Worship

Click on name of any Sunday to see the Order of Service.

Past services (which include the audio of the sermon in the service) are found at the bottom of the page.

16^th Sunday after Pentecost ...........................September 20, 2020

Disciples Live in Their Vocations by Grace through Faith in Christ

Those who are sent as "laborers for his vineyard" (Matt. 20:1) depict the wide diversity of vocations to which the disciples of Christ Jesus are called. Whatever our particular stations in life may be, we are called to live and serve by faith in His promises. Our labors do not merit anything before Him, for He is already generous to one and all without partiality. In mercy, He has chosen to bear "the burden of the day and the scorching heat" on our behalf, to make us equal to Himself and to give us what belongs to Him, that is, the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:12-15). This way of the Lord is foolishness to the world and foreign to our thoughts, but He draws near, so that "he may be found" (Is. 55:6), "have compassion" and "abundantly pardon" (Is. 55:7). So it is that we are found in Christ Jesus, and He is honored in our bodies, "whether by life or by death" (Phil. 1:20), by "fruitful labor" (Phil. 1:22) or by suffering. It is by faith in His forgiveness that our works are "worthy of the gospel" (Phil. 1:27).

17^th Sunday after Pentecost ...........................September 27, 2020

The Cross of Christ Opens to Us the Way of Repentance to Life with God

The way of the Lord is righteous and just: "the soul who sins shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). However, because the Lord has "no pleasure in the death of anyone" (Ezek. 18:32), He calls sinners to repentance and faith in His gracious forgiveness of sins. The man who is thus turned away from his wickedness, who henceforth lives by the grace of God, "shall surely live; he shall not die" (Ezek. 18:28). This way of repentance has been opened for us by the cross of Christ. In the righteousness of faith and love, "he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death" (Phil. 2:8), and He was vindicated in His resurrection from the dead. Indeed, "God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (Phil. 2:9). He has given us this name in our Baptism into Christ, in whom we now "shine as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:15). He uses the authority that He has received from His Father (Matt. 21:23-27) to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, by which even "the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God" (Matt. 21:31-32).

Past Services

Holy Cross Day .............................................................September 13, 2020

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Sir, we wish to see Jesus! (John 12:21). Then look to His Holy Cross. For just as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so Jesus, when He is lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Himself (v. 32). He humbled Himself and became obedient even to the death of the cross to save us (Phil. 2:8). Everyone who is bitten by the ancient serpent's venom of sin, when he sees Christ shall live (Num. 21:8). The true Holy Cross is lost to history, and we cannot return to Calvary to find our salvation. So Christ brings the New Testament in His Blood to us. We preach Christ crucified . . . the power of God and the wisdom of God, though foolishness to the unbelieving world (1 Cor. 1:23-24). It pleases God through the folly of the cross we preach to save those who believe (v.21). We find the fruit and benefit of this Holy Cross poured out in Holy Baptism, spoken in the preaching of Holy Absolution, and delivered in the Body and Blood given and shed there for us. Thus are we strengthened to take up our crosses, sanctified by His (John 12:25-26).

14^th Sunday after Pentecost ...........................September 6, 2020

Living as Humble Little Children of the Father

True greatness is not self-sufficient strength, but humility like that of a little child. The greatness of childlike faith receives all good things as gracious gifts from our Father in heaven. Apart from such faith, "you will never enter the kingdom of heaven," but whoever is humbled like a little child will be "the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3-4). Though in our sin we deserve to be "drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt. 18:6), we have instead been drowned ("buried") with Christ in Baptism and then raised to the new, humble life of a child of God. The Lord sends His watchman to warn us with a word from His mouth, in order that we may not die in our iniquity, but be turned from our pride and selfishness to live (Ezek. 33:7-9). Thus, we live in humility and faith before God as well as in love for our neighbor, which "is the fulfilling of the law" (Rom. 13:10). In the reverent fear of God, we do no harm to our neighbor, but we "pay to all what is owed to them" (Rom. 13:7) and we "owe no one anything, except to love each other" (Rom. 13:8).

Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist (Obs.) ........ August 30, 2020

"Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!" (Rom. 6:1-2). John preached the Law boldly against Herod's adultery with Herodias. Choosing human honor over honesty, Herod served up John's head on a platter to pacify Herodias's conscience without the contrition and repentance of Baptism (Mark 6:17-28). So John was slain for the Word of God and for the witness he had borne (Rev. 6:9). John is Christ's forerunner also in death; so other fellow-servants and brothers continue to be martyrs (witnesses) of Christ to this day (Rev. 6:11). Their deaths are precious to the Lord (Ps. 116:15) and so also to us, who celebrate even a beheading. Such is the confidence of the baptized! Buried into Christ's death through Baptism, we believe we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His also (Rom. 6:4-5). United to Christ, the Church's Head, John can be confident that He will be reunited to his own at the last day. Even John isn't really the forerunner; Jesus has gone before us all: out of the tomb alive, the firstborn of those who sleep!

12^th Sunday after Pentecost ...................................... August 23, 2020

The Lord Jesus Christ Is the Son of the Living God

Jesus asked His disciples: "But who do you say that I am?" (Matt. 16:15). The question is also put to us: Who do you say that He is? Flesh and blood do not reveal this to us, but by the ministry of the Gospel, the Father in heaven reveals His Son to us on earth, who has become flesh and suffered death for our salvation. Thus, we believe and confess that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt 16:16). As He died for our transgressions and was raised for our justification, He looses us from all our sins and preserves our life within His Church, against which even "the gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matt. 16:18-19). His salvation is forever, and His righteousness "will never be dismayed" (Is. 51:6). He comforts us with the Gospel in His Church, so that "joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song" (Is. 51:3). Therefore, "according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Rom. 12:3), we also offer ourselves "as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Rom. 12:1) through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

11^th Sunday after Pentecost .......................................August 16, 2020

The Church Lives Under the Cross of Christ and Prays in the Hope of His Mercy

By her persistent prayer that Jesus would have mercy and help her (Matt. 15:22, 24), and even in the face of His initial silence and apparent rejection (Matt. 15:23-26), the Canaanite woman boldly confessed her faith in Him (Matt 15:27-28). Her beautiful example encourages us to cling to the words and promises of the Gospel, even in the face of the Law that accuses and condemns us. "For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29), and His Law "has consigned all to disobedience" for the very purpose "that he may have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32). Hence, the woman's faith and hope were not disappointed, but her prayers were answered in the mercy of Christ. Not only does He grant us the crumbs from His table, but He also feeds us with "the children's bread" in the house of His Father (Matt. 15:26-27). He has brought us to His "holy mountain," and He makes us joyful in His house, where He hears our prayers and accepts our sacrifice of praise upon the altar of His cross (Is. 56:7).

Feast of St. James the Elder (Obs.) ................................July 26, 2020

St. James the Elder, Apostle

The sons of Zebedee ask for seats at Jesus' right and left in glory (Mark 10:37). But they do not know what they are asking (Matt. 20:22), for God's kingdom is not of glory and power but the cross. We will bear ours after Him. For His sake we are killed and regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. But in all this we are more than conquerors through Him (Rom. 8:36-37), for Jesus' death is unique. He alone is baptized with our sin and drinks the cup of God's wrath against it (Mark 10:38). We live in service to our neighbors after His example; but He alone is the Son of Man, come to give His life as a ransom for many (v. 45). Today the Church commemorates the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy about James, killed with Herod's sword (Acts 12:2). He is honored as the first apostle to be conformed to the image of God's Son (Rom. 8:29). But what is that when Christ Jesus has died-more than that, is raised-and is at the right hand of God, interceding for us? Nothing (not even a sword) can separate James and us from the love of Christ (v. 34-35).

10^th Sunday after Pentecost .......................................August 9, 2020

Christ the Crucified Comes to Save Us by the Word of Faith

The Lord who "laid the foundation of the earth" (Job 38:4) is the Author and Giver of life who governs all things by His Word. His wisdom and power are beyond our understanding, except as He reveals Himself in the incarnate Word, Christ Jesus. He has "entered into the springs of the sea" and "walked in the recesses of the deep" (Job 38:16), and He draws near to us in mercy. We have been "a long way from the land, beaten by the waves" and tossed about by hostile winds (Matt. 14:24). In our mortality and sinful unbelief, we do not always recognize the Lord Jesus. But as we cry out in fear, He speaks tenderly to us, "Do not be afraid," and He reaches out His hand to save us (Matt. 14:27, 31). "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Rom. 10:13), and now we call upon Him in faith, because we have heard "through the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Rom. 10:8).

9^th Sunday after Pentecost ...........................................August 2, 2020

Christ Jesus, the Living Bread from Heaven, Feeds the Children of God

By the Gospel of "the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever" (Rom. 9:5), we are "the children of God" (Rom. 9:8), "not because of works but because of him who calls" (Rom. 9:11). Therefore, "listen diligently" and "hear, that your soul may live." By His sacrificial death in His flesh and blood, He has made "an everlasting covenant" for us. Since He now calls us to Himself, we come to Him "and eat what is good, and delight in rich food" (Is. 55:2-3). He has come with divine compassion to save us from sin and death and to feed us with Himself. As our Lord Jesus once took bread, "said a blessing," broke the loaves "and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Matt. 14:18-19), He also now takes bread, blesses it by His Word to be His very body, and distributes it to His Church by the hand of His called and ordained servants. Just as "they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces," there is more than enough for His whole Church to eat and to be satisfied (Matt. 14:20).

7th Sunday after Pentecost...................................................July 19, 2020

The Word of the Gospel Bestows the Righteousness of Christ and Brings Forth Faith

The good Seed, which is "the Son of Man," Jesus Himself (Matt. 13:37), brings forth a harvest of faith and bears good fruits in "the sons of the kingdom" (Matt. 13:38). Whatever is sown apart from His Word is of the devil, who plants the weeds of unbelief and sin, even among the people of God. Thankfully, the Lord is patient and He does not uproot the weeds, lest the plants also be destroyed. He lets "both grow together until the harvest" (Matt. 13:30), while He continues to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins. Thus, He preserves His Church in righteousness, because He alone is "the King of Israel and his Redeemer" (Is. 44:6). Since all things are in His gracious care and keeping, "fear not, nor be afraid" (Is. 44:8). For "the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19), and in this hope we also wait with patience. Though we do not yet see it, "the Spirit helps us in our weakness" (Rom. 8:26) and, in truth, "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18).

6th Sunday after Pentecost...................................................July 12, 2020

The Preaching of the Word of Christ Bears the Good Fruits of Faith and Love

As "the rain and the snow come down from heaven" and "water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout" (Is. 55:10), so the Word of God accomplishes the purpose for which He speaks it, granting joy and peace through the forgiveness of sins and producing the fruits of faith and love in those who are called by His name. Christ Jesus, the incarnate Word, has established the name of the Lord as "an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Is. 55:13). He opens our ears to hear, our minds to understand and our hearts to believe His Word, lest the evil one come and snatch it away. He thus transforms our rocky hearts into good soil, which clings to the Gospel and "indeed bears fruit" (Matt. 13:23). He is Himself the firstfruits of all who "have received the Spirit of adoption as sons" (Rom. 8:15). Thus being "led by the Spirit of God," we are not afraid, but we cry out in faith to our Father in heaven (Rom. 8:14-15). For as we suffer with Christ, the beloved Son, so shall we "also be glorified with him" (Rom. 8:17).

5th Sunday after Pentecost......................................................July 5, 2020

Jesus Christ, Our Savior, Is Our True Peace and Sabbath Rest

Though we have died with Christ in Holy Baptism, and we are raised to new life in Him, we find "another law waging war" in our body and life, that is, between our old Adam and the new man (Rom. 7:23). By the Spirit of Christ, we "desire to do what is right," but we are not able to do so because "nothing good" dwells in our sinful flesh (Rom. 7:18). "Thanks be to God," therefore, "through Jesus Christ our Lord," who delivers us from "this body of death" (Rom. 7:24-25). We rejoice in Him, our gentle King, who comes "righteous and having salvation" (Zech. 9:9). He speaks peace to our embattled hearts, and by His blood of the New Testament He sets us "free from the waterless pit," and He returns us to the stronghold of our Baptism (Zech. 9:10-12). Though we "labor and are heavy laden," He calls us to Himself and gives rest to our souls through His free and full forgiveness (Matt. 11:28), not because we are "wise and understanding," but by the "gracious will" of God the Father, whom "the Son chooses to reveal" in love (Matt. 11:25-27).

4th Sunday after Pentecost ..............................................June 28, 2020

The Lord Jesus Brings Division on Earth for the Sake of Peace with God in Heaven

False prophets preach what their hearers want to hear, promising peace even when the Lord has spoken "war, famine, and pestilence" (Jer. 28:8). But if "the Lord has truly sent the prophet," he speaks what the Lord has spoken, and "the word of that prophet comes to pass" (Jer. 28:9). The preaching of God's Law is hard, because it confronts sin, brings it to light and makes it worse, "sinful beyond measure," thereby "producing death" in the sinner (Rom. 7:13). But through our Baptism into Christ, "we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive" (Rom. 7:6). Now we belong "to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God" (Rom. 7:4). Belonging to Him puts us at odds with the world and divides us from all earthly ties, not only from our human family, but each person from his own life. For Christ does not come "to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). Yet, whoever takes up his cross to follow Christ, and "loses his life" for Christ's sake, finds new life in Him (Matt. 10:38-39).

3rd Sunday after Pentecost ...............................................June 21, 2020

Delivered from Sin and Death, You Now Live before God in the Righteousness of Christ

The outcome of sin is death, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). He has set you free from the slavery of sin and has brought you "from death to life" (Rom. 6:13). No longer are you under the condemnation of the Law, but you live "under grace" (Rom. 6:14). Such is your courage in the face of "those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul" (Matt. 10:28). For though "you will be hated by all" and maligned by the world for the name of Christ (Matt. 10:22, 25), you abide in the care of your Father in heaven, who numbers "even the hairs of your head" and values you more "than many sparrows" (Matt. 10:30-31). By the Word of Christ, you have become like Him, your Teacher and Master in whom you endure to the end, and "will be saved" (Matt. 10:22, 25). For He is with you "as a dread warrior," who has overcome your enemies (Jer. 20:11). By the righteousness of faith, He delivers your heart, mind, body and life "from the hand of evildoers," and He brings you into the land of the living (Jer. 20:12-13).

2nd Sunday after Pentecost ...............................................June 14, 2020

The Lord Our God Saves Us in Love and Cares for Us by the Ministry of His Gospel

The Holy Triune God "shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners," ungodly and at enmity with Him, "Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The incarnate Son has justified us by His blood and reconciled us to His God and Father (Rom. 5:9-10). Whereas sin and death originated with Adam, forgiveness and life abound for all his children "through the one Man Jesus Christ" (Rom. 5:12-17). As the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, so does He bring us to Himself by the Gospel and make of us a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex. 19:6) by our Baptism into Christ. For "all that the Lord has spoken" (Ex. 19:8), Christ has done for us. As He has gone up to God by His Cross and Resurrection, so does He bring us to the Father in Himself (Ex. 19:3-4). Nor does He leave us "harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt. 9:36), but He sends men with authority "to heal every disease and every affliction" by His forgiveness of sins (Matt. 10:1). In their proclamation, "the Kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 10:7).

Feast of the Holy Trinity .......................................................June 7, 2020

The Holy Triune God Recreates Us in the Image and Likeness of Christ Jesus

The holy Triune God "created the heavens and the earth," and "behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:1, 31). However, after Adam and Eve fell into sin and plunged God's good creation into decay and death, the Son of God would be "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" to be "crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men" (Acts 2:23). As Jesus "received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:33), He also raises up all the baptized and pours out the Spirit upon them through the preaching of His Gospel. He sends out His apostles to "make disciples of all nations" by "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," and "teaching them to observe all that [He has] commanded" (Matt. 28:19-20). Through such baptizing and teaching - Gospel and Sacraments - the holy Triune God recreates us in the image and likeness of His incarnate Son, Jesus, the Christ, and behold, it is "very good" (Gen. 1:31).