Sermons
Sermon – Agony and Loss ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
May 31, 2020 Our gospel lesson today takes us into a room full of frightened adults. Their fear is palpable and well founded. These stressed out scared group of disciples have just witnessed the death of their leader. A psychologist today might say that they were...
Sermon – Jesus Praying ~ Pastor Sarah
May 24, 2020 In our gospel today we get the rare opportunity to eavesdrop on Jesus praying. The setting for this prayer is the upper room on Maunday Thursday. And I imagine the mood in the room that night is heavy and poignant. Every word, every gesture, every deed...
Sermon – Baccalaureate Service – Guest Jessica Short
May 17, 2020 Guest Sermon by Jessica Short. Pastor Sarah asked me to preach this Sunday because it is Baccalaureate Sunday. I have the honor of serving as the pastor for Lutheran Campus Ministries at Marquette University. You can watch the sermon here. You can read...
Sermon – I Go To Prepare a Place for You ~ Pastor Jean Duran
May 10, 2020 Anna had been surrounded by her sister since first light. Giggling and teasing had erupted as they prepared her for this engagement party... You can watch the service here. You can read the full sermon here.
Sermon – The Lord Is My Shepherd… ~ Pastor Sarah
May 3, 2020 The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. These words, these ancient words of comfort and hope. Words the maybe more than other words in scripture are embedded deep inside us. You can watch the service here. You can read the full sermon coming...
Sermon – Our Eyes are Opened ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
April 26, 2020 When confused and distraught, I often stick out my thumb and hitchhike to Emmaus. Theologian Barbara Brown Taylor calls the road to Emmaus "the road of deep disappointment." That phrase especially resonates for me right now as we live through a global...
Sermon – Memories – Guest Bishop Yehiel Curry
April 19, 2020 When I was a child, we used to live across the street from a park. There are a lot of memories that I have from that park, but one stands out in particular. It’s not the other kids and me running and playing around. It’s not the green grass, the tall...
Sermon – Easter in Quarantine~ Pastor Sarah
April 12, 2020 Today the church typically shouts the news, no, the best news the world has ever heard. He is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia. But if I am honest, it is hard to muster up the the joy and passion that I am used to saying those words. You can watch...
Sermon – God and Suffering~ Pastor Sarah
April 5, 2020 As people gathered on the sidelines of the street and laid down their coats to prepare the way for Jesus, they shouted, “Hosanna! Hosanna!” It was a scene of celebration and adoration, the way our parades are today – at least when we’re allowed to have...
Sermon – Quarantine Fasting ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
March 29, 2020 I don’t know about you, but I will admit that these days I approach the news with a sense of apprehension and dread – how many more people are infected, how many more people have died – we see the numbers –but I wonder about their stories, what are...
Sermon – The Audacious Hope of God~ Pastor Sarah
March 22, 2020 This is a really hard and anxious time. This global pandemic is forcing fundamental changes in lifestyle, in human behavior, in the way we do business and school and even church. And it just keeps playing out in real time so quickly that it’s hard to...
Sermon – We Are One Body~ Pastor Sarah
March 15, 2020 Well, there’s nothing like a novel and spreading virus to really drive home the point that we’re all connected to each other. Over the past couple of months, as we’ve watched the various maps and charts that are trying to capture the spread of the...
Sermon – Deliverance in the Wilderness~ Pastor Sarah
March 8, 2020 Pastor Sarah Rohde Hagar, Jesus, and Rachel take us to the wilderness today, a place I trust we have all spent some time at one point or another in our lives. I’m not sure how many of us heard the story of Hagar growing up, but her story of escape, and...
Sermon – What Do People Mean When They Say The Bible Is Inspired ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
March 1, 2020 If the Bible isn’t a science book or an instruction manual, then what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she began a quest to better understand what the Bible is...
Sermon – Ash Wednesday 2020~ Pastor Sarah
February 26, 2020 It might sound kind of strange to you, but as I think about all the days we celebrate or recognize as a church throughout the liturgical year, I think I would say that Ash Wednesday rises to the top as one of my favorites. It might sound odd to opt...
Sermon – Up On the Mountain, Down in the Valley – Bishop Yehiel Curry
February 24, 2020 A couple weeks ago I was part of a bishop delegation who traveled to the Lutheran church in Jordan and the Holy Land. We were there for six days, and we did a lot of work. We took in some of the holy sites, but we were there to put our eyes on the...
Sermon – Jesus’ Building of the Beloved Community~ Pastor Sarah
February 16, 2020 Jesus addresses in this passage some of the most complex and painful parts of being human. Here Jesus talks about relationships, and particularly relationships that have not yet been reconciled, so he’s talking about the words that still sting. The...
Sermon – February 9 ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
February 9, 2020 We are back up on the mountain with Jesus this week. Up on that mountain, where Jesus begins to reveal to the disciples their new identities--telling them who they are. Last week, we heard the beginning of Jesus’ sermon, known to many as “The...
Sermon – Good Adventure! ~ Deacon Heather Feltman
February 2, 2020 As we have discovered over the last two weeks, after John baptizes Jesus, Jesus begins to choose his disciples. He summons Peter and Andrew, James and John. And as we learn, they promptly obey Jesus’ summons –they leave their nets, their boats, even...
Sermon – Disciples Follow Jesus~ Pastor Sarah
January 26, 2020 There’s no denying that “firsts” are significant. The first step a child takes. The first kiss that a couple shares. The first car that you drive. All these “firsts” matter. They mark us. They’re these defined moments that are etched in our minds...
