Concordia Sermons

Our fears can distract us from our faith. This is precisely what happened to Peter when he was walking on water to meet his Lord. In the midst of our fears, Jesus persistently calls us to fix our eyes on him again and again.

The Twelve Jesus called as disciples were nothing particularly special. In fact, the book of Acts calls the disciples “unschooled, ordinary men” (Acts 4:13). But Jesus uses common people to do extraordinary things. For he does not call disciples based on their merits or abilities, but simply because he wants to call them (cf. verse 13). Jesus can use us even though we are ordinary!

As we celebrate Labor Day weekend, we take some time to reflect on both the burdens and blessings of our vocations, trusting God to give us the strength and resources we need to do the jobs he has given us faithfully and well.

The book of Malachi is a story of a people deep into sin. In fact, the people in Malachi do not even often recognize how they have offended God. But for all their offenses, God offers a promise: that “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” God desires to heal and save even the most wayward and recalcitrant sinners.

The people in Zechariah’s day stubbornly refused to heed the word of the Lord. He wanted them to help each other; but instead, they hurt each other. God calls us to have soft hearts not only for Him, but for others!

This weekend, we take some time to share stories from our trips to Costa Rica, Moore, Oklahoma, and the south side of San Antonio, rejoicing at how God's good news knows no bounds!

Haggai reminds us that all the earth is the Lord’s! But Haggai also promises that into the earth, the Lord will come down. He may own the earth, but even more so, He saves the earth – He saves us.

Zephaniah has a word of judgment for all the nations. His words are often harsh, but he knows that for every harsh word, God has a sweet song. Like a mother who sings over her child, God sings over His children.

One of the most common questions people have is: How were people saved in the Old Testament if Jesus had not come yet? The answer is: They were saved in the same way as people now are – by faith. Habakkuk teases this out beautifully. For the prophet explains how the righteous are made that way not by their works, but through their faith in God’s righteousness, perfectly expressed in Christ.

On a weekend when we celebrate our nation’s independence, we remember that we desire not only liberty for all, but justice for all. God gives us the recipe for justice: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. These three things can change our nation and our world.

The story of Jonah is unique. For it is not a story of a prophet teaching some wayward people, but of some wayward people teaching a prophet. The teacher Jonah becomes the student. In what areas of our lives do we need to do less teaching and more learning?

Obadiah is written against Nineveh but it can serve as a warning to us all. We cannot live in sin without suffering the consequences of sin. Thus, repentance is paramount.

Fathers love to camp out! On Father’s Day, we celebrate the people and things dads love and get honest about the mistakes dads make, remembering how God takes our worst and redeems it for His glory.

The prophet Nahum brings a warning against the city of Nineveh. His message is straightforward: you cannot expect to reap wickedness and harvest righteousness. God will judge the Ninevites for their wickedness. Yet, if they repent, God will be their refuge.

Joel is serves as harbinger of bad news. He foretells a plague of locusts and refers to the day of the LORD as “great and dreadful” (2:31). Yet, even with all the suffering the Jews endure, Joel maintains his hope, for Joel knows that God’s Spirit is for and with His people.

Divorces, as any one who has ever had to endure one knows, are painful. In Hosea, God divorces Israel because of her unfaithfulness. But Israel’s unfaithfulness does not ultimately overcome God’s faithfulness, for He woos His wayward wife back.

The world’s end will most certainly come. Christ has promised it. But how shall we live in the mean time? When the world ends, Christ will reveal to us what mattered most when we were still in the world: serving and loving others. For when we serve and love others, we ultimately serve and love Christ. On this Memorial Day Weekend, we reflect especially on how our troops have served others bravely – many, by giving their very lives.dr@

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about the end of the world. Teachings like the rapture, the millennium, and all sorts of gloom and doom connected to geopolitical events take what the Bible truly says about time’s end and twists it. In this message, we look at some of the common misconceptions about the world’s end and set the record straight.

For millennia now, when trouble strikes, some have been concerned that the end of the world is upon us. But Jesus clearly says that even when we “hear wars and rumors of wars...the end is still to come” (verse 6). As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we consider the challenges of motherhood – the challenges of raising children in this day and age – and the promise that Christ has everything under His control.

People have lots of questions about the end of the world. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the questions for which we don’t have answers that we forget about God’s promises which give us the answers we need the most. The Sadducees were terribly concerned about marriage after the end of the world. But in all of their questions about one woman’s marriage, they forgot about the Church’s marriage to the Lamb of God.