Concordia Sermons

Everyone needs rest. Rest teaches us to rely on God, who continues to take care of us even when we are not taking care of business. Rest leads to replenishment, which allows to better steward our responsibilities.

Work apart from God can become a meaningless and exhausting burden. But when we see work as a gift from God, our work begins to reflect His eternal works. In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon invites us to see our work as a gift from God.

As Christians, others are to know us as people who love (cf. John 13:35). In Romans 12, Paul talks to us about what love looks like in practical terms. Does our love look like biblical love?

When God reveals His identity to Moses, He simply calls Himself, “I AM.” We can be tempted, when we speak of our identities, to speak of them in terms of our accomplishments. “I am successful.” “I am rich.” “I am good.” But before any of those identities, we need to be content to simply say, like God, “I am.” Just the fact that we exist – that God has made us – is special in its own right. Before we speak of our accomplishments, we must give thanks for our creation.

No matter what the circumstances are, we can have hope in Jesus Christ.

Whether it is the past, the present, or the future, all time shares one thing in common: trouble. John 1 reminds us that Jesus stepped out of that which was timeless and trouble-free and into a time that was trouble-filled. Why did He do this? To meet us in and to love us through whatever troubles we may face!

Fear of the future is common. An old man named Simeon notes that Mary’s future will be a difficult one as she has to watch her Son die. Simeon himself is nearing death, and yet he does not fear the future, for He has seen God’s Savior. We too do not need to fear the future when we face the future with Jesus.

The normal hustle and bustle of the holiday season is stressful enough in and of itself. But when sometime unexpected comes up – whether that be a big bill, a health crisis, or a problem at work – the effects can be overwhelming. Mary is met by an angel with a completely unexpected announcement – that she will be the mother of the Messiah! Her response of faith is precisely what we need to face life’s unexpected challenges.

Christmas is a time for family! Families come in from all over to be together during the holidays. The family you grew up with in the past, however, can sometimes become frustrating in the present. In this message, we see that every family has its warts and flaws, but by grace, even a bad family experience in the past can be used according to God’s good purposes.

What if God wrote your bucket list? What would be on that list? Travel to distant places? Learn a foreign language? Pick up a new hobby? Often times our desire to live a full life can lead us to discontentment. Paul tells us the secret to contentment and the secret to full life. Everything we do we do "through HIM who gives me strength." And because of Jesus we are not only content, but FULL of thanksgiving.

Kindness can be difficult, especially when someone is not kind to you! David sought to be kind to Nabal, but was repaid with scorn. When we feel slighted in our marriages, how can we respond with kindness rather than with retaliation?

Humility is one of the primary virtues of Jesus. Indeed, it is how He showed His love for us. It should be how we show our love to our spouses. Do you set aside your own rights and desires for the sake of your spouse?

This year's election is the source of a lot of stress! The political climate of the first century was also a source of stress for the Jews who lived under the oppression of the Romans. But when the religious leaders come to Jesus with a political question about the Romans' rule and their taxes, Jesus does not become stressed, He handles their political question adeptly and brilliantly. How Jesus answers the religious' leaders question can teach us a lot about how we engage in politics today.

God gives His Son to bless our world. This is Jesus’ message in John 3. This is also the heart of the gospel. On Reformation Day, we’ll reflect on the primacy of the gospel in the Church and for the world, and we’ll discover how God’s great gift can move us to give as well!

It had to be a hard thing to give away all she had to live on. But this widow did. Why did she give away 100% of her possessions? Because she came to trust God with all her possessions. What things are holding you back from trusting God with everything? In this message, we’ll discuss some of the most common barriers to stewardship.

In the middle of a famine, Elijah asks a pagan widow to trust his God for provision. She has only a little flour and oil for her and her son. But Elijah asks this widow to give the food to him so that he can eat, assuring her that his God will provide her with what she needs. Elijah, in some sense, is using stewardship as an evangelism strategy. For Elijah knows that if this widow learns to trust his God with her possessions, she will learn how to trust this God with her eternity.

The call of every Christian is to live beyond themselves. We are to share the hope that we have with the world. When some lepers stumble into an Aramean camp that has been emptied by God, and when they find all sorts of treasure there, they cannot help but share the good news of the treasure with their neighbors. How can we do anything less than share the good news of the gospel with our neighbors?

When Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples the night before He dies, it becomes more than a Passover. It becomes a promise of His presence. For in, with, and under simple forms of bread and wine is the body and blood of Christ. In this message, we look at the Passover and how Jesus’ death on a cross leads God to not merely pass-over our sins, but to forgive them!

In the last chapter of Matthew, Jesus calls us to make disciples in two ways: by teaching His Word and by baptizing in His name (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). The Ethiopian eunuch becomes a disciple by baptism. Jesus still makes disciples in baptism today!

Worship is the natural and inevitable response of people who have faith in God to a good God. In this message, we look at the nature of worship, the location of worship, and the focus of worship in the Christian life.