Northwoods Table Talk

Here is the sermon for mid-week Advent services, now cancelled, on 12/13/2017. SOLA:   Sola Gratia Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you already know, Sola is our theme for this year’s mid-week Advent services. Sola, as our bulletin explains, means only or alone. We have learned that the only way to know about God and the things of the Christian faith is Sola Scriptura, by Scripture alone. And Sola Fide, by faith alone is how a person is saved. Today, we will affirm that all this is Sola Gratia, or by grace alone. What exactly is grace. We could let Webster define grace for us, but we are not talking about “the simple elegance of refined movement.” Instead, let us define grace as God defines it through Paul’s pen, as such, it is simply a gift. What is a gift? Are your wages a gift? No, you earn them by the sweat and toil of your body and mind. If you are retired, are your social security benefits, your pension, and

Well, it is official, summer is over.   How do I know?   Kids are back in school and the stands are full for High School home football games. I don’t know about you, but the summer was refreshing.   No, I don’t mean anything about the temperatures, for I dislike heat more than just about anything else.   Why was summer refreshing?   I took a few weeks of vacation, and while on vacation was able to attend worship services in God’s house.   While attending these services, I was a hearer of God’s Word and a receiver at the Table of the Lord.   What a blessed thing it was not to be a servant, but to be one of those served.   This is not to say that when I conduct the service, I am not preaching to myself.   In fact, I write my sermons directed at everybody, myself first and foremost.   I am also the first to receive the Lord’s Supper from my hand.   But there is something about being purely receptive that is so refreshing. When I go out to a restaurant, it is nice to sit in

He Does All Things Well Mark 7:31-37 (This is my sermon from September 3, 2017. I was asked to post it where people could read it. So, here it is) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   Amen. How many of you know someone in Texas who has been affected by hurricane Harvey? I know a few pastors in the area, and we have family that is nearby. Some of those pastors have homes and churches significantly underwater, the extent of the damage is at present, undetermined. Not quite sure about the cousins and how they are faring. What has again been discussed as the flood waters rise and the tragic pictures continue to scroll across the news and social media, is – where is God in all of this? Why doesn’t God do something? Doesn’t someone have an answer? When things go bad, we want to have an answer, we want to either receive of bring comfort. We want to have an answer. And, we think that we need to say something like, “