Christ The King Free Lutheran

Sermon for Reformation Sunday (Observed). The Scripture readings are Revelation 14:6-7; Romans 3:19-28; and John 8:31-36.The hymn “Salvation unto Us Has Come” offers a full-throated theology of the redemption we have in Christ. Today, we let it preach to us.

Sermon for Trinity 19. The Scripture readings are Genesis 28:10-17; Ephesians 4:22-28; and Matthew 9:1-8.Jesus is a Pastor – in fact Jesus is the Pastor. The word ‘pastor’ simply means ‘shepherd.’ Jesus is the Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11), the Good Pastor. Christ knows when His sheep need to be fed by green pastures or led beside still waters, and He knows when His sheep need to have their soul restored with forgiveness and mercy (Ps. 23:1-3). Jesus doesn’t need to run a bunch of diagnostic tests to figure out what His sheep need. He always knows and gives the perfect treatment. And He always perfectly gives what His sheep need in any and every given moment. Jesus, the Good Pastor, so intimately knows you and all your actions, thoughts, and ways that you are always diagnosed and receive the care you need.The reason Jesus forgives this paralytic before healing his paralysis is that is what the man needed. The man’s friends – maybe even the man himself – figured what he needed most was to be able to use his limbs

Sermon for Trinity 18. The Scripture readings are Deuteronomy 10:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9; and Matthew 22:34-46.The God of gods and Lord of lords is your God. He has chosen you. He could have chosen anyone, but He chose you. He has not chosen you because you were bigger, stronger, smarter, more obedient, or more faithful than others. He has not chosen you because of anything you have said, done, or thought. You, dear saints, are, according to 1 Pet. 2:9, His chosen people, His royal priesthood, His holy nation, and a people for His own possession. You are these things because the LORD God of heaven and earth has chosen you and set His heart in love on you. He is your God because He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. And the LORD your God has done all of this because of what Jesus has done for you.Jesus, your Savior, lived a perfect life. He was perfectly obedient to God. He took all your sin to the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) where God poured out all His wrath and punishment upon your sin. Now

Sermon for Trinity 17. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 25:6-14; Ephesians 4:1-6; and Luke 14:1-11.Our text today, when it talks about unity and being one, refers to the unity that exists between Christians. This unity between Christians is twofold.First, there is a unity that all Christians simply have. We could call this a ‘vertical unity’ and consists of how sinners are united with God. Christians are nothing more than sinners who were by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). Christians of all time and in all places are united by the one faith in Jesus who is our Savior, the only Savior. Because Jesus is the only Savior, we are united in Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and the only access we have to God the Father (Jn. 14:6). When the Holy Spirit works faith in us, this unity simply exists.The second unity is the unity that all Christians are to strive for. We can call this a horizontal unity and how we as Christians are united with one another. This unity is of conviction and true confess

Sermon for the feast of St. Michael & All Angels [observed]. The Scripture readings are Daniel 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12; and Luke 10:17-20.We consider what the Scriptures have to teach us about angels, but most importantly, we see the defeat of the chief fallen angel, Satan, the accuser.Jesus’ proclamation of seeing Satan falling like lightening to the seventy-two (Lk. 10:18) and what is taught in Rev. 12:7-12 as confirmation that the shedding of Christ’s blood and the preaching of the Gospel of the reign of Christ was what cast Satan down from heaven. Satan is no longer able to accuse you before God which is what he was constantly doing day and night before God in heaven (Rev. 12:10). He has now been conquered.Satan is no longer able to accuse you before God because he has been defeated and expelled from God’s presence, but that doesn’t mean he is done accusing. The devil can’t accuse you before God anymore, but he can and does try to accuse you in your conscience, and he is very good at that

Sermon for Trinity 15. The Scripture readings are 1 Kings 17:8-16; Galatians 5:256:10; and Matthew 6:24-34.Jesus draws a line. After telling us not to worry about food, drink, or clothing or anything else we need for this life, Jesus adds, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Last week, we considered how thankfulness looks back to the good gifts of God in the past. Well, worry does the opposite and looks at the unknown, bad things in the future. Tomorrow is clouded in the unknown, but tomorrow is also clothed with the promises of God to be with us, to never leave or forsake us, to provide all that we need, and to protect us with His power and might. God will care for us. But that doesn’t mean that we should be lazy or idle.That is why Jesus draws a line for us. The things that God sets before us today are the things that should have our attention. We are to do everything God gives us to do to confront and combat those evils eac

Sermon for Trinity 14. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 4:10-23; Galatians 5:16-24; and Luke 17:11-19.The account of the ten lepers is about thankfulness, but more broadly, this text is about worship. Worship is always about turning back. Psalm 51:17 says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” So, one act of worship is repentance which is nothing more than turning back, turning back from a life filled with sin and the consequences of sin and turning toward God. Another act of worship is thankfulness. Thankfulness is receiving God’s gifts and not just going on to the next thing but turning back to give thanks to the God who gave the gift.To be thankful, this healed Samaritan leper has to literally turn back to Jesus. And it is the same for us. To offer God worship is to first receive God’s gifts and turn back in thanks. You can’t thank God for things in the future because God hasn’t given them yet. Yes, we can look to the future with hope, but

Sermon for Trinity 13. The Scripture readings are 2 Chronicles 28:8-15; Galatians 3:15-22; and Luke 10:23-37.Jesus is the Good Samaritan who saves us. It is true that Jesus calls us to go and do likewise (Lk. 10:37). We are to be like Jesus. Christians are to be little Christs who have compassion on their neighbor because Christ has had mercy upon us. Because we have been rescued by Jesus’ mercy and compassion, we have been made to be inheritors of eternal life and children of God. This means Jesus’ call to, “Go and do likewise,” is an invitation for us to imitate Him because children are like their father.God shapes our love through two things: first, through the Ten Commandments, and second, by our relationship to the neighbor that God puts in our life in at any given moment.The English word ‘neighbor’ comes from the old word ‘nigh’ or modernized, ‘near.’ And it’s the same Greek word used here. It means the one who is near to you. So when God puts someone near to you, that is your neighbor. The priest and L

The Scripture readings are Genesis 4:1-15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-10; and Luke 18:9-14.Adam and Eve fell into sin, but they fell by trying to go upward. They rose up in pride. They exalted themselves. Believed in themselves. Trusted in themselves. They desired to rise high, up to godly and divine status. Ever since that moment, everyone who has ever been born has the same desire to exalt themselves.The Pharisee exalts himself, his holy living and good works. The tax collector, on the other hand, sees only two things: the just demands of a holy God and his own sinfulness and depravity. He looks at himself where there is no hope and to God where the only hope lies. He sees the gap and cries out for mercy (lit. ‘propitiation’ or that God would be made to be the atoning sacrifice for him).The tax collector leaves the Temple with God having become the propitiation for his sins, so he goes down to his house justified. And that is an important point to keep in mind.The tax collector goes home declared by God to be holy

Sermon for Trinity 10. The Scripture readings are Jeremiah 8:4-12; Romans 9:30-10:4; and Luke 19:41-48.Do not think that you can find another righteousness. There is no other cure. When you sin, and sin you will, repent and return. Learn and know and grow in God’s Word. When God’s Word tells you that you have slid back into your old ways of sin and pain, come back to Jesus for the cure. When the Scriptures reveal the evil you have in your heart, ask, “What have I done?” and flee to Christ.When there is pain and chaos all around you because of this fallen and broken world, don’t listen to the voices that say, “Peace, peace,” because Jesus is the only true peace. When you recognize the pain and evil of the abominations of sin surrounding you and within you, blush. But don’t stop there. Return to the Savior whose blood gives you the cure for all the evil, pain, and suffering in this world.Come back to the brightness and glory of Christ’s eternal medicine and grace.

Sermon for Trinity 9. The Scripture readings are 2 Samuel 22:26-34; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13; and Luke 16:1-9.What you believe about God is how God will appear to you – in short, as you believe, so it is (Mt. 8:13, 9:29). If you believe God is merciful, and He is, you have no trouble seeing God’s mercy. If you believe God is blameless, and He is, His blamelessness is apparent. If you believe God is pure, and He is, you will see and receive His purity. But if you believe God isn’t those things, God will always seem to be out to get you.God has given you His mercy by sending His blameless Son to redeem you and make you pure. Believe that, and watch how God’s mercy, blamelessness, and purity flow freely to you. He will always be your rock, your strong refuge, and your shield as you take refuge in Him.

Sermon for Trinity 7. The Scripture readings are Genesis 2:7-17; Romans 6:19-23; and Mark 8:1-9.When we understand Ro. 6:23 apart from its context – especially the phrase, “the wages of sin is death” – we most often take it to mean that when we sin, the check we cash or the payment we get is death. In other words, we do sinful works and get paid with death. Now, I want to be clear. This interpretation is true, but it can lead to some serious and dangerous drawbacks. It can feed the false notion that some sins aren’t as bad as others. “Well, I only did this little sin, so I won’t get paid as much death as that other guy who did that big sin.”What Paul is saying here, in this context, is that sin isn’t just the works we do; instead, sin is the master, the employer, the boss who pays with the currency of death. Talk about a bad economy. Sinners live in the worst economy where the only employer is sin, and sin pays with death. Sin is your employer, your boss, your master, and even your owner.“But now you have bee

Sermon for Trinity 6. The Scripture readings are Exodus 20:1-17; Romans 6:1-11; and Matthew 5:17-26.It is easy to think that legalism and antinomianism are opposite errors because legalism leads to a strict keeping of the Law and antinomianism leads to ignoring or belittling the Law. But these two errors are not opposites. The two share the same basic problem. Both legalism and antinomianism lower the standard of God’s Law.Legalism lowers the standard by saying that the Law is doable, followable, attainable, and achievable. Antinomianism lowers the standard by saying that the Law doesn’t matter, that the Law doesn’t actually demand what it demands. And, again, we fall into both of these errors. Sometimes, it is in our attitude to the whole Law. Or, we might fall into legalism when it comes to certain Commandments and into antinomianism when it comes to other commandments.Dear saints, when it comes to the Law, God doesn’t ever lower the standard. God doesn’t smile and wink at antinomians. God’s grace and mercy

Sermon for Trinity 5. The Scripture readings are 1 Kings 19:11-21; 1 Peter 3:8-15; and Luke 5:1-11.A lot of sermons on this text will end up in the wrong place challenging you to be like Peter and leave everything to follow Jesus. Dear saints, God in His infinite wisdom hasn’t given you that calling, and that is totally fine. Maybe God will call you into the office of ministry one day. But for now, God has called you into the vocations He has put before you. Col. 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” Your work, your calling, your vocations are never wasted, never in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). Everything you have and everything you do is made sacred by the Word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:4-5).So, hear God’s Word. Be forgiven of all your sins. Then, go and do your work. Fulfill the callings God has given to you because your work isn’t done for the paycheck or your bo

Sermon for Trinity 4. The Scripture readings are Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:18-23; and Luke 6:36-42. Apologies for the sub-par audio quality this week. It is a known issue that will, hopefully, be resolved next week.What is Jesus teaching us when He says, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you will not be condemned”? It all hangs and hinges on what Jesus says both before and after. “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Notice, to be merciful and forgiving, there has to be a judgment – that sin is sin. But that judgment isn’t your judgment, it’s God’s judgment. You are simply confessing and saying the same thing as God says about sin. It is clear from a variety of Scripture passages that Jesus isn’t condemning all judgments here. Basically, Jesus is teaching us the second great commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:19, Mt. 22:39). Every one of us has sinned, and we desperately desire that our sin would be covered up by mercy.

Sermon for Trinity 3. The Scripture readings are Micah 7:18-20; 1 Peter 5:6-11; and Luke 15:1-32.What is repentance? The word translated ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’ simply means “a change of mind,” but throughout the New Testament, you will find that repentance refers to a complete spiritual change. In fact, a many of the times you come across the word ‘repent’ in Scripture it carries the whole idea of conversion. The Bible does not teach that repentance is one step in some twelve-step salvation program. Salvation is always God’s gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). The Bible does teach that repentance is necessary for salvation, but if we see repentance as something we do, as our little contribution, then salvation is no longer a free gift. It would be dependent upon you.A sheep gets lost, the sheep gets found, and the shepherd throws a party. A coin gets lost, the coin gets f

Sermon for Trinity 2. The Scripture readings are Proverbs 9:1-10; 1 John 3:13-18; and Luke 14:15-24.Love is not simply what makes you or someone else feel good. The world wants you to think that love can be defined in all sorts of different ways. The world’s attempts at love are only empty words and talk.The only way we can know what love is, is to look to Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross. “By this we know love, that [Jesus] laid down His life for us” (1 Jn. 3:16). We know love only in knowing Jesus crucified for us. You can’t find this love anywhere else, and you can’t produce this love apart from fellowship with God through faith in Christ.The Holy Spirit works faith into our hearts and pours the love of God into us. In doing this, the Holy Spirit also enables us to love others. The love of God that we receive through faith is the very love we show our neighbor by our deeds while living in the truth.

Sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday. The Scripture readings are Isaiah 6:1-7; Romans 11:33-36; and John 3:1-17.What God did for Isaiah, He does for you as well. It wasn’t the coal that removed Isaiah’s sin. It was God’s promise. Now, yes. God attached that promise to the coal, so the coal was the instrument that delivered that promise to Isaiah. But God’s promise is attached to more things than that one coal that touched Isaiah’s lips and burned up millennia ago. God has attached His promise of mercy and forgiveness to the water of your Baptism. When those waters touched your body, your guilt was taken away, and your sin atoned for. When you heard the absolution earlier, those words entered your ear, and your guilt was taken away, and your sin atoned for. When you eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is here today to bring you His mercy and grace freely given because of Christ. You are clean, and God sends you from here ba

Sermon for the Day of Pentecost. The Scripture readings are Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21; and John 14:23-31.Any attempt to bring about a unity that isn’t centered around the forgiveness of sins in Christ is going to turn evil quickly. The Holy Spirit brings something better. He unites people from every tribe under heaven in the faith. He brings us together to hear the Gospel, receive forgiveness for all our sins, and places us in the holy Christian Church.

Sermon for the observation of the Ascension of our Lord. The Scripture readings are Daniel 7:9-14; Acts 1:1-11; and Luke 24:44-53.Even though your doubt and sorrow scream otherwise, and even though the devil pushes you to discontentment and nudges you toward the cliff of unbelief, you wouldn’t be any better off if Jesus were standing right here in front of your eyes. And that is why Jesus ascended into heaven and went to His coronation. That is why He is even now enthroned over all things.Jesus has ascended and brought His human flesh into God’s presence. Through faith, you are a co-heir of His glory and a brother to the King Himself. Jesus has promised that everyone who believes in Him has a place in His kingdom. Christ is seated at God’s right and is speaking and advocating for you. Jesus is telling His Father that you are worthy of eternal life because by His death and resurrection He has buried every sin you could ever commit. You are just as holy and righteous as Christ is. You are no longer under the po