one could see it at the time, but that’s how God works. We see God working this way in our reading tonight from Luke 23. Something evil was happening on the day our Lord Jesus was crucified. But God used it for good--for incredible, tremendous good--which is why call this...

“The Eternal Passover That Jesus Desired to Eat” (Luke 22:14-20) During this season of Lent, we’ve tried to be realistic as we learn again to trust our God. The realism has to do with evil--the evil that betrayed, condemned, and crucified Jesus long ago, and the evil in our world and in our lives also today. In the face of that evil, we trust our God and the plan he carried out in Christ. We can say to Satan, to the world, and even to ourselves, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” This evening’s service...

“Palm Sunday, Sunday of the Passion” (Luke 19:28-40; 22:1 – 23:56) Today is a day that goes by two names: “Palm Sunday” and the “Sunday of the Passion.” The title that we’re probably more familiar with is “Palm Sunday.” For it was on this day that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, greeted by the cheering crowds, and the people used palm branches to welcome him. Palms were used to indicate victory and triumph. Palms symbolized success and long life. And so on Palm Sunday, Jesus is hailed as the Messiah, the long-prophesied King of Israel, coming to Jerusalem...

“That Day, and Today” (Luke 23:26-43) Our theme for this Lenten series has been, “You Meant It for Evil, But God Meant It for Good.” And evil is often louder than good. In news reporting, for instance, it’s the horrific story that catches people’s attention. Or another example: Criticism, negative comments, tend to be more powerful, “louder” to us than compliments or positive comments. The complaint or criticism or insult sticks with us longer. We keep hearing those things long after the kindness or the affirmation has faded. Evil is often louder than good. Well, that’s true in the reading...

“The Rejected Stone Is Our Cornerstone” (Luke 20:9-20) In our text today, from Luke chapter 20, Jesus is teaching in Jerusalem during Holy Week. Everybody is in town, Jesus, as well as his enemies, who are conspiring against him, plotting to get him arrested and put to death. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jesus addresses that tension, with his enemies right there, listening to what he says. And what Jesus says in our text, he puts in two parts, using two different images. The first image is that of a vineyard, the second...

“Faith for a Complicated World” (Luke 23:1-25) The world around us is a complicated place that can be hard to figure out. Life sometimes sends us a fair amount of pain and suffering. Whether you’ve come through a lot or been spared a bit, we all know this. And it can be perplexing. For instance, we can pray to God, but what about the prayers where he says, “no”? Or the prayers that seem to be met with silence? So it’s complicated, and we don’t know all that we’d like to know about how it all fits together. The world...

“A Prodigal Son, a Prodigal Father, and a Pharisaical Brother” (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) In our text today from Luke 15, the scribes and Pharisees are tut-tutting Jesus because he was hanging around with tax collectors and other obvious sinners. And he was not only welcoming them, Jesus was even having meals with them, table fellowship. “This man receives sinners and eats with them,” the scribes and Pharisees grumble--not even using Jesus’ name, just calling him “this man,” with a sneer in their voice. Yeah, this was too much for these pious and respectable religious leaders. They figured a true servant...

“When You See Such Blind Ignorance, What Do You Think?” (Luke 22:63 – 23:1) Tonight we’re going to look at how Luke describes the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. Luke’s account is focused and shorter than the other gospels. It’s simplified, streamlined, stripped down. But what does Luke give us? Well, first, he tells us what those who had arrested Jesus were already doing to him, and from that it becomes clear where all this is going. Even before Jesus stands in front of the Sanhedrin, even before they have a chance to reject him, those who arrested Jesus...

“The Blood of the Galileans” (Luke 13:1-9) Whenever there’s a terrible tragedy in the news--a bombing that kills women and children in Ukraine, the police officer shot and killed in Bonne Terre on Thursday, a tornado that levels a town--people search for answers. They’re perplexed. They don’t understand. “Why?” they ask. “Why did this awful thing happen?” And they look for someone to blame. They blame the perpetrator, if it’s a crime. Sometimes they blame the victim, thinking they must have had it coming to them. Sometimes they blame God, who let this evil thing happen. Those are the standard...

“The Real Battle” (Luke 22:39-62)When I was a kid, and still to this day, I have been a fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories: Sherlock Holmes, the great detective solving crimes in London around the turn of the last century. At one point, Holmes realizes that behind a crime wave--blackmail, murder, and so on--behind it all is a single man: Professor Moriarty. Everyone else is just a pawn in his schemes, but Professor Moriarty is the guiding mastermind. “The Napoleon of Crime” you could call him. And so, Holmes is out to outwit and defeat his greatest enemy. The other...

“Jesus Is Determined--and Compassionate” (Luke 13:31-35) Two things that we see about Jesus in our text today: 1) He is determined, and 2) He is compassionate. And that combination is the very best news for you. Let’s take a look now, under the theme, “Jesus Is Determined--and Compassionate.” First of all, Jesus is determined. He’s determined to finish what he started. Nothing or no one can scare him off, not the Pharisees, not Herod the tetrarch of Galilee. Our text begins: “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to [Jesus], ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to...

“He Was Numbered among the Transgressors” (Luke 22:14, 24-38) This reading from Luke 22 is like watching a car wreck as it’s starting to happen. You can see the danger signs that could lead up to a crash, and if it keeps going like that, something bad is about to happen. The apostles, Jesus’ handpicked inner circle, are there with him in the upper room. And there’s sort of a back-and-forth between Jesus and these disciples. But it’s painful to watch; it’s even frightening. Evil is at work in the events leading up to Jesus’ suffering and death, and, in...

“Tempted” (Luke 4:1-13) “Tempted”: Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. But was the problem so much in what he was being tempted with or more in the timing of the temptations? Let’s find out. And as we do, you will see a faithful Savior, who is just the right one for you. Jesus has just been baptized in the Jordan River. At his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus, and the Father’s voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Now Jesus is about to start his public ministry....

“You Meant It for Evil, But God Meant It for Good” (Luke 22:1-13) In the beautiful rhythm of the church year, here we are again. It’s Lent, a time to reflect and repent, to pray and praise, to remember and rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ, as he moves humbly toward the cross and then powerfully in victory from the grave. Lent leads us to Easter. This year, we’ll be following Jesus’ story in the Gospel according to Luke. Today, on Ash Wednesday, we begin our Lenten journey toward Easter under the theme, “You Meant It for Evil, But God...

“At the Transfiguration: Moses, a Mountain, and an Exodus” (Luke 9:28-36)Today is the Transfiguration of Our Lord. It’s the last Sunday of the Epiphany season before we enter Lent this week on Ash Wednesday. Our text is Luke’s account of the Transfiguration. In all three accounts, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see Jesus transfigured, on a mountain, standing with Moses and Elijah, talking with them. Only in Luke, though, do we find out what they were talking about. And so our theme this morning: “At the Transfiguration: Moses, a Mountain, and an Exodus.” Moses? A mountain? An exodus? Our...

“An Ark to Preserve Us from Destruction” (Genesis 6:9-22) Now the whole earth was corrupt in God’s sight. The earth was filled with violence. All flesh had corrupted their way. The world was ripe for destruction. But there was this one man, Noah, who found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man--oh, not that he was without sin, but Noah trusted in the Lord, and his life reflected it. Noah walked with God. So God determined that he was going to wipe out the earth, give it a good scouring. He was going to do...

“Sharing in Your Father’s Character” (Luke 6:27-38) Listen to the things Jesus tells us to do today: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.” Sounds like a tall order! Are you up to it? Well, I’m going to say yes!...

“Robes Made White in the Blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9-17) You may have noticed this photo as you came into church today. It’s a picture of Pastor Tom Reeder wearing a white robe and a white stole, preaching from this pulpit. It was taken during the Easter season a couple of years ago--you can see the white Easter paraments on the altar. This was the photo that I posted on my Facebook page on Friday when I announced that Pastor Reeder had fallen asleep in Jesus on Thursday night. I thought it really depicted Pastor as most of you...