St.paul Lutheran Church Shobonier il Sermons

November 5 th 2023 All Saints Day (Remember those who died in the prayers) First Reading: Proverbs 8:32-36 “Blessed … who listens to Me” (record in bulletin) Psalm: Psalm 116 “Precious … is the death of His saints” Epistle: Revelation 7:9-17 “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted” Sermon Text: Matthew 5 and Revelation 7 Sermon Title: “Blessed are You” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Thus says the Lord, “Blessed are those who keep My ways … blessed is the one who listens to Me … for whoever finds Me, finds life”. (Proverbs 8:32-35a) “You have delivered my soul from death … precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints”. (Psalm 116:8a, 15) “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”. (Revelation 7:17b) Jesus said, “Blessed are you”. (Matthew 5:3-11) “ Blessed” is the word that Jesus used over...

October 29 th 2023 Reformation Sunday First Reading: Revelation 14:6-7 Psalm: Psalm 46 Epistle: Romans 3:19-28 Gospel: John 8:31-36 (37-38) Sermon Text: John 8:31-36 Sermon Title: “Set Free” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. “As Jesus was saying these things, many believed in Him. So, Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him; if you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. (John 8:30-32) Jesus was teaching these things in the temple in Jerusalem and as usual there were some who listened intently and others who listened in order to try and catch Jesus in something they could persecute/prosecute Him for. What a gracious promise of God, that Jesus spoke to them. If you “delight in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2a), if you “abide” or remain in it; “gladly hearing and learning it”; if you allow the Word to correct you when y...

October 22 nd 2023 (Confirmation Day) Old Testament: Deuteronomy 6:6-9 Psalm: Psalm 1 Epistle: 1 st Thessalonian 1:1-10 Gospel: Matthew 22:15-22 Sermon Text: Psalm 1 Sermon Title: “Delight in the Law of the Lord’ Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our Psalm for this morning contrasts the life and destiny of the righteous person with that of the wicked person. Those who are righteous before God, are those who have acknowledged their sin and gladly heard and believed the Gospel of forgiveness of sins and eternal life. These are people who “are not ashamed of the Gospel (knowing) it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes … the righteous shall live by faith”. (Romans 1:16-17) In contrast, the wicked are not like them. Wickedness here does not just mean those who are in open sin or rebellion against God and His Word, but also those who pay lip service to the Word of ...

October 15 th 2023 (St. Peter children singing) Old Testament: Isaiah 25:6-9 Psalm: Psalm 23 Epistle: Philippians 4:4-13 Gospel: Matthew 22:1-14 Sermon Text: Matthew 22:1-14 Sermon Title: “Called and Chosen” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. CFW Walther, the founder of our church body/denomination, wrote a very famous book on preaching that is still used in both of our seminaries. It is called “On the Proper Distinction of Law and Gospel”. Walther not only knew how to write about preaching, but also how to preach. For example, he knew how to get people’s attention at the beginning of a sermon. In preparation for this week, I read a couple of his sermons on our Gospel text and I would like to share the opening line from each of them. “In today’s reading, Christ Himself gives us a brief but complete picture of a sham (phony) Christian”. A few years later he opened the sermon with thes...

  October 8 th 2023 Old Testament: Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm: Psalm 80:7-19 Epistle: Philippians 3:4b-14 Gospel: Matthew 21:33-46 Sermon Text: Philippians 3 or Matthew 21 Sermon Title: Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. In the Old Testament reading this morning, the prophet Isaiah tells a parable of the vineyard of the Lord, “My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones and planted it with choice vines … and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes”. (Isaiah 5:1b-2) “What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it … why did it yield wild grapes”? (Isaiah 5:4) “The vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel and the men of Judah”; (Isaiah 5:7a) and the Lord pronounced judgment on them because “He looked for justice … and for righteousness … and found none”. (Isaiah 5:7b) Our Lord Jesus continues/update...

October 1 st 2023 Old Testament: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Psalm: Psalm 25:1-10 Epistle: Philippians 2:1-4 (5-13) 14-18 Gospel: Matthew 21:23-27 (28-32) Sermon Text: Philippians 2:1-18 Sermon Title: “Be of One Mind and Hold Fast the Word of Life; in Humilty” The Lord spoke through the prophet Ezekiel; “The soul who sins shall die”. (Ezekiel 18:4b) That is pretty direct isn’t it? No wiggle room, no making it up to God by our own good works, no exceptions to this rule. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, death came into the world, and everyone born since that day, is born with original sin; meaning they are dead spiritually and destined to die physically and eternally. That is why Jesus taught “unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God”. (John 3:3b) So, before we were “cleansed by the washing of water with the Word” (Ephesians 5:26b) in holy baptism, we were “dead in (our) trespasses and sins … by natu...

September 24 th 2023 Old Testament: Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm: Psalm 27:1-9 Epistle: Philippians 1:12-14, (15-18), 19-30 Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16 Sermon Text: Philippians 1:12-30 Sermon Title: “To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Both the Old Testament and the Gospel readings deal with our response to the Word/Gospel of the Lord. In the Old Testament reading, Isaiah exhorts his hearers saying, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord (repent) that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Therefore, never take the gifts of our Lord for granted.) For My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are My ways your ways, declares the Lord”. (Isaiah 55:6-8) “How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutabl...