Category: Sermons

A sermon on John 1:1-14 for Christmas Day. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz. The most well-known and well-loved Christmas account, the one we read last night, is Luke chapter 2—and rightfully so. Luke puts forward in plain, straightforward language the events of the very first Christmas. But John chapter 1 is also a Christmas account,…

A sermon on Luke 2:1-7 for Christmas Eve. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz. “It’s not Christmas without ________.” If you’ve been at a family gathering gone wrong, you’ve probably heard that blank filled in with things that seem ridiculous and inconsequential. “It’s not Christmas without the ham! It’s not Christmas without the cookies! It’s not…

A sermon on Isaiah 40:1-8 for the Fourth Sunday in Advent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz. “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel.” This beloved Advent hymn is a rephrasing of the ancient O Antiphons, which is the original Christmas countdown. An antiphon is a refrain that is used during the daily prayer…

A sermon on Psalm 85 for the Wednesday after the Third Sunday in Advent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz. Sunday’s sermon was a little weird, focusing on the Introit instead of one of the readings. And we’re continuing that weirdness today, as we focus on the Psalm instead of the Gospel or Epistle. Psalm 85…

A sermon on Philippians 4:4-6 for the Third Sunday in Advent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.  Normally the sermon is on one of the lessons assigned for that day, but today, I want to draw our attention to something that we probably overlook from Sunday to Sunday. The lessons change from week to week, but…

A sermon on Luke 12:25-30 for the Wednesday after the Second Sunday in Advent. Delivered by President Timothy Hartwig of Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mankato, MN. No transcript is available for this recording.

A sermon on Luke 21:25-36 for the Second Sunday in Advent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz. It’s the end of the world… again. We just spent the end of the church year looking at the end of the world from the angles of judgment and readiness. And  we’re opening our new church year by looking…

If Sunday’s Gospel seemed a little out of place, this one is, at first glance, even more bewildering. We started Advent with Palm Sunday and now we’re continuing on to Good Friday. What’s the deal? This feels a little messed up. For our Advent midweek services these next three weeks, we’ll be looking at the…

A sermon on Matthew 21:1-9 for the First Sunday in Advent. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.  We just started Advent, so why are we reading about Palm Sunday? It doesn’t make any sense. And chronologically, it doesn’t. We also see this text the Sunday before Easter as Jesus rides into Jerusalem to die and rise…

A sermon on Luke 17:11-19 for Thanksgiving. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.  Christmas is one of the most exciting days in a child’s life because you can ask for just about anything, and you’ll get it. I remember one year I had my heart set on a Darth Vader voice changer. If you don’t know…