Author: Pastor Carlson

In a sermon focused on the Third Sunday in Lent, the message emphasizes the contrast between godly zeal and resentful obedience towards God’s commandments. True Christian faith perceives these commandments not as burdens but as freedoms and joys resulting from Christ’s sacrifice and deliverance. It criticizes the tendency to view God’s laws as limitations and the idolatrous pursuit of worldly desires. The sermon calls for repentance, recognizing one’s sins, and embracing God’s mercy through Christ’s ultimate zeal and sacrifice, which is commemorated and received in the sacrament of communion.

Churches are skipping out on repentance, sugarcoating reality. Repentance strips bare our sinful cores, confronting self-justification. Take King Saul – God ordered annihilation; he opted for plunder, cloak-and-dagger with sacrificial rhetoric, victimhood pleadings. Repentance? Too much heart. Commandment disobedience paves our glitter-coated, smiley-surfaced excuses. Rejecting repentance, some spurn God’s mercy, even offering a divine middle finger. Yet, God’s forgiveness, uncompromised by our stubborn unrepentance, awaits our humbled acceptance. Next week, we tackle the psychology of forgiveness.

Luther revered the Book of Romans as essential Christian reading for its clear presentation of the Gospel. St. Paul’s epistle discusses humanity’s inherent sinfulness and the redemption through Christ’s sacrifice, establishing peace with God. Christians are urged to fight against sin and live according to faith, reflecting God’s love in all aspects of life. Suffering is portrayed as a means to develop character and hope, not as something to be avoided. The sermon emphasizes the constant, unchanging love of God, which inspires believers to endure hardships and cling to their faith.

Ash Wednesday Unforgivable Book, Sermon 1 February 14, 2024 For the season of Lent, we are going to consider the book, “Unforgivable,” by Dr. Ted

Transfiguration Mark 9:2-9 February 11, 2024 “Listen to Him.” That’s our theme, “Listen to Him.” But here’s the thing…listening to the Lord isn’t necessarily going