Explore past sermons from Peace Lutheran Church. Read a summary, find the scripture references, and download the original sermon manuscript.
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No Man is an Island
Today we follow the younger son of our parable as he discovers that the road he has chosen, the road which seemed to him to hold such promise; the well-paved, upwardly mobile path toward a new life, a new identity, a new existence apart from his family, turns out instead to be a long, meandering…
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The Fox vs. the Hen
The further we move into Lent the clearer it becomes that things are not going to go well for Jesus. As he makes his way through one village after another, Jesus wins new disciples, but his teaching also stirs up resistance and makes him enemies. Midway through Luke’s gospel, Jesus is warned that King Herod,…
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Through Troubled Waters
On this first Sunday in Lent, we join the church in remembering Harriet Tubman & Sojourner Truth, women of uncommon courage who, through acts of love in the face of fear and injustice, rose above trauma to lead their people—and this nation—toward a new freedom. This sermon makes linkages between the abolition movement, the Festival…
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On Fasting
The Lord has a lot to say about fasting in Isaiah chapter 58, and most of it is critical. God comes down hard on his people. What was their problem? It seems that they had no problem going without food. In fact, they were pretty good at it. They would put on sackcloth and bow…
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Walking in the Light of the Lord
Today on the final weekend before the journey of Lenten begins, we celebrate the Light of Christ, marking our celebration with stories of mountaintops and glowing faces. Our readings begin with Exodus, and the glory of God shining on the face of Moses. Then, Paul incites us to act boldly, turning our eyes to the…
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The Impossible Possibility
Sometimes our worst enemies are the members of our own families. Today, the climax of the Joseph story from Genesis and Christ’s command to “love our enemies” in Luke, show us the stark difference between the ways of the world and the ways of God. These texts challenge us by asking: ? Are you willing…
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The Call to go Deeper
You know how you can tell if it’s been a good fishing day? By how your hands feel. The more they hurt, the better the catch. That morning, Simon Peter’s hands felt just fine. When Jesus asked him if he could use his boat as a teaching platform, Peter, who was done for the day,…
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Part Two: The Confrontation and the Outcome
In part one of this two part series on Jesus’ sermon in his hometown of Nazareth, I invited you to imagine with me how the circumstances and geography in which Jesus lived his life up to this point may have shaped what he understood his mission—his calling—to be. This week we get (as Paul Harvey…
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Part One: The Context and the Mission
Before Jesus began his public ministry, did he work with his craftsman father Joseph to help rebuild the neighboring city of Sepphoris? There’s a case to be made that he very well might have. And if so, what did his experience teach him about the conditions of the rich and poor in Galilee, and how…
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Winnowed and Precious
As we mark the Baptism of Our Lord, we recall how God meets us, too, in the waters and we hear God’s voice—as Jesus did—declaring: You are my beloved child; you are precious to me and I love you! Never forget that. God meets us in the waters. But, according to Luke, there’s another place,…