Holy Cross Lutheran Church

Sermon | ”When Justice is Replaced by Good Things” | October 16

To “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8) is a huge task with wide ranging implications that touch almost every aspect of our lives.  Sometimes when a task is so big, we give up rather than face it.  To avoid feeling guilty for not facing it, we rationalize why we “can’t.” When it comes to acting “justly,” we’re often inclined to rationalize “but I do all these other good things” and thus take ourselves off the hook.  This is not the way of Jesus.  Jesus called the religious leaders “hypocrites” for such actions. The Holy Spirit that He has sent to us empowers us to be in process and find small ways to start and continue to work toward justice even while we continue doing many other good things.

Sermon | ”What is Justice?” | October 9

When Jesus Christ came to earth, He came to usher in the Kingdom of God. But, His kingdom often feels upside down and inside out from our experience in the world. While the work of JUSTICE in our culture is often met with political backlash, it is nevertheless the work of Christ's kingdom on earth. God, and the people of God, have always been for justice...justice for all. While many in our contemporary culture may believe this a social or cultural influence upon the church, the idea of justice is rooted in the nature and character of God (and yes, the gospel). In fact, this work of Justice (for all) is a biblical theme from beginning to end. Today, we'll explore the foundation of biblical justice and our invitation to participate in it.

Sermon | ”Living in Community” | October 2

The body of Christ is a committed gathering of broken image-bearers, present with one another as they orient their lives around the words and the ways of Jesus. While all of that sounds really nice and fancy, what does it mean practically? How does our life together look? Today, we'll unpack how the Apostle Paul roots our lives together in faith, hope and love. And, not shockingly, how we'll need one another in order to remain in faith, hope and love. This is part of what it means to offer our bodies as living sacrifices - not only to the Lord in worship, but to our neighbor is service.

Sermon | ”The Value of Community” Part 2 | September 25

The church is a gathering of broken image-bearers brought together in Christ Jesus to offer one another the gift of presence. It will be this same community of broken image-bearers who stand together, committed to the practice of prayer, in order to stand firmly against our enemies. What the church is called to battle, commitment must triumph over comfort. St. Paul is quite clear - there are spiritual forces at work...presently! And since this is true - it's time to put on the armor and stand our ground, strengthened by the Lord Himself.

Sermon | ”The Value of Community” Part 1 | September 18

Never in the history of the world have people had more opportunities of channels or ease of access for connecting with other people. Yet, many find themselves lonelier and more isolated than ever before. We crave community and connection--being known and seen and understood. For a world just like this, Jesus has formed His body the church--a bunch of broken image-bearers bound together by Christ, who made them to be a part of Him. As this body, we are empowered to offer to one another and to our world, what is longed for and needed, our full presence. Seems simple, but it is one of the most valuable gifts we have to give. Do you give it? Do you need more of it from others?

Sermon | ”Broken Beauty” | September 11

One doesn't have to have teenage daughters to understand BODY IMAGE is a big deal. The well-being of our daughters AND sons hinges on a healthy body image. Well, the Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of the body as a description for the church (the gathering of saints) more than any other. He too wants the communion of saints to have a healthy body image, both in the way the Church thinks about herself and as she relates to the non-believing world. Today we'll discover what Paul sees as a healthy Body Image for the church of his day and ours.

Sermon | ”YOUR Cross” | September 4

The cross has become a central image of the Christian church because Jesus died on it and then rose again. However, Jesus' first reference to a cross is not his own; it was the cross that his disciples would carry. Following Jesus has from the very beginning been a life of dying...dying to yourself...dying to what else might seem more important. It's crazy that anyone says "yes" to this!! Yet, because Jesus already did, and besides us, there's a whole world of people that he died for, can we do anything else?

Sermon | ”Holy Conflict” | August 14

We call Jesus the Prince of peace at Christmas time, the truth is that by bringing us His teachings and His truth He often causes division among people. The truth has a way of doing that.

Sermon | ”Birds, Flowers and Sheep, Oh My!” | August 7

Stress, worry, anxiety...unfortunately, for far too many people, these are everyday realities. Standing in sharp contrast to these realities are the words of Jesus, "Do not worry about your life..." As disciples of Jesus, what are we to do with this disconnect? If we have worry and stress, are we NOT in the kingdom? If we grow anxious about our lives--are we failing at being a follower? These are great questions, and like the disciples of Jesus' day, we too need more explanation. In today's text, Jesus spends time unpacking what it means to be rich toward God, helping us have a kingdom attitude toward possessions and seeing stress and anxiety as opportunity.

Sermon | ”The Kingdom Economy” | July 31

When Christ came to earth, ushering in God's Kingdom, He provided the definitive way to live - by giving Himself away...even unto death. Unlike kings of the earth, who seek more wealth, power and position - Christ made Himself poor, appeared in weakness, and took up the role of servant rather than master. This is the economy of God's kingdom - and as followers of Christ, we are called to live in like manner. We must be aware when sin creeps in, calling greed to rear its vicious head and poison our relationships with others. Rather than live close-fisted, Christ calls us to live open-handed.