Sermon Archives

On this 5th Sunday after Easter we rejoice that we are indeed not alone, but that God continues to be with us in very real ways. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ continues to abide in us and we in him. And if we think about a vine and its branches, we know [...]

Using the combined images of abundant life and the good shepherd’s mission, this sermon invites the hearer to not be “afraid to death” but “live to death.” The sermon expands the lectionary text by one verse. Adding “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Using the image of the three women at the empty tomb from Mark 16, This sermon acknowledges that Easter joy contains an element of uncertainty. “They fled the tomb as terror and amazement had seized them and they said nothing to anyone as they were afraid.”

During this Lenten season we journey with Jesus on the way to the cross. And after Jesus died his body was placed in the tomb, like a grain of wheat into the earth. But then, as we all know, three days later Jesus arose, just as surely as a grain of wheat sprouts and grows. [...]

The sermon invites the hearer to enter the world of the truth of pharisees ( Nicodemus, Sheldon Cooper, Lucy Van Pelt) and the world of the Gospel truth. In Lent, the problem of sin and the solution to the problem of sin is magnified. Jesus, lifted up brings a very specific and hopeful truth.

During this Lenten season we are called to cleanse ourselves of all the clutter and distractions in our lives that get in our way of seeing Jesus in our lives.  We are called to remember our baptism, and how by water and the word our sins are washed away and we are turned once again [...]

The big question: Why do things happen the way they do and what does God have to do with it… A lenten journey for the children of Abraham following the cross of Jesus.

Today we hear the very familiar story of Mark 1. We have had the beginning of this text as we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus. Yet we have not had the end of this text until now. It states that after Jesus was baptized by John the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness where [...]

This special message from Daniel Heckert, a member of St. John’s and the Southwestern PA Synod Youth Committee as well as co-leader of the Holy KOWS Youth Group, explores the transfiguration of Jesus. Dan references Martin Luther’s writings as we try to understand the significance of the transfiguration. He then challenges everyone to listen to [...]