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“Christmas and Easter Rolled into One!” (John 1:1-18) This year we have the unusual circumstance of Christmas falling on a Sunday. This last happened in 2016, and before that, in 2005 and 2011. Christmas won’t fall on a Sunday again until 2033. Not only is it Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when Christians have been going to church for 2,000 years, but it is also Christmas Day, one of the major festivals of the church year. So you would think, with this double reason for going to church, that churches across the land would be packed this morning. Nah, nah! Think...

“O Holy Night” (Luke 2:1-20) It’s Christmas Eve! A night to celebrate. A holy night. For on Christmas Eve we start our annual celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight we hear again the familiar Christmas Gospel. We sing the Christmas carols. We light the candles. This is a night to gather here in church with our family and to celebrate as a church family. It is a holy night indeed. And so our theme this evening: “O Holy Night.” But imagine for a moment that instead of coming here, you went out to a place where...

“Joseph, Did You Know?” (Matthew 1:18-25) If you’ve listened to one of those radio stations that play Christmas songs for about two months before Christmas, then you’ve probably heard a song called “Mary, Did You Know?” You’ve heard that song, right? The lyrics involve asking Mary a series of rhetorical questions about whether she knew what her son would grow up to do: “Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?” “Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?” That sort of thing. Well, today I’m wondering...

This is the letter I sent my congregation today. December 14, 2022 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord ~ Psalm 27:1,13-14 To all the saints at Christ the King, You can probably remember where you were when you heard the news. There was a shooting at...

“St. John the Baptist, the Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness” (Matthew 3:1-12) Today’s midweek service is the last in our series called, “Three Saints of Advent.” We began on November 30 with St. Andrew, Apostle, since his festival falls on that date. Last week, on December 7, we remembered St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, since his commemoration falls on that date. Now today, December 14, is nobody’s festival or commemoration, but since the last two Sundays the Gospel readings have featured John the Baptist, that’s the saint we’ll go with today. Now there’s quite a lot in the...

“He Will Come and Save You” (Isaiah 35:1-10) Do you ever feel weak, like you’re not strong enough to handle what life is throwing at you? Do you ever feel like your faith is feeble, that it’s not firm enough to face the future? Are you ever anxious or worried, afraid that there are forces or people out to get you, and it feels like they’re winning? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I’ve got a word for you today. Actually, God has a word for you today, and I’m here to deliver it to you....

“Three Saints of Advent: St. Ambrose of Milan, Pastor and Hymnwriter” For our midweek Advent services this year, we’re doing a series I’m calling “Three Saints of Advent: Andrew, Ambrose, and John the Baptist.” Now how did I come up with that idea? By looking at the calendar. The first Wednesday in Advent this year was November 30, and that date is set aside in the church calendar as the Feast of St. Andrew, one of the twelve apostles. The second Wednesday in Advent is today, December 7, and this date is listed in the church year as the Commemoration...

“A Shoot from the Stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1-10) Maybe when you heard today’s Old Testament Reading, from Isaiah, you were thinking: “Shoot? Fruit? Root? What in the world is Isaiah talking about? And who is this Jesse fellow? And what could all this possibly have to do with me?” Well, it has everything to do with you, so let’s listen now as Isaiah tells us about “A Shoot from the Stump of Jesse.” Our text is the reading from Isaiah chapter 11. The prophet begins: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.” Who is this...

“Three Saints of Advent: St. Andrew, Apostle” (John 1:35-42a; Matthew 4:18-20) When churches have midweek Advent or Lenten services, usually the pastor tries to come up with a theme that will tie the services together. This year, in looking at the calendar for Advent, I noticed something about the dates for our midweek services. The first three Wednesdays are November 30, December 7, and December 14. Which got me to thinking: November 30 is the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle. December 7 is the Commemoration of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan and one of the great Church Fathers. December 14...

“Come, Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:1-5) “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD.” The prophet Isaiah says that this is what many peoples, many nations, will say in the latter days. “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob.” And this is what we say--yes, you and I--this is what we say in these latter days, because this is equivalent to saying, “Come, let us go to church.” Really? Yes, really! Because this now--this place, the church--this is...

“Is There Anything in America to Be Thankful for Anymore?” (Psalm 73; Malachi 3:13-18; Deuteronomy 8:1-10) The fourth Thursday in November is set aside to be the Day of National Thanksgiving. That’s the reason why we have the day off from work. Because this is when all Americans are supposed to go to their churches and give thanks to God for his blessings on our nation. Ha! Yeah, right. How many people actually do that? Not many. Give thanks to God on Thanksgiving Day? Are you kidding? That would interfere with our Thanksgiving! No, we need the time to baste...

“From the Domain of Darkness to the Kingdom of His Son” (Colossians 1:13-20) Our reading today from Colossians says that God has “delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” And this gives us our outline for today’s message: first, the domain we’ve been delivered from; second, the kingdom we’ve been transferred to; and third, the Son whose kingdom it is. First, the domain we’ve been delivered from. St. Paul describes it as “the domain of darkness.” This is what God has delivered us from. And thank God he has. For...

“Day of Judgment, Day of Redemption, Days of Distress” (Malachi 4:1-6; Luke 21:5-36) “Day of Judgment, Day of Redemption, Days of Distress”: We hear about all of these days in our readings today. All these days are guaranteed. God’s word makes it so. All these days will happen. In fact, some of them are happening already. But there is a day ahead that is not yet here. It’s still to come. And we need to be ready for it. Let’s find out. Day of judgment, day of redemption: That is the day that is still to come. And really, it’s...

“All Saints: Signed, Sealed, Delivered” (Revelation 7:2-17) “Behold a host, arrayed in white.” So we just sang. Our reading from Revelation tells us who they are: “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” But before they came out of the great tribulation, first they were in it. That’s where we are. In the midst of tribulation. Trial and tribulation. Struggle, sorrow, sadness. Grief and loss. This is our lot...

“A Reformation in Liturgy and Hymnody” (John 8:31-36) Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Friends, this is really what the Reformation was all about: that people would abide in the living, life-giving word of Christ; that they would know the truth of the gospel, which had been obscured by the errors that had crept into the church; and that this truth would set people free from the slavery they had been laboring under. Luther himself had labored under that slavery,...

“God, Be Merciful to Me, a Sinner!” (Luke 18:9-17) “So this Pharisee and a tax collector walk into a temple. . . .” No, this isn’t the start of some kind of a joke. Rather, it’s the start of a parable that Jesus tells. And this story makes a very important point. So we will be wise to listen up and take it to heart. Our text is the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, from Luke 18. And we’re told why Jesus proceeds to tell this story. It’s because there were people “who trusted in themselves that...

“But the Word of God Is Not Bound!” (2 Timothy 2:1-13) Do you ever feel constrained or held back, like you’re the prisoner of things that are too powerful for you to overcome? Maybe it’s age. You feel the advancing years taking their toll on you. Maybe it’s sickness. You get over one thing, and then it’s something else. More pills, more trips to the doctor. You feel like a prisoner in your own body. Or maybe it’s a guilty conscience weighing you down. You sense your own failings. Your past sins keep on dogging you. Then there’s the approach...

“Timothy and the Women Who Raised Him in the Faith” (2 Timothy 1:1-14) In today’s Epistle, Paul writes to Timothy to encourage him in his faith. Paul also reminds Timothy of the ladies who passed on the faith to him. Their names were Lois and Eunice. One was Timothy’s mother; the other, Timothy’s grandmother. Let’s see, now which one was which? Here’s the way I have of keeping them straight: “Lois” sounds like “oldest,” so she was the grandma. “Eunice” sounds like “youngest,” so she was Timothy’s mom. So now let’s hear more about “Timothy and the Women Who Raised...

“The Poor Man and Rich Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-31)Our text today is the story commonly known as “The Rich Man and Poor Lazarus.” But I’m going to suggest to you today that we could just as well call this story “The Poor Man and Rich Lazarus.” As we shall see. So let’s go. Jesus starts out the story with the rich man: “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.” Now this is quite a picture Jesus is painting with just a few words. The man is described as a...

“God Desires All People to Be Saved” (1 Timothy 2:1-15)From time to time the Pew Research Center, an organization that tracks religious trends in America, comes out with a new study. This past week they issued their latest report, called “Modeling the Future of Religion in America: How the U.S Religious Landscape Could Change over the Next 50 Years.” Based on findings from recent decades, they are projecting how things could look in the future if current trends continue. The main question in this study is what percentage of Americans will identify as Christians in the future. Going back to...