Pastor’s Blog
Sermons from Immanuel Lutheran Chicago
Latest Sermons
Wait in Messed-UpednessDecember 3, 2023 - 1:38 pm
Supremely Natural SovereignNovember 26, 2023 - 12:26 pm
Yes and NoNovember 19, 2023 - 12:57 pm
Family PhotosNovember 5, 2023 - 1:23 pm
A Humble, Self-Critical ChurchOctober 29, 2023 - 11:13 am
Wait in Messed-Upedness
SermonAdvent 1B-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago A new year in our worship calendar starts today on this first Sunday of Advent. It begins, not with the pop of a champagne cork, but with lament at the hiddenness of God. ‘O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, Isaiah pleads (Isaiah 64:1). The psalmist […]
Supremely Natural Sovereign
SermonChrist the King Sunday Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago I want to begin today, as I sometimes do for Christ the King Sunday, with a children’s story by Minnesota naturalist and author, Douglas Wood. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called Old Turtle. The story begins in a far-away land that “is somehow not so far away,” […]
Yes and No
SermonProper 28A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago “I went and hid your talent in the ground.” Oops. Wrong answer-right? Anyone who attended Sunday school knows you don’t hide your talent under a bushel basket or bury it in the ground! You’ve gotta let your little light shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. At […]
Family Photos
SermonAll Saints Sunday A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Today, we see family photos, keepsakes, and candles arrayed before us. Each one is a reminder of someone we have known and loved who has died. Perhaps they inspired us or encouraged us or nurtured us in faith. These ancestors gave shape to our values and to our […]
A Humble, Self-Critical Church
SermonProper 25A-23- Reformation Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Kari and I visited Wittenberg, Germany, this summer. It was the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. On All Saint’s eve, October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther is said to have nailed 95 theses to the doors of Castle Church. He called for a debate on stewardship. More to the point, […]
Mirror, Mirror
SermonProper 24A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago ‘Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what belongs to God’ (Matthew 22:21). This small but mighty verse gave birth to the biblical doctrine of the two kingdoms and to the separation of Church and State. Centuries after Christ, Christian vocation, the baptismal call to love and serve […]
Of Landlords and Tenants
SermonProper 22A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Jesus said, ‘Listen to this’ (Matthew 21:33a). An investor bought a three flat in Edgewater. They renovated everything right down the studs. New insulation, windows, plumbing, and electric. They opened the floor plan, refinished the floors, and installed an upscale kitchen and bathrooms. They leased it out and moved to […]