Grace Lutheran Church Sermons

Standing Firm

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:51:04 GMT

We’ve just finished a sermon series on things people think are in the Bible but are not. This week’s sermon is about something that is in the Bible, but a lot of people think it isn’t. It is the call to stand firm and resolute in the face of life’s difficulties. God doesn’t say, “I won’t give you burdens.” God lets us know that life itself gives us burdens and they can be hard. But God is the one who helps us in those difficult times. Most of the sections of the Bible were written by, or are about, men and women whose faith was tested during times of difficulty, including Jesus. Using the beautiful words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3 and 4 and Jesus’ words about facing his own fate, Pastor Paul will talk about the Bible’s call for us to “stand firm in the Lord”

God Needed Another Angel

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 21:36:25 GMT

This is the final week of our sermon series on things people think are in the Bible but aren't. These words are often said at times when someone has died, particularly a child. But this is not found anywhere in the Bible, and it's important that as Christians we know what God does say about death. God does not take our loved ones away because he needs an angel, but God walks with us through death and through grieving.

A Clean Heart and a New Heart

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:56:03 GMT

We begin our annual observance of Lent with our Ash Wednesday worship service. Lent is the period of forty days during which we remember the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by the devil. It was his time of preparation for the work God had in store for him. For us, Lent is the time when we prepare to observe and remember Jesus’ suffering and death for our salvation.

This sermon is based upon the words written by King David in Psalm 51.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:25:43 GMT

In our second sermon in the series, “It Sounds Good, But It’s Not in the Bible” Pastor Heidi will preach on the theme many people think is in the Bible, “God helps those who help themselves”. That sounds nice and many of us were brought up with that mindset, but it is not what the Bible says. Pastor Heidi will use the stories of Hagar and Ishmael from Genesis 21 and the Widow of Nain in Luke 7 to share what the Bible does say about how God helps us.

“God Will Never Give You a Bigger Burden Than You Can Bear”

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:43:36 GMT

Our Sermon Series – “It Sounds Good, But It’s Not in the Bible” Begins This Week.

This Week’s Message: “God Will Never Give You a Bigger Burden Than You Can Bear”

This is a well-meaning phrase that is thrown around a lot. Usually it is said as a way of trying to help someone who is going through a difficult time to encourage them or cheer them up. It’s a way of saying, “It’s OK, you’ll get through it.” But if you stop to think about what this statement conveys it does just the opposite. First, it says that the burdens we face come from God. That’s hardly biblical. Second, it also implies that id you are a weak person you won’t have to bear as much because you can’t handle it. Finally, it fails to realize that sometimes people are truly overwhelmed by what life deals them. In my message this week I will explore with you what the Bible does say about burdens and also look at ways in which we know God can and will help us, even when life’s burdens do overwhelm us.

Daring to Love

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:34:08 GMT

This week I have the privilege of preaching on 1 Corinthians 13, the great “Love Chapter” in the Bible. These words are probably the best know series of verses in the Bible outside of Psalm 23. They are often read at weddings even though they have nothing to do with romantic love. The Apostle Paul’s hauntingly beautiful words about love, Christian love, are written within the context of his discussion in 1 Corinthians 12-14 about spiritual gifts. Paul considered Christian love the greatest of all God’s gifts to us. In my sermon this week, I will take you through what these words are truly about and how they highlighted God’s call to us to dare to love as Jesus loved. -- Pastor Paul

A Proclamation of Goodness

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:49:14 GMT

The texts this week come from Nehemiah 8 and Luke 4. In both, the scriptures are read aloud to the people. In Nehemiah, the people have just come back from exile and are living as recipients of God's promises. In Luke, Jesus has been baptized and tempted, and then he stands up in his own temple to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, good news to the poor, sight to the blind and release to the captives. God has so many good words for us, and Jesus is the ultimate good word of God. In him the goodness of God comes to us and to all who are poor, blind and imprisoned.

Do Whatever He Tells You

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:38:33 GMT

As Christians we know we are to do what Jesus tells us. The problem comes when sin, weakness and selfishness get in the way and we come up with all sorts of excuses, reasons and explanations why we can’t do what Jesus says to do. “Do whatever he tells you” is what Mary told the servants at the wedding in Cana of Galilee; the wedding where they had run out of wine. I would imagine the servants were a bit skeptical, but they listened to Mary and the wedding was saved. What does it take for you to “Do whatever he tells you”? That’s what we’re talking about in this week’s sermon.

Called by Name

Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:54:58 GMT

“I have called you by name, you are mine.” These are the words of God in the book of Isaiah. This Sunday we also celebrate the baptism of Jesus. It’s a good time to look back to our own baptisms, where God calls us by name and where we also receive a new name- child of God. What does it mean that the creator of the whole world knows us by name? How do our lives change as a result?

Pitching Your Tent

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:30:10 GMT

There is a line in John 1:14 where it says, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us”. The English “lived among us” is the translation of the Greek which literally means, “tented among us”. The image here is of Jesus, God’s eternal Word, coming to humanity and pitching his tent with us. Jesus took the time to be with us, to live with us, the share life with us, not in some mansion, but in the close up and personal existence of sharing a tent with us. If you’ve ever gone camping for an extended period of time you know what this is like! While we are so familiar with the notion that Jesus was a human, we don’t always take the time to consider what that actually meant. God’s Son became a human. God’s Son cared about us enough to live with humanity in the messiness that is life. This week’s sermon will explore what this idea means when we take the time to seriously consider it.