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