Entries by Pastor Monte

Body and Soul

Proper 8C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “He set his face to go up to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51-62). And so, Jesus began his sojourn from Galilee to the cross.  From now until […]

Casting Out Demons

Proper 7C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago The Prophet Isaiah reveals God’s own breaking heart. “I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by […]

The Arc of Justice

Trinity Sunday C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “Does not wisdom call and understanding raise her voice?  (Proverbs 8:1) Wisdom is depicted as a women sitting on a mountain, at the crossroads, […]

Boldness to Live without Fear

Pentecost Sunday C25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Today, on this the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the ingathering of the church and the disciple’s great […]

I Am Because We Are

Easter 7C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Jesus is in his final hours. The disciples asked, and Jesus has taught them, the Lords’ Prayer. Now, like children listening in while the grown-ups […]

No Need for Tribalism

Easter 6C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago The words we read today are among the last spoken by Jesus to the disciples. He is preparing them to carry on without him. Life […]

Love is Your Birthright

Easter 5C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “Live every day as if it may be your last, because someday, it will be true.” (The gospel according to Steve Jobs.) In his final […]

Fierce and Motherly Love

Easter 4C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Cattle must be driven, but sheep can be led. They hear […]

Pass the Peace

Easter 2C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago What do you do after the worst has happened? After hope is lost? The disciples are having a really bad no good day. They are […]

God Took a Selfie and Gave Him to Us

Easter Sunday C-25 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Alleluia! Christ is risen (Christ is risen indeed, alleluia!) Yet that first Easter morning, despite the fresh bloom of early spring, everything looked dead. […]