Sermon - Dolly Markgraf's Memorial - Mark 10:13-16

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Dolly loved people, she was loved and cared for.  And in that, she has a great deal to offer us.  In her ‘childlike’ life, in her ‘childlike’ faith, she shows us what the life of every “little child” in the Kingdom of God, regardless of our age, is all about.  So we thank God for her and for His care for her. “And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them.” Mark 10:16.

Sermon - Epiphany 5 - Matthew 5:13-20 - You Are Salt and Light

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Seeing His good work, hidden in the shame and scandal of the cross, give glory to our Father in heaven for our life – purified, preserved and glorified by the salt and the light of His Son who has called us and blessed us to point others to His good work, that they too might “give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Sermon - Epiphany 3 - Matthew 4:11-24 - Follow the Light

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This is the light at the end.  No more colds and allergies, now more pain or disease, no handicaps, no more cancer.  This is the joy that we have to look forward to in the resurrection on the last day.  There it is, that’s why it is not crazy to follow Jesus, because already as we begin to follow Him we See the Light at the end.  

Sermon - Baptism of Our Lord - Matthew 3:5-6, 13-15 - Baptism: Connecting Us to Jesus

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On the final day all of humanity will stand before Christ.  On that day, the Book will be opened.  But you don’t have any reason to fear.  Your name is written in that Book, the Book of Life.  Then, you will be eternally, as you are today, connected to Christ.

Sermon - Christmas 2 - Luke 2:40-52 - Lost and Found

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Let Jesus' words to His mother be His words to us.  "Did you not know I must be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:49. This is where Jesus may be located by us.  He is here doing His Father's business of saving you by washing your sins away in your baptism, declaring you totally forgiven by His Word, giving you the assurance of His presence with you by putting His body into your hands and His blood to your lips.

Sermon - Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - Luke 2:14 - Operation Rescue Plan

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The picture on Christmas Eve is of God speaking to the person who is on the edge of giving up and God says, “You’re not on your own.  You’re not forgotten.  You’re not abandoned.  In fact, I will send an army to seek you out and then I’ll rescue you.”   We don’t just celebrate that this Promised Child is here.  We celebrate that God’s rescue plan, that has reached you, has arrived.

Easter 6 - Processional Crucifix Cross - 1 Corinthians 1:23; 2:2 - Christ Crucified...FOR ME!

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This processional crucifix cross was blessed for use in our worship. It was purchased with the memorial funds from and in memory of Russ Cramm, Paul Erickson, Wayne Dunn and Val Dynes. This cross was also specifically made, upon request, for THIS co…

This processional crucifix cross was blessed for use in our worship. It was purchased with the memorial funds from and in memory of Russ Cramm, Paul Erickson, Wayne Dunn and Val Dynes. This cross was also specifically made, upon request, for THIS congregation! It took a few months for us to receive it after ordering it because it was carved, by hand, for your eyes.

In the process of going through our worship today, I pray that we may answer a few question: 1) Why do we use a processional cross? To answer that, we use it on feast days, large festival days within the church year; Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity, Christmas, etc. The second question is this, “Why do we have a crucifix? Why not an empty cross?” For this question, I will allow the worship service itself to give the answers.

But, to be sure, we do not hold any superstitious fantasies about a piece of wood on which our Lord may or may not have actually been crucified – any more than we hold any superstitious thoughts about the cross on our altar or the cross I wear around my neck or the cross jewelry we wear. These are only 'symbols. And the purpose of 'symbols' is to point to something beyond themselves, and not to the thing itself.

It's not the cross itself that we worship and adore – but all that the cross points to – which is the indescribable love of the almighty God that He was poured out onto this fallen, corrupt and sinful world through His perfect, innocent, holy Son, who suffered the punishment that we deserve, by bearing them in His body unto death, even death on a cross.

English: Jesus Christ

Latin: IHCOYC   XPICTOC  

Greek: Ἰησοῦς Χριστός

The fingers of Jesus’ right hand spell out “IC  XC”, a widely used four letter abbreviation of the Greek for Jesus Christ.  It is by the name of Jesus that we are saved and receive blessings: “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” (Phil 2:10).

 

The fingers of Jesus’ left hand is an indication of the trinity.  You see one finger extended while three are tucked, hidden or less prominent.  All of this is simply to affirm the doctrine of the trinity that is found many places in Scripture, to which Jesus affirmed in our Gospel text from last week, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30.

Sermon - Easter Sunday - 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 - Without Easter?

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Without Easter, we have nothing to celebrate because we didn’t get the news!!  Easter is that day that we know that God’s promise will come to us.  That we get to live…in bodies…without that stuff that makes life difficult. So thank God for Easter, thank God for Jesus, and thank God for the resurrection—his, of course…but ours as well!

Sermon - Christmas Eve - Matthew 1:1-17 - Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of Sinners

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If these four people could be included in the significance of Jesus’ genealogy, you have value to God as well. This is what Christmas is all about, God’s good favor coming to outsiders…me and you! Had Matthew left out those four individuals, we might have missed the whole point! Merry Christmas!   

Sermon - Christmas Eve - Genesis 3:15 & John 3:16 - What's It All For?

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If we're asking the wrong questions about Christmas we will undoubtedly come to the wrong answer.  Genesis 3:15 is the first promise of the Gospel that God will send a savior to restore creation.  But who is this person?  And when will they come?  And now you're ready to hear the Good News that comes at Christmas.