Thanksgiving has become a secular holiday---a day of food and football. But do you remember the scores from last year's Thanksgiving Day football games? Chances are, unless there was something spectacular about those games, you do not remember the score. Sometimes we forget more than just the score to a football game. We can forget the many blessings our God has showered upon us as individuals, as families, and as a nation. You probably won't remember the scores of the football games this Thanksgiving. Our prayer today is that you will remember all the good things God has done for you, unlike the nine lepers who were healed by Jesus and had thankless attitudes. Come to worship remembering all the good gifts God has given you, especially the greatest gift of all---the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, for your forgiveness. Come as thankful people. Leave today remembering the source of all of your blessings!
Complete Dependence Leads to Complete Freedom
Note the absolute dependence the widow shows in her God. Wealth and possessions can pose a spiritual threat to all people, as they have a way of owning their possessor. Jesus’ love and sacrifice motivate us to offer our whole lives to him as our daily offering of gratitude. He gave up everything, including his life, for us.
All Saints Day - Trust in the Lord
We are living in the end times. Jesus promised that the end times would be perilous for Christians due to the increase of wickedness and the decrease of faith and love. The times are also perilous for those outside the Church, because judgment is near for all. However, God’s Word gives us reason to be confident. Today, we hear that can be confident in these end times because we have seen and heard how God took care of the saints who went before us. Forgiven in our Savior, we can look forward to God’s gracious care here on earth and eternal triumph in heaven.
The Festival of the Lutheran Reformation: The God We Serve is Able to Save
Today, we give thanks we have been rescued from the false ways of salvation that could only lead us to ruin and doom. We owe God thanks for that rescue accomplished by his grace alone, on account of Christ’s merit alone, and through the means of grace alone. At the same time we remember that apart from unqualified commitment to his Word, grace can be lost and with it the saving faith created through the Word in the one and only Christ, our one and only Savior. Therefore let us hear the Word of the Lord! Prompted by his grace let us recommit ourselves to purity of doctrine that comes alone from the Word, and to a life that reflects our devotion to the Savior who gives himself for us and then to us in his pure Word and sacraments.
Asking for a Friend: Why Doesn't God Give Me What I Want?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?”
Due to technical difficulties, there is no recording of this morning’s sermon.
Asking for a Friend: What is more important...?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” Next to the attachment to hearth and home, a person’s chief attachment is to his purse, to their material possessions. So it is not out of order to consider what God has to say about his gifts of wealth and to let him put those gifts in a proper context for us.
Asking for a Friend: What is Marriage Exactly?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” Today, we look at families and answer the question: What is marriage exactly? In his Word, our God lovingly gives us not only the template for marriage and family, but how they work. The closest we can get to a mirror of the love of God for us is the mirror of the love that he wants us to have for one another in the family. The goal of family members, husbands and wives, parents and children, is to reflect the love of God for us in self giving love for one another in the family.
Asking for a Friend: Do I Need to be Humble?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” Today, we hear about how the gifts of God are so rich and varied that the devil uses that very generosity in God to stir up jealousy and envy. Expect it in others;’ find it yourself as well! That weakness makes it crystal clear that our need for a Savior is a constant one.
Asking for a Friend: What do I get out of it?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” This week, we deal with the craving we all have for recognition and appreciation. Perhaps we don’t say it like the disciples (Who is the greatest?), but the thought crosses our mind when confronted with opportunities for service: What will I get out of it? The answer lies again in our Savior, and how he chose to selflessly service us by saving us from sin. Imitating his love for us, we strive to serve and love others as our Savior has served and loved us.
Asking for a Friend: Does God Even Care?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” This week, as we see Jesus heal a young child who was crippled with an evil spirit, we wonder “Does God care?”
Asking for a Friend: Is God Good?
What do you do when you have to ask an embarrassing or awkward question, or a question you feel you should know the answer to? Why, you ask the question and simply say that you are “asking for a friend!” The next several weeks, we will follow Jesus as he journeys toward his work of saving us in Jerusalem. As he does, we will watch and listen and learn from our Savior the answer to questions we have or questions we’ve been asked. Questions like, “Is God good?” “Does God care?” and “Do I have to be humble?” This week, as we see Jesus heal a man who was crippled by being deaf and mute, we wonder “Is God good?” and if he is, why would he allow something like this to happen?
Equipped
The book of Ephesians is an incredibly practical book for Christians at every stage of life. Here we see what the Christian life looks like, and what it doesn’t look like.