Lift High The Cross

Today we consider Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit of God to reside once again with His people. Pentecost is such a unique and bizarre event, but knowing how it all fits into God's plan of salvation for His people helps us to understand its significance much more.

Pastor Tom Schlund's sermon from our celebration of Ascension Day. Before Jesus ascends into heaven he gives his disciples a final set of instructions. They are to be his witnesses of all the things he has done to the ends of the earth. They don't have to do it alone, however, he is going to send a helper -- the Holy Spirit. We've witnessed Jesus' works both in scripture and in our lives and we're sent out to share this good news with the world.

John writes this circulating letter later on in his life to Christians who are being threatened with false beliefs concerning Jesus. John gives a three-fold testimony of the Spirit, the water, and the blood to testify about Jesus Christ. The same testimony we confess today.

In John's Gospel, Jesus calls himself the vine and believers are the branches. The only way that branches receive nutrients from the vine is by staying connected to it. In the same way, our faith is only fed by staying connected to Jesus. As we celebrate Confirmation Day, we remember the gifts God gave us in our baptism as our confirmands confess their faith.

This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, which is a long standing tradition celebrated at Trinity Lutheran Church. As God's people we are thankful Jesus Christ became our Good Shepherd, and as His sheep, following the Shepherd, we should always keep Jesus in front of us.

The world doesn't seem very peaceful, does it? We're surrounded by conflict and violence all the time. On the night of the first Easter, Jesus appears to his disciples and his first words to them are "Peace be with you". They hadn't experienced much peace lately and probably thought it was an odd greeting. However, Jesus' resurrection does, in fact, bring peace. Listen as Pastor Schlund shares how this happens.

Talking about someone rising from the dead may seem like it should be an April Fool's joke, but it is not. The Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus' resurrected body is the firstfruits or the guarantee that we will rise too. When Jesus returns all will be raised and those who believe in him will live with him forever! Easter is where we find our hope!

We will continue along with our Lenten sermon series concerning God's will as consider that in light of our own unwillingness. In today's text Jesus lament's over God's chosen people and their unwillingness. All of this will be considered in light of today being the start of Holy Week...Palm Sunday.

It is easy for us to get distracted by everything that happens in our lives. Being distracted, however, can be deadly. In our texts today we hear a story about when the Israelites really needed to focus on something and then how Jesus says that event foreshadowed his work on the cross.

It may seem a little out of character our Savior Jesus to get angry and cleanse God's temple in Jerusalem, but Christ takes the things of God seriously. God's temple was to be pure and holy, as it was a place of reverence. We as God's temple today are to be the same, and it is just as serious for us.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? What do you look for when you follow anyone or anything. In our reading we hear who Jesus is, what he does, and what it means to be his follower.

Pastor Thomas Cowell's sermon showing us how Jesus came to make things right where Adam had sinned and broken God's law. Jesus was tempted like Adam and yet avoided sinning so that we could be made right.

In this sermon we consider Transfiguration Sunday, where Jesus momentarily reveals His divine nature to His disciples, as Moses and Elijah stand by His side.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul uses a sports analogy to describe our lives as disciples of Jesus and to help us focus on what our lives as Christians should look like.

Sermon for the Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Most Christians are familiar with the story of Jonah and whale from the Book of Jonah. Often times the subtle points of Scripture are lost in translation, and this story of Jonah certainly falls into this understanding. Hopefully through some translation and contextual understanding the meaning behind the Book of Jonah will be much more clear.

Pastor Tom Schlund's sermon from the Baptism of our Lord exploring the significance of the heavens being torn open at Jesus' baptism.