Pastor’s Blog
Sermons from Immanuel Lutheran Chicago
Sermons from Immanuel Lutheran Chicago
Immanuel is a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) This is Christ’s church. There is a place for you here. We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person–questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God’s work in Christ’s name for the life of the world.
Address
1500 W Elmdale Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60660
Phone/Fax
773-743-1820
773-743-1849
Email/Web
churchonelmdale@gmail.com
www.immanuellutheranchicago.org
Living Resurrection
SermonEaster 3A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago When he was about eighteen, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660), created one of his first paintings, titled simply, “Kitchen Maid.” A copy at Chicago’s Art Institute depicts a mixed-race maid. She’s the offspring of a Spanish Christian and an African Muslim, and therefore, disfavored by both communities. She […]
Wounded Healers
SermonEaster 2A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Few things focus our minds on mortality than our own injuries. I remember playing sardines at a youth lock-in when I slipped on a small patch of black ice and dislocated my kneecap on the raised corner of a cement sidewalk. Years later, my right knee still bears the scar […]
Rolling Stones
SermonEaster Sunday A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Alleluia! Christ is risen. (Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!) Because Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox, it is mostly a cheerful day made all the more happy by warming temperatures. But the light-hearted spirit of Easter arises from hard won […]
Your Everyday Survival Kit
SermonLent 5A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago The week after Christmas my family headed out on a 3,800-mile trip to Montana and back. I was excited but also a little anxious. I had this recurring dread image of spending a winter’s night in the ditch. So, I did what dads do and kept my worries to myself. […]
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
SermonLent 4A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago The disciples ask Jesus, ‘who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ (John 9:2). The answer, of course, is neither. The tragedy of the man’s blindness is not God’s doing. Yet, the fact is, we seem almost hardwired to attribute tragedy as evidence of sinfulness, and […]
I See You
SermonLent 3A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Our preacher today is Adriana Rivera, Minister of Youth and Household. Greetings, friends, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you on this third Sunday of Lent and during Women’s History Month. I’m happy to be here with you this Sunday to reflect on […]
Putting It All Back Together
SermonLent 2A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago I’ll tell you something you already know. We are shaped by what we can perceive. Beyond what we can imagine is the great unknown unknown. Think how understanding about what is real and what’s not expanded with the invention of the telescope, or the microscope, or the transistor, or today, […]