Sermon January 24-25, 2026

Title: Fools we are, but in Christ wise!
Text: 1 Cor. 1:10-18

 

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18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Webster defines folly as:

1. A lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight.
2. Criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct.
3. Evil, or wickedness.
4. A foolish act or idea.
5. An excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking.

Jesus even speaks of folly in Luke’s gospel in this way when he says:

28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

What a fool.

Paul knows a thing or two about fools, having done some things in his life that lacked good sense, were criminally or tragically foolish, evil or wicked, and in some cases just simply bad ideas that proved unprofitable.

In our text today he is calling those in Corinth and ultimately, we who name the name of Christ to a different standard.

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

Now, what is Paul talking about?

Paul is not talking about which team to root for, or which place to buy your groceries, or even which political party might best provide for your safety, comfort, and wellbeing.

But he is talking about the church, and the divisions that were pulling apart those in Corinth.
He even tells them how he knows.
Chloe’s people told him!

Now who Chloe is, and who her people are, we don’t know; but I bet those in Corinth knew and I bet they were not happy being called out in this letter by Paul, because it shines a big light on what had been going on.

But the greater truth and the greater reality was a spiritual disunity in the family of faith there in Corinth.
They didn’t believe, teach or confess the same doctrinal truths.
They were basing doctrine and practice on other things.

Paul didn’t say, some of you want carpet and some of you want tile. Or, some of you want a greater budget and some want to reduce spending.

Those things can all have their place, discussions, and disagreements but according to spiritual matters we must agree – according to the word.

And friends, that is why we have denominations today!

Different understanding about scripture, practice, and doctrine or teaching of the word, can pull people apart and separate them one from another - and ultimately from Christ!

Paul writes:

12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”

The church divided by leaders. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it.

Paul and Peter, (Cephas) often are pitted against each other in arguments in the church. Some even disparaging Paul’s apostleship, though Peter even refers to Paul’s writings in his 2nd epistle as scripture saying:

15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Apollos too, is referred in scripture in the book of Acts:

2 Now, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. Acts 18:24

Luther even writes in his preface to the book of Hebrews saying:

The author to the Epistle to the Hebrews – whoever he is, whether Paul or, as I think, Apollos – quotes the Old Testament most learnedly. (AE 8:178)

Whether Paul or Apollos, the letter to the Hebrews is no less the Word of God and that brings us to Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Paul saying in a sense,
Take the light off me!
I am a servant!
I am a disciple!
I am a follower of Christ Jesus, my Lord!
Get your eyes on Jesus!

If you are on any side other than that of Christ, you are wrong!

I don’t know of any instance where there is a reference to Paul, baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit; Or, even if the Corinthians were using a formula of Baptism where they might say:

“As Paul teaches, or Peter teaches, or Apollos teaches, about Baptism.”

But I can tell you that a similar type of emphasis can be put upon pastors in our day.

I’ve heard many times that pastor so and so did my baptism and my confirmation, I want him to do my wedding or wanting a funeral as if the hope is in him.

Now understand, it is alright to ask a pastor who baptized you to officiate at confirmation, weddings, and funerals but it is Christ who does the work! His participation doesn’t make it more valid.

So, when churches or members are not grounded in the word, the personality of the man who stands in the stead and by the command of Christ can stand out, front and center.

Remember the words of John the Baptist who pointed out - the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Saying:

30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

At times I can’t remember who I baptized, as I always see the Lord as the active agent, and me getting to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a subservient way. I am grateful to simply serve.

In the same way, if we see our work as the focus of the act, we miss Christ and all that he enables us to do by his Spirit.

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Paul is not disparaging Baptism but the work that God has called and given him to do. Even saying – not with wisdom and eloquence – not to empty the cross of Christ of its power.

For pastor’s the work of Christ and his cross works through we who are privileged to serve. I bring no wisdom and eloquence of my own but simply serve the needs on the body of Christ here gifted in the way that our Lord has gifted me. So, at times you may hear a story, and I hope it reflects Christ and his glory!

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

So, lets now look at what Webster says about wisdom:

1. Marked by deep understanding,
2. Keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment

In the book of Proverbs, we read:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Prov. 9:10

May the Lord’s wisdom and understanding be yours now and forever.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit

Amen

Sermon January 17-18, 2026

Title: The Lamb of God!
Text: John 1:29-42a

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32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

This weekend we celebrate the gift of Life from conception to God’s calling us to our eternal rest. Whether in the womb, childhood, adult life or old age, life is precious and a gift of God.

We, who are born in sin unto death, receive rebirth by God’s work in Christ, bringing us in relationship to him and back to the original righteousness he intended.

We are his workmanship.

In the beginning of the book of Genesis we hear of:

God’s creating work.
God’s all-powerful word.
God’s illuminating Spirit hovering over the waters.
God’s breath of life, that was breathed into the formed dust of the ground giving life to Man which God had created,

Male and female we’re told he created them. Gen 1:27c

We think of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, the fall into sin … and death that came as a result.

The thing that gets asked all the time is why does a loving God, allow suffering?

I’ve asked it and I’m sure you’ve asked it. And we all know we’ve lived it.
My friend lost his first child, Diana, 48 hours after birth in 1979. He was devastated.
Young people who stare death in the face is so heartbreaking.
Parents taken from their children at a young age. How can we make sense out of it?

Doesn’t God care?
Couldn’t he do something?
What kind of God do we have?
The wages of sin is death.   It is the fall into sin

But God proclaims another truth through John in our gospel reading today:

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

To remove sin is to remove death, a death that separates you and me from God. The problem is not in us, like we can find a way back but in God who is both Just and Righteousness.

How can he both condemn sin and forgive the sinner?

What God had created perfect, had been broken by the fall of man into sin. God has now in Christ, stepped into his creation through this Lamb of God, to restore all that was lost, through this Jesus!

So, it is not just a temporal death that we are saved from, but an eternal death that separated us from our loving God forever.

God has stepped into our lives and our reality.
Our joys and our sorrows.
Proclaimed and pointed to by John as God’s lamb, who takes away the sin of the world.

32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son[ of God.”

Jesus is the Lamb of God!

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:7

Jesus is the Sacrificial Lamb

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:18-19

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24

Jesus is the Mighty and Victorious Lamb spoken of in Revelation.

… I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain … 9 And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” Revelation 5:6-12

John’s testimony points to Christ

No longer is Jesus a babe in a manger
He is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form. Col. 2:9
He is God for us.

He is God’s Son, marked for death so that you might be his child marked for life!

Jesus, is:

God in the flesh, God’s redemption, God’s Messiah, the King of Israel, the kingdom of God among you, God’s peace, and your redemption!

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.”

It is God who desires all to see Christ.
At times it is during the trials of life that the Spirit makes him known.
It is at times in the lives of others, that we can see clearly by that same Spirit of God, work more clearly.

And it is at times like these that we need to share and shine forth all that God has made known and done for you and me through the Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world!

Andrew … found his own brother Simon and said to him,

“We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus.

The truly good news is that Jesus who seeks and finds and saves the lost!
Jesus has found you!
He has stood in your place.
He has called you to faith.
He will be with you always by the work of his Spirit until the end of the age

God’s love is not only temporal but eternal!

This Good News is something to shout about!
This Good News is something to share with others!

This Good News needs to be proclaimed and heard!

God has overcome the wages of sin, death, and the Devil so that Satan is defeated and by his Spirit you have eternal life in his name!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit

Amen

Sermon January 10-11, 2026

Title: Our lives are lived as buried with Christ!
Text: Rom 6:1-11

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5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Monica and I went to a funeral this past Monday for her friend Sandra Malone. Though Monica was best friends with Sandra’s sister, Debbie, she had a long-connected relationship and history with Sandra and their family as well.

While this was not one of the readings used for Sandra funeral, it is a part of our funeral liturgy and I’ve recited these verses at all of the funerals I’ve officiated at as we remember our baptism and the baptism of those who depart in the faith.

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

The service of remembrance was at St. James, Roman Catholic Church in Novi. It was the first time I’d been there and there is always a connection for me with my youth and the church I was raised in, and spent the first 40 years of my life connected to.

Interestingly, the Priest that founded St. James church was Father James Cronk who officiated at Monica and my wedding back in 1982. He has passed into the Lord’s care now, but seeing his picture on the wall reminded me of the greater connection we all have to the universal, catholic, small c, church, and the life of faith that unites us to Jesus.

So, while there remains a divided Christian church here on earth, with denominations and nondominations, there also remains only one Jesus who unites you and me and our lives to his through the means of Holy Baptism.

The priest who officiated at the funeral, Father Ed Zaorski, appeared to be older than me but we all know, looks can be deceiving. But it did remind me that the need for men to fill pulpits remains strong across all denominational lines. We continue to thank our Lord for his call to all who faithfully serve!

In our reading today, Paul calls all who have been baptized in Christ to live new lives as followers of Jesus.

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Death and sin hang over us all.

I thought a lot about it, as I considered the 130 funerals or so I’ve officiated at over the last 13 years or as I ponder the beginning of the 14th year I’m now entering in to.

Death remains and so does the sinful self.
When Jesus came to John to be baptized and following John’s protest he said:
“Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”
Christ’s fulfillment is your salvation!
It is all of Christ!
Nothing you do of say adds to it!

You simply receive!

Baptism is the ultimate unifier in Christ. It is also why as Lutherans we accept Holy Baptisms from other faith traditions done in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s words and his command are all we need.

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

St Ambrose in his writing on the sacrament of Baptism and emphasizing the invisible action of God writes:

"You entered; you saw the water …. Lest, perchance, someone say: ‘Is that all?’ – yes, this is all, truly, where there is no innocence, where there is all piety, all grace, all sanctification. You have been what you were able to see with the eyes of the body, with human perception; you have not seen those things which were affected but those which are seen. Those which are not seen are much greater than those which are seen.”

Later he put this in a structured form of the visible with the invisible:

You see the water,
But not all water heals;
But water heals, that has the grace of Christ.
One is an element,
The other, a consecration.
The one [is] a work,
The other, the worker

Augustine and the Catechumenate, William Harmless 1995 pg. 101

Friends, Baptism is the work of God and Christ the worker. We who have been marked receive his benefits!

When I came to the Lutheran church at St. John’s Lutheran church in Rochester, Michigan - my baptism, which took place at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania when I was a baby came with me, reminding me that it is Christ who marked me as his own in Holy Baptism and it is Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, who continues to remind me that Jesus is with me always, even to the end of the age.

You too can hold on to the work of God in your baptism, no matter the years, place, or age that our God in Christ claimed you as his own. You are and remain his!

Martin Luther knew the importance of this as he wrote in the Small Catechism:

As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household

First
What is Baptism?
Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s word.

Which is that word of God?

Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19)

Second
What benefits does Baptism give?
It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Which are these words and promises of God?

Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

Third
How can water do such great things?
Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water. For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three:

“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying.” (Titus 3:5–8)

Fourth
What does such baptizing with water indicate?
It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?
St. Paul writes in Romans chapter six:
“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Rom. 6:4)

Having heard the word of God, dear friends and as those redeemed by Christ, make the sign of the Holy Cross as you begin and close each day remembering your baptism that you have been claimed by Christ and that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!

https://catechism.cph.org/ 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit

Amen

Sermon The wisdom of God is found in Christ!

Title: The wisdom of God is found in Christ!
Text: Luke 2:40-52

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40 And the child [Jesus] grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Last Sunday, our gospel told of the Father’s protection of Jesus and his family in Egypt and how God continues to protect us as his beloved children.

Today in our gospel reading, Jesus is now twelve years of age.

My dad used to say to me as my own children were growing up:

“Little children, little problems, big children, big problems.”

43 … as they were returning [home], the [12-year-old] Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Though not an ordinary youth, Jesus needs to be about his Father’s business. This causes some concern and hardship for those given into his care.
For any of you who have been on a trip and misplaced a child … it can be a very difficult and tenuous time to say the least.

Losing sight of my own children, even for a few seconds in a store, brought concern and some panic.

44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, [Mary and Joseph] returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.

You can understand as a parent, Mary’s frustration at Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem.

I can think of how I might have reacted if my son or daughter had done this to me. I would have not been happy to say the least, and here they find Jesus,

46 … sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

And we’re told:

47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Of course they were amazed … Jesus was not your ordinary 12-year-old.

Though I remember being amazed at children in my life, guitar and piano students who excelled come to mind. Some quite young and playing beyond their years. Some would blossom into adult stars and others fade into memory, hopefully to achieve peace and joy in their lives in other ways.

At this moment Mary did not remember who she had carried and who she had given birth to. At this moment, she was only a mother concerned for her lost 12-year-old son and his safety.

A few years ago I remember watching another 12-year-old doing some remarkable things on the golf course. Charlie Woods, at the time the 12-year-old son of his father, Tiger.

At the PNC championship scramble, Tiger and Charlie also combined to shoot a 15-under par 57, making 13 birdies, an eagle and four pars, to finish second.

" … Charlie was hitting the ball unbelievable,'' said Woods, who acknowledged that the intensity ramped up as the day wore on. [Winning] would have had a special meaning in my heart for sure.”

That’s amazing play for a 12-year-old!

But this Jesus was a different 12-year-old where:

The wisdom of God is found!

Those who heard him were amazed. It is something we all need to be reminded of.
This child, born of Mary on Christmas day, is God in the flesh.

This coming Tuesday, January 6th, is the day of Epiphany. It is the day that Jesus is made known and recognized as the savior of all people.

It is why the wise men came to worship this child, Jesus and to bring him gifts. He is now manifest or made know to a world in need.

This young boy who was recognized as the savior and who was brought gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh as a young child, is now listening and teaching at the feet of the teachers, not as one who simply learned skills, copied what he heard, and used those talents to impress his teachers.

Or, like Charlie Woods, gifted as he is, but this Jesus, this 12-year-old, is the one who was and is the source of all wisdom and knowledge given from God on high.

The house of God, the Temple where Jesus sat and taught, is also here at Peace Lutheran church where the true word of God is made known through word and sacrament. And you also, are His Temple where God himself indwells all believers by His Spirit, pointing you and me to the finished work of Christ Jesus that by his Spirit, you see him for who he is …

… the savior of the world … and that by faith you trust his word of promise, so elegantly proclaimed in John Chapter 14:

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus is the wisdom and power of God!
Jesus is the one who makes a way for you and for me!
Jesus is the one that the Magi came to bring gifts to!
Jesus is the one revealed as the savior of the nation’s come!
Jesus is the one who at twelve years of age was, as the writer of the book of Hebrews put it:

2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

And the next time we encounter Jesus on his trip to the cross, he will be Baptized by John as the Holy Spirit descends on him like a dove.

Being marked as the chief of sinners for you and me, Jesus will then go to Jerusalem taking your sins and mine to the cross and nailing them there, and proclaiming God’s finished work through him for our redemption!

It is true!

This is no ordinary boy sitting among the teachers, teaching with wisdom and power and gently reminding his mother that he needed to be in His Father’s house.

50 And [his parents] did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
But, in submission, this God who made the world and all things obeyed his parents …

51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother [the Blessed Virgin Mary] treasured up all these things in her heart.

She, knowing who he is and what he was appointed to do, to be the consolation of Israel and the savior of the world as Simeon once held in his hands the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel - God with us!

52 And Jesus [as he continued to grow], increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Friends, the wisdom of God is found in Christ!

God in Christ has been made know to you. May his peace and joy fill you each day of this New Year with hope and peace in the salvation that is yours in him.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit

Amen

Sermon December 27-28, 2025 1st Sunday after Christmas

Title: Out of Egypt the Christ comes!
Text: Matt. 2:13-23

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14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Blessed first Sunday after Christmas!
The Lord is come!
I hope the Christmas joy continues for you now and far into the New Year!

But in our text for today the joy of the birth of Jesus quickly changes in the Gospel of Matthew, from his humble birth and kingly gifts brought by those visitors from the east to a warning to go!

13 Now when [the wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

For you and me it is like to tornado siren blowing a warning to take cover and move to a safer place. Or for those in the path of a hurricane to get in your car and head out to a place far removed from the threat.

Jesus is on the move and the work of the devil continues and quickly out of the gate.

It seems that they had just arrived in Bethlehem and just as quickly, evil rears it’s ugly head. But in our lesson today we will also see the father’s protection for his son, and also for all that he will redeem now and into this uncertain New Year and future we are about to enter into.

We’ve all celebrated birth of children.

Many have attended baby showers, and the joy of birthdays we also know with the blessings of life celebrated year after year.

So, it seems fitting that the Lord, through St. Matthew, tells of the Wise Men, their visit, and Herod’s concern for their inquiry:

2 [as they ask] “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Herod wants to know:
Who is this King?
Where is this King?
When you find him, come and let me know?

As the prophet foretold, this King would come from Bethlehem,

for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people, Israel.’ Mic 5:2

So, it was hoped by Herod that they would find Jesus and return to tell him.

12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

So, today we are going to talk of our Heavenly Father’s protection.
The coming of the Christ had been foretold. The word of God had pointed to it in many and various ways by the prophets. Heb 1

Now the Christ was here! The Lord’s gracious promise had been fulfilled!

But the work of redemption would continue through the trials and temptations of this sin filled world for Jesus, and for we who have been brought to faith and have been called to live out our faith life as God our heavenly Father directs and enables.

We don’t know how long Herod waited after the wise men’s departure, but God by an angel of the Lord, appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying:

“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”

Herod’s intent was clear. The wadges of sin is death and death and would descend from the hand of Herod to kill the hope eternal. But God had prophesied through the Prophete Hosea.

“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

So, what does this have to do with you and me and the New Year we are about to enter?

Well, the Lord’s protection remains for you and me and all of his children as well as our epistle for today reminds us.

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Each time we come to the end of one year and the beginning of another, we have our questions and uncertainties.

Will it be better?
Will I have greater blessings or greater problems?

Let me share some thoughts from one writer’s point of view of a New Year as he pondered it on New Year’s Eve:

“This past year, this year of years, how shall it tell upon my whole life!

All has gone well in a worldly point of view, how is it in a spiritual? My God how?

I fear I have lost ground.

I fear I have had less of the spirit of piety this year than during the last; yet God’s goodness has been given more than usually to me this year. How ungrateful! What a poor return!

One year ago I had myself under a tolerable discipline [and yet] the many secret determinations to pursue a straightforward course of industry, diligence, virtue … how few of them have I kept. I am almost weary of making resolutions, and feel more like giving myself [over] to circumstances.”

Those words written on December 31, 1843 are excerpted from the book

Forgotten Valor – the Memoirs, Journals, and; Civil War Letters of Orlando B. Willcox.

This was a book edited by a seminary classmate Robert Scott.

While General Willcox’s sentiments still sound very contemporary for a journal entry written 182 years ago; the tone seems to reflect the wisdom of a veteran of many New Year’s Eves, rather than the 20 year old officer fresh out of West Pointe, that Willcox was at the time of the writing.

His thoughts and his concerns mirror maybe yours and mine as we enter a New Year, with new resolutions and new uncertainty for our lives and for our church in the times we live.

What lies ahead in 2026?

As the Lord’s children, we can rest in his word and work and protection?

19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.” …

23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

By the protection of our loving God;
The Christ was not abandoned in Egypt.
Joseph listened and heeded the word of the Lord.
Prophases have been fulfilled.

We may feel uncertain at times for what lies ahead and is to come. There is much that we can’t control but we can rest in a Lord who controls all things and uses even that which sets us back and gives us pause to bring about the joy and glory to come.

Where is your Egypt where the Lord protected you?
Where has he brought you for the purpose of fulfilling his will in and through you?
Where might God use you in the future?

General Willcox used these words to describe his hope for his 21st year looking optimistically at the New Year ahead:

“Oh how can I but feel that God has been with me!

How can I but determine again and; again, that I will begin the New Year with a renewed heart, and lead a new and better life.

But how weak am I, how incapable of carrying out such plans!

Help me, oh you who have sustained me, that I may make a good improvement of the New Year. Not by living entirely to myself, but by preparing both mind & body for serving you as circumstances require.”

His hope was fixed on Christ and our hope should be as well as we keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus. Then step in faith towards the new and uncertain future that has many opportunities, challenges successes and failures ahead knowing that the Lord’s protection and forgiveness is your now and forever!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen

Sermon December 25, 2025 Christmas Day

Title: Christ the King the word made flesh!
Text: Titus 2:11-14

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11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Away in the manger, is a beautiful hymn.
It speaks of Christ’s humanity and ours.
It speaks of his tender care and our need to have him near us always.
It speaks of the Lord’s presence and love in our lives and an eternity promised with him forever. It speaks of God’s grace.

But what is the grace of God?

Grace, a word used often in the Bible is the spontaneous love of God towards sinful people.

It is the goodness of God that moves him to love us, who are unloving and to do good to us who are undeserving of any good. Grace means that God, in his very nature, is good, kind, forgiving, and helpful to us, even though we who receive such favors don’t deserve them.

Grace means that whatever God gives us, he gives us as a free gift.
It eliminates any human merit or works to get right with God.
We cannot meet God half way for we have no ladder to climb.
We can’t pick ourselves up by our bootstraps towards God, because we have no boots.
And because our sins we stand helpless and naked before God.
Yet in his heart, there is Grace.

God has revealed his Grace in the person of Jesus Christ for the salvation of all men, the Grace of God is not only an attitude in the heart of our great God, but a feeling that moved him to action.

Go to Bethlehem look into a manger who lies there?

In that child in the manger, God reveals his grace to us that is not an ordinary child.

In that child, you see God in action and that child God is carrying us God’s eternal plan for us through that child, he is showing his spontaneous love for us planned in eternity, promised throughout the Old Testament days and brought into our world and into our lives to bring us his truth and grace.

This child is the seat of woman promised to our first parents, Adam and eve

He is the one who would crush the head of Satan and save men from Satan’s power.

This is the one of whom the angel said to Joseph, you will name him, Jesus for he will save his people from their sin.

This is the one who said the son of man did not come to be served but He came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.

He lived a life of obedience under the law of God, which we break daily.

He died to death on the cross. The death that we deserved by our sins,

He gave himself for us to rescue us from all wickedness.

By him, we are saved from the guilt and punishment of all our rebellion against God, our self-will our pride and lusts?

Our disobedience, our unfaithfulness, our disloyalties, our broken promises. Yes, the whole sorry, lot of all the sins and transgressions. From the means you're, he went to the cross and everything that he thought, said, and did during those blessed years of his life here on earth was for you and me to rescue us from all wickedness to restore us to our original position as his children and his heirs in heaven.

And when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds in the field near Bethlehem and the glory of the Lord shone around them, they were filled with fear but by the angel's good news, in, David's town, your savior was born, their fear was turned into worship.

Likewise, our fear before God is turned into worship. God has revealed to us the Grace that brings us salvation,

The angel told the shepherds that this good news for you will bring great joy to all people. This is the amazing element of saving grace that God makes known from the manger.

It was not only for Joseph and Mary the shepherds, the wise men. and all the people that Jesus met during his days here on earth.

It embraces all the people, Jews and gentiles, rulers and subjects, rich and poor well-known and those unknown, men and women, adults and children from every generation of all times in all places

Whatever your problems are, or burdens are, God is sending forth his saving grace from the manger for you. Don't pull-down the curtain of doubt or unbelief over your heart. Let the light of God’s grace shine in, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared in Jesus Christ, and this grace is for all people,

Dear friends.it is for you!

The grace that God reveals in the manger was given to save us not only from the guilt and punishment of our sin, but also from the power of sin in our lives. God has given us his grace, not only to hold before us a promise for the future, but also to give us power for the present.

It is a grace that transforms our lives, it changes our lives. It trains and disciplines us to live new lives in Christ.

This Christ, whose birth we celebrate today gave himself for us to rescue us from all wickedness, and to make us pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good so that we might gladly desire what God desires and do what he commands.

We wrestle with being both saint and sinner.

The grace of God helps me to live a godly life. That is a life that shows my respect and love for God and sincerely seeks to do those things that meet his approval, here in his house where it is fairly easy to do, but also in my daily life where it and temptation abound.

So, my whole life really becomes an act of worship to live, that kind of life.

It is necessary to reshape my thinking to change my sense of values, to redirect my will, to alter my conduct. This, only the transforming grace of God can do, by his word and through his Spirit, and that is the transforming grace that God gives me from the manger.

Sometimes you hear people ask has Christmas changed through the years?

The more important question is, has Christmas changed you?

What has the grace of God that shines forth from the manger done to improve your life?

Has it changed your desires enough so that at Christmas you are thinking more of what God gives you than what you than what the world gives?

Has it transformed your wants enough so that you can control yourself amid the excesses associated with the season?

Does the Grace of God that shines from the manger move you to love your fellow men, as much as you love yourself?

How much has Christmas changed you and me?

The Grace God reveals in the manger also trains us to wait for the blessed day, we hope for when the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ will appear.

This is a reference to the second coming of Christ, his coming in glory to judge the living and the dead. The second coming of Christ is probably one of the last things you expect to hear about on Christmas Day.

Perhaps you're thinking why insert thoughts of judgment into this happy Christmas morning? Doesn't judgment mean doom and gloom?

It need not, because the grace of God which appeared at Christ's first coming enables us to look forward to a second coming, eagerly, expectantly and joyfully,

So too the grace of God tied to the first coming of Christ is that which we hold to as we walk through the storms and dangers of this life to his second coming. It guides and leads us safely to our eternal home.

It helps us retain the joy of the shepherds, the devotion of Joseph and Mary, and the worship of the wise men and enables us to look forward to the second coming as eagerly as a child waits for the coming of Christmas. And when that day comes when at Christmas, it'll be the eternal Christmas.

Yes, there is more to Christmas than what we see or hear on the surface, let's not be satisfied with the externals of the sea said let's look beneath the surface for the deeper blessings God gives!

In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit!
Amen

Concordia pulpit Rev. Willian Graumann 1972 modified

Sermon December 24, 2025 Christmas Eve

Title: God proclaimed is Christ the King!
Text: Matthew 1:18-25

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21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Although out of pure grace God does not impute our sins to us, He nonetheless did not want to do this until complete and ample satisfaction of His law and His righteousness had been made.

Since this was impossible for us, God ordained for us, in our place, one who took upon Himself all the punishment we deserve.

He fulfilled the law for us.

He averted the judgment of God from us and appeased God's wrath.

Grace, therefore, costs us nothing, but it cost another much to get it for us. Grace was purchased with an incalculable, infinite treasure, the Son of God Himself."

Martin Luther, Daily Walk, May 5, 1992.

That is our joy tonight, as we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Not just a holiday joy of man-made origin that is merely here today and gone tomorrow, but it is a joy -in the truly divine gift- of the God/man Himself, who at His incarnation, born of a virgin, became man so that through Him the forgiveness of sins and salvation might be freely given.

So the Gospel reading for tonight tells of the dilemma Joseph faced. His betrothed – or the one he was pledged to marry, had been found to be with child. Not through the course of natural events but by the Holy Spirit, Mary was pregnant.

Before a betrothed virgin was formally given in marriage, Mary had made a pledge and promise – a betrothal contract to marry Joseph to be faithful to him … and to be his wife. There was no cohabitation during this betrothal period but the virgin would use this time to prepare and put all things in order at her father’s home for the upcoming wedding.

This contract was as binding as a marriage was and Joseph is also called “her husband.” The fact that a “divorce” was required to break the betrothal shows the seriousness of this legally binding contract.

To be found guilty of adultery during the betrothal period would have caused Mary to be subject to the punishments that the moral law required – even death.

Now Joseph, even in this tenuous situation …

being a just man and unwilling to put Mary to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

True love looks to the needs of another and Joseph, though he didn’t understand the situation … was still loving … towards Mary, in how he thought he might dissolve the contract not causing her shame.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

Matt. 1:20

Through this awkward betrothal, God Himself took on flesh and became man to endure the shame and guilt that you deserved, taking your sins with him and nailing your sins to His cross some 30 plus years after His blessed birth.

Shame is a difficult feeing to deal with.

The Bible is very blunt about sin – it doesn't matter how YOU grade your sin, if you don’t accept that you’ve sinned and are a sinner … you can’t fix the problem.

It’s like having a deadly disease. You know that there is a problem but you’re afraid to go to the doctor because of the truth you might hear.

So what do you do? Do you go to the doctor? No. You think that by ignoring the problem it might go away. But if you don’t go, there is no way to address what is really ailing you.

It is that way with sin. If you don’t recognize the problem, you can’t receive the cure and death is the result.
And so ... death comes.
And so it is with sin because the wages of sin is death.
But, God is the medicine and the cure and Jesus is the means.
Because, Sin is the disease we are all infected with.

So, by faith we confess our sin.

I have sinned.
It’s MY fault.
MY problem.
MY guilt.
MY shame

Psalm 85 tells us:

2 You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.

And God has done this in the sending of his son.

The “Christmas spirit” we are told comes to life as people focus on the joys of giving gifts, and celebrating family and friends, and the love we share for and with one another.

While that is good … true love came down from heaven, in the form of a babe in a manger, born of the Virgin Mary who was called by God to this special task.

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Christ comes to you and to each and every one of us, dear friends.

Not by our Christmas spirit but by the working of the Holy Spirit, who calls and gathers all who would believe in him and brings us to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord through faith in His blessed work.

Martin Luther had this to say about the human heart:

“Hearts are polluted with idolatries, vain thoughts about God, lust, and other vices which arise from the fact that they do not have a sound knowledge of God. But, O God, cleanse Thou my heart, that I might acknowledge Thy will as it is, good and gracious, lest I be led away to wicked opinions by wild speculations about God.”

Martin Luther – LW Vol. 12 Selected Psalms 1 pg. 378

True joy is not found in the things you work to possess, but in that which you receive and which you are freely given that you could never work for or truly deserve.

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

True joy, dear friends, is found only in Christ Jesus our Lord!

This Christmas, may the joy of the Christ child, this beautiful babe of Bethlehem who came down from heaven to bring you, himself, the divine gift of salvation, comfort and peace wrapped in the human flesh of Jesus our baby king.

God himself has paid the price for your salvation with a gift of priceless worth … his only begotten son.

And, the Apostle John said much the same thing in our epistle reading for today:

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:13-15)

Confess it, say it and ask for it, for salvation is found in Christ alone!

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen