Read and listen to the most recent sermons http://www.nhlutheran.com Our Lord’s choice of the invitation to the supper is not by chance. Supper is the evening meal--the last nourishment before going to sleep—-the meal before the coming of darkness. In this case of the parable, the supper is the feeding of the Holy Gospel—-the last doctrine God gave us and the doctrine that will usher in the end of the world. The supper is free to those who are invited, but the man giving the supper paid a great price for it--the life of His Son. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100613_the_great_supper.htm The story of Lazarus and the rich man gives us a view of heaven that we receive nowhere else in Scripture. The rich man is in hell and Lazarus is in heaven. Some teach that the lesson here is that if you are rich in this world you cannot go to heaven. It doesn’t say that at all. Abraham was rich. Job was rich. Solomon was rich. And I believe that we will see each of these men in heaven. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100606_the_rich_man_and_lazarus.htm The traditional text for Trinity week is Jesus’ conversation with the learned Pharisee Nicodemus. At first we might not recognize how appropriate this text is. There are many who deny the Holy Trinity because they don’t understand it. For some, if they cannot reason through a concept, it cannot exist. But for us Christians, we see the things of God with our hearts. The Holy Spirit reveals them to us and that is going to be the lesson for Nicodemus. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100530_the_lesson_of_nicodemus.htm On Pentecost Day, 50 days after the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, the promise of the sending of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. That is what our text is about today, the coming of the Holy Spirit. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100523_the_lesson_of_pentecost_law_and_gospel.htm Mark’s account of the events of Jesus’ ascension include a concise summary of the events from Easter Eve to Jesus’ ascension 40 days later. Jesus is instructing the disciples who must carry the Gospel message to the world. He tells them they have what they need. The gifts of the Holy Spirit will come to provide the tools to do the job. After the Lord spoke He ascended into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father until He returns again to take us home. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100516_jesus_ascension_into_heaven.htm Jesus just explained that He would be going away and sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples to comfort them and teach them. In our text Jesus tells His disciples that they have not asked Him for anything while He walked with them. When He goes away to return to heaven they do not need Him to go to the Father on their behalf. The Father loves them because they believed the Son and they loved the Son as the Son of God. They should pray to the Father and ask that He keep His promises. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100509_jesus_teaches_about_prayer.htm Jesus’ disciples were thinking that Jesus would establish an earthly kingdom and they would be part of that kingdom. However, they misunderstood these things from the beginning. Now Jesus is telling them that He will leave and He will send them the Holy Spirit and that it will be a good thing that He leaves. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100502_sin_righteousnes_and_the_cross.htm In the past, we spoke of the institution of the office of the Apostles and the successors of the apostles. These would also be called shepherds and they would speak the message of Christ, just as He taught us. Today there are many pastors, or shepherds leading parts of the flock but there is only One Good Shepherd and there is only one flock. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100425_Jesus_the_good_shepherd.htm There is a tradition in the Lutheran church. When a child enters the teenage years they study Luther’s Catechism in classes with their pastor. My granddaughter just completed those studies with me. It is a great privilege to study with her and I learned much from her. I hope I also taught her many things about God’s Word and how to apply what she learned to her daily life. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100418_a_message_for_my_granddaughter.htm This lesson comes on the first Easter evening when the disciples were gathered together trying to make sense of the recent events they had witnessed. Jesus was arrested. He was judged by liars and thieves representing themselves as God’s servants. He was nailed to the cross. He died. He was buried. And now, on this 3rd day, they have seen the empty tomb and some have seen Jesus walking and talking. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100411_jesus_brings_peace_to_his_disciples.htm We will also be victorious over death. We too will be raised on the third day, just as Christ our redeemer and our example. The first day is our time on earth—our time of suffering and passion. Then, we die from this earth and take our Sabbath Day’s rest in the earth awaiting our resurrection. The third day is Judgment Day when we will be resurrected to spend eternity with God in heaven. This was demonstrated for us in Scripture. When Christ arose so did many of the saints. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100404_jesus_victory_over_death.htm The garden of Gethsemane was a favorite place for Jesus to pray. It was secluded. It was near the temple and Jerusalem and it was a quiet and peaceful place. Judas knew this place and he would deliver the soldiers and the other workers of Satan for the arrest. But it is more than just a quiet place that Judas could find. It was fulfillment of Scripture. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_20100401_the_garden_of_gethsemane.htm Jesus chose to assume a poor humble position in life. And, He chose to allow Himself to be arrested. And, He chose to enter and leave this world at the time that He entered and left. And, everything Jesus did was out of love for man. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_jesus_man_and_god.htm The Jews refused to accept the truth and there are those today who do not accept the truth. If you are not one of God's believers, then you belong to the Prince of this world—the devil. This must have been quite a dilemma for these Jews. Jesus was perfect. They could not refute one thing He spoke. Yet, they could not admit that He was the Holy One they read about in Scripture. They could not believe because they were not of God. They couldn't bear God's truth. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_how_jesus_dealt_with_satans_workers.htm This is a demonstration of God's unconditional love for man. Jesus fed those that believed and those that did not believe. All that came could eat. Ours is a loving and compassionate God and we need to understand that the spiritual feeding of the 5000 is no different than the physical feeding. The Word was spoken to the believers and to the unbelievers. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_the_feeding_of_the_five_thousand.htm The Jews thought their sacrifices pleased God because of their works or their obedience. NOT SO! These sacrifices were pleasing to God only because they represented the Sacrifice to come—the Ultimate Sacrifice—the crucifixion of Christ Jesus—the Son of God. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_christ_the_ultimate_sacrifice.htm During this Lenten Season we try to understand the things of Jesus and the suffering of Jesus as He approached persecution and death on the cross. In this lesson Jesus teaches His disciples and us about faith. http://www.nhlutheran.org/sermon_crumbs_of_the_word_to_the_dogs.htm