Quasimodo Geniti Sunday (Easter 2)| John 20:19-31| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| April 24, 2022 Twice in this Gospel lesson St. John points out that the doors were locked, yet Jesus came and stood among them. How did Jesus do this? Was it just a spirit that looked like Jesus? No. Jesus showed them…
Easter Sunday| Mark 16:6| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| April 17, 2022 Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! So what? No, I’m not being flippant. For every what, there needs to be a so what, or better yet, for us Lutherans, a “What does this mean?”. The what is precisely what the…
Palm Sunday| Matthew 21:1-9| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| April 10, 2022 I am Jesus’ little donkey… It doesn’t have quite the same ring as I am Jesus’ Little Lamb. Yet, I would like each of you to consider yourself not only as Jesus’ little lamb, but as Jesus’ little donkey. Next to…
Lent 5 Judica| Genesis 22:1-14; John 8:56-58| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| April 3, 2022 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer…
Lent 4 Laetare Sunday| John 6:1-15| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 27, 2022 Last week, my son Thomas caught a centipede. It was the biggest centipede I’ve seen around here. He put it in a jar with a stick and some dirt, and much to the chagrin of his older sister, he put the…
Lent 3 Oculi| Luke 11:14-28| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 20, 2022 In Genesis chapter three, after Adam and Eve fell into sin, the LORD God said to the serpent, who deceived them, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise…
Invocavit Sunday (Lent 1)| Matthew 4:1-11| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| March 6, 2022 When people think of Satan, they often think of two extremes that are both false. The first extreme is that Satan is a harmless spirit, who couldn’t hurt you if he tried. (This is why many so flippantly play around…
Quinquagesima| Luke 18:31-43| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 27, 2022 Jesus plainly says to his twelve disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be…
Sexagesima Sunday| Luke 8:4-15| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 20, 2022 Jesus does every preacher a great kindness by interpreting this parable for us. The seed, which the sower sows is the Word of God. Yet, we must speak for a minute about the content of that Word. What is the message…
Septuagesima| Matthew 20:1-16| Pastor James Preus| February 13, 2022 In this parable, our Lord Jesus simply teaches us how God rewards his laborers in the kingdom of heaven. You shouldn’t get hung up trying to figure out what the denarius symbolizes, but simply recognize that God does not save us based on our works….