In the Way with Charles St-Onge: Recent Episodes
Charles St-Onge
Text: Matthew 14:13-21. In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus is once again leading his disciples into deeper faith. Do they really have only five loaves and two fish with which to feed the crowds? (Podcast will be on a break for three weeks).
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Text: Matthew 13:44-52. Jesus lays out four more parables: what is the treasure we should be seeking, and who is out looking to buy pearls?
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Text: Matthew 13:24-46. Jesus explains how we should think about evil, and evil people, in the world.
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Text: Matthew 13:1-23. What does it mean that Jesus compares himself to a sower, and compares us to soil?
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Text: Matthew 11:25-30. Jesus tells the weary that in him they will find rest. What does he mean?
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Text: Matthew 10:34-42. Jesus sends the apostles out, and prepares them for how they will be received. The people of the world will be forced to choose a side: are you for the coming of the kingdom of God, or against it?
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Jesus' work of restoring the harassed and helpless sheep encounters opposition, because it upsets both families and societies.
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"When [Jesus] saw the crowds,he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36). The question is, who were harassing them and leaving them helpless? How does the Lord show compassion today?
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The Lord is holy, and we are not. What does that look like? Who does the Lord seek: those who think they are holy or those who know that he alone is?
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To know there is a God is not the same thing as knowing the Lord, the uncreated Father, who sends his Son to live among us as a human being, and who draws us to himself by sending his Spirit to live in us. This, the one true God, is who saves and heals us every day by his Word.
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The Holy Spirit is a destructive force... because death must be cleared away to make room for life.
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Peter the Apostle, first to lift a sword for Jesus, now urges gentleness and respect in giving others a reason for our hope in Jesus. How does that work?
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In the 23rd Psalm, King David writes that the Good Shepherd "prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies." What does he mean?
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The question raised by Jesus' encounter with the disciples on the road to Emmaus is not whether Jesus abides with us, but whether we recognize that he already is. Luke 24:13-35
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Peter says that the apostles must obey God rather than men, in response to the religious leaders call to stop speaking about Jesus. What does he mean, and when does this apply?
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Before Easter was a joyous holiday, it was terrifying real-world event that made no sense.
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War overseas, war in our communities, war in our own hearts: who will deliver us from this body of death, if not Christm, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?
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In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul, apostle of Christ, urges us to discern the body at the Lord's Supper. What, and where, is the body of Christ?
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We know what it looks like when someone comes itching for a fight. But what does it look like when someone comes in peace?
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Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life. Do we believe this? Is so, that sets our lives off in a whole new direction.
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When Jesus heals a man born blind, he is opening our eyes to the impact of sin on the world, and on why bad things happen and who should get credit for the good.
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A Samaritan woman and a Jewish Rabbi walk up to a well - no joke, but rather a sign of God's presence even with those who believe they've been God-forsaken. Come and receive Living Water from Jesus.
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We call John 3:16 the Gospel in a nutshell. But when we say that God "so loves the world," what exactly does that mean? When things go wrong, how do we see and know God's love?
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When we feel strongly about a certain course of action, even led to it, do we know whether it's Satan or our Saviour who's encouraging it?
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"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart." Ecclesiastes 7:2. Rev. Charles St-Onge, St. John Lutheran Church, Pembroke, Ontario.
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Rev. Charles St-Onge's last sermon at Ascension, Montreal, Quebec. Matthew 5:12-20.
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February 1, 2026 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.
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January 25, 2026 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18.
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January 18, 2026 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: John 1:35-42.
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January 11, 2026 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Matthew 3:13-17.
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January 4, 2026 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 2:41-52.
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December 28, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Matthew 2:13-21.
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December 21, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. St. Thomas, Martyr: Ephesians 4:7-14, John 20:24-29.
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December 14, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: James 5:7-11.
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December 7, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Romans 15:4-13.
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November 30, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Romans 13:8-14.
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November 23, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: John 18:33-38, 19:12-15.
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November 16, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13.
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November 9, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17.
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November 2, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 1 John 3:1-3.
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October 26, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. The Reformation of the Church.
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October 19, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5.
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October 5, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: 1 Timothy 2:1-4.
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October 5, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4.
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September 28, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 16:19-31.
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September 21, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 16.1-13.
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September 7, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 15:1-10.
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September 7, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Philemon.
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August 31, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 14:1-14 and Proverbs 25:2-10.
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August 24, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 13:22-30.
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August 17, 2025 sermon at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, QC by Rev. Charles St-Onge. Text: Luke 12:49-56.
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The Ascension of Jesus can be seen as him “leaving us behind” to go and take on the “big job” in the heaven. He’s moving on to bigger and better things, which means he’s leaving us behind. But if that’s what’s happening, why would Jesus also promise that he “will be with us always, even to the end of the age?” Can Jesus leave and yet not leave at the same time?
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In John 5 we read of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. Why only this one man, and why only now, when there's a festival going on in Jerusalem?
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On the night in which we was betrayed, Jesus gave a new commandment rooted in the new covenant: "Love one another, as I have loved you." The love one another part is not new. What makes it new is the addition of "as I have loved you." How exactly has Jesus loved us, and what does that mean for our love for our neighbours?
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Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:25-28, ESV)
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On May 27, King Charles III will give his speech from the throne to open Canadian parliament. But in the Revelation to John, the elder sees a far more critical "throne speech."
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In an age of passwords, locks, and authentication codes, Jesus holds the most important key of all.
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Christ is the rock on which we can build our lives. On Easter, we learn that his promises and work can be trusted since God raised him from the dead.
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Humanity is torn down to the ground at the cross. We are revealed to be the sinners we are. Cowards, like the disciples. Helpless, like the women on Golgotha. Indifferent, like the crowds. Self-righteous, like the religious leaders. Cruel and callous, like Pilate and the soldiers. A good and all powerful God should fix this. But “fix” means to start over. Everything must die. Including God's Son.
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Is it Maundy or Holy Thursday? Is there a difference?
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Jesus urges us to build our lives on his promises. He has saved us and will raise us up: what is their to worry about?
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The Lord is bound and determined to have fruit from his vineyard, even at the cost of the Son's life, and the Spirit's work in resurrecting dead tenants to become something new.
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The parable of the prodigal son is really about three people: the younger brother, yes, but also the older brother and the father. The character of the brothers reveals how sin works in our lives; the character of the father reveals the extents to which the Lord will go to reconcile us to him and to each other.
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The Lord allows us to sin against each other, and for creation itself to visit evil on all of us, that some of us might repent and turn to him and each other in forgiveness for the sake of Jesus.
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Aesop's Fables are a collection of short, allegorical stories, often featuring animals, that teach moral lessons. You know who loved Aesop’s fables, and even translated them so more people could read them? Martin Luther.
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The prophets of God have often met with him on mountaintops. But the Lord has always done his best, saving work in both physical and metaphorical valleys.
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What makes for a mature Christian? Our Gospel lesson from Luke 5:1-11 and our Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 6:1-8 give us some good direction.
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Relections on 1 Corinthians 13.
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Canada has it's speeches from the throne, the US it's inaugural addresses, but Jesus sets out his agenda as king in Capernaum by quoting the prophet Isaiah.
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Luke’s Gospel can be read in many ways. A Gospel of reconciliation, a Gospel of mercy towards the least. But it is also a warning. That the Lord’s wisdom is often never appreciated until it’s too late.
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If there are any outstanding models in the Scriptures of patience, surely they would be Simeon and Anna. Both spent the better part of a lifetime waiting for the consolation of Israel. What enabled them to show such patience? What can we learn from them about faith in the Lord's promises?
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All of the best fantasy fiction books move from light to darkness to light again. Star Wars contrasts the light side of the force with the dark shades of the Death Star and Darth Vader. The Lord of the Rings contrasts the lightness of the world of men with the darkness of Mordor, the domain of Sauron and his legions of Orcs. In the Harry Potter series, school headmaster Albus Dumbledore speaks these words right before some very trying times: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” ("The Prisoner of Azkaban"). Because where there is Christ, there is light, and where there is light, there is life.
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No matter where he looked, or how often he prayed, or how many worship services he attended, the man simply could not find peace. He said that his “conscience could never achieve certainty but was always in doubt and said: “You have not done this correctly. You were not contrite enough. You omitted this in your confession.” The more he tried to please the Lord the more “uncertain, weak, and troubled” he became. Was there nowhere he could go to find a God who forgave him, who loved him, who would show him mercy?
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"In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:39-42, ESV)
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"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” Luke 7:32-35
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John the Baptist certainly sounded like a revolutionary. But he was calling for a different kind of revolution than any we have seen before or since.
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"Peace on earth, peace in heaven." As hard to believe as peace in the Middle East, or Eastern Europe, or Asia - or anywhere. Yet it is the Lord's will to reconcile all things to himself through the blood of his cross.
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You may never have thought about this: when you are asleep you are still alive. Your heart beats, you breathe, and your brain is still firing - you dream.There is therefore a difference between being alive and being awake. What IS that difference? That’s what Jesus is asking us today. Not, “are you alive?” but “are you awake?”
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Being a saint is not about what you do. It's about who you are in Christ.
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If you read Luke 17:11-19 closely, you will notice that while 9 of the lepers are only cured once, the Samaritan is healed twice. How so?
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Jesus had things to say about divorce and marriage. But what he was really addressing was our inability to acknowledge what is happening in our own hearts.
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A reflection on the nature and work of the creatures of the spiritual realm, in light of modern science, the teachings of Scripture, and the work of Jesus Christ.
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Humility is the hallmark of the Christian. Christianity is not about doing right, but being honest about where we are going wrong.
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Opening poem by Phillips Burrows Strong, "The Tongue."
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Some people believe James and Paul are teaching a different kind of Christianity. One believes we are saved by faith in Jesus apart from works; the other that we are saved by faith infused with works. The reality is that they are saying the same thing, but two audiences with very different concerns.
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Jesus said, "There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him... coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness." (Mark 7:15, 22). It was never the food that in and of itself was clean or unclean. It was the trust that the Lord could make it so. Do we trust that he can make us clean as well, if he says he will?
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[Jesus] saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (Mark 6:48-52)
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Looking at the big picture of sin would overwhelm anyone, and leave us feeling like there is little than can be done. What are we, the church, against so many? We forget that the crowd of five thousand was not fed with two fish and five loaves. They were fed with two fish, five loaves - and the Lord God. With God, all things are possible.
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John the Baptist lost his head to King Herod - but why? Was it only because he pointed out Herod's adultery? Or was there more to it than that?
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Jesus' parables show us what the Kingdom of God is like. It helps to contrast the Lord's rule with Satan's rule, the rule we're used to in this life. How is God's rule being like a farmer, and a like a mustard seed, different than what we're used to?
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The Lord said that the Sabbath was made for us, not the other way around. What does he mean?
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On Ascension, we talk about the ongoing work of Jesus. On Pentecost, we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit. It seems fitting, then, on Trinity Sunday to talk about the Father that we might better understand our one God.
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The Holy Spirit's work in us is to cause the fruit God is looking for in us to grow. But what are those fruits?
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"In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach." So Luke writes at the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles. The implication? That Jesus continues to work and teach among us. How so?
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Jesus instructs us to love one another as he has loved us. It seems obvious, then, that we cannot know what he means unless we look at his example. Only then can we know the true character of God's love for us.
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Someone who was both everybody and nobody become a somebody in Baptism. This sentence is true of everyone who hears the Good News about Jesus and asks, "What is to prevent me from being baptized?"
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To know the Name of God is to know God himself. And Jesus gives us God's name.
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God has always called us back to himself through a simple pattern: we cry out under the weight of our sin; he provides a sign that points to himself; then he instructs us in salvation. When the Church does this right, it brings "times of refreshing" to a world so deeply in need of refreshment.
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The early disciples held everything in common and took care of the least of their members. They did not do this because it was a law, but out of overflowing gratitude for the grace and gifts that the Lord had shared with them.
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Note: a guest who attends frequently was not in a great mood this Easter, and began to preach his own sermon in the middle of this one. I was going to edit it out... and then realized it might be better to leave it in. This is ministry in the inner city.
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He knows what sorrow feels like. He knows what griefs we bear. He knows we all have gone astray. He holds us up in prayer. He sees the wounds within our hearts, and in our bleeding souls. He died that we might live again. He bled so we’d be whole.
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Mark's Passion of Jesus says as much about the condition of the human race as it does about the character of God. Why do we follow Jesus? Because he alone would suffer what he did and then forgive us for what we had done.
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Jesus tells the disciples that the nations have leaders that lord it over them, and that it shall not be among them. (Mark 10:43) What he says is aspirational, because this often is so among us. But by the grace of God in Christ and through the Spirit, it shall not always be so.
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When God sent serpents among the people of Israel, they repented and prayed that the Lord would take them away. He didn't, but he did provide a means to live among the serpents in safety, without fear. This is what Jesus does in his being lifted up: gives us the certainty that the poison of sin and death cannot truly harm us.
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God's laws are not a fence within which we can 'do as we please.' They are a lightning bolt to our black hearts.
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The Lord has instituted government to restrain evil and promote good. But in federal systems, and complex democracies, who are the authorities to whom we should submit? And how do we evaluate when we must obey God rather than men?
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Are Christians, like followers of other religions, known by what they wear? Or are they known by how they act and what they say? Consider Romans 12:9-21.
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"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2, ESV)
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"The righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. " (Romans 10:6-9, ESV)
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In Romans 9, Paul reminds his listeners that the Jews had all the necessary gifts for salvation from God. But one thing was missing, and that thing was the Gospel.
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There’s a story that a British newspaper sent out an inquiry to famous authors, asking the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” The writer G. K. Chesterton responded: “Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G. K. Chesterton.” A reflection on Romans 7:14-25.
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No one likes a nagging husband or wife. But that's what the Law has become: rules and regulations we don't want to keep and don't love. Christ has killed off the Law, and now we are in a new, and much better, relationship. What does that mean for our lives as Christians?
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"In all of the New Testament there's not a lot of actual talk about trying harder to be a good Christian. The language is much more blunt. It's about dying and rising. You have died to sin. You are alive to Christ. You have died in baptism, have been reborn in Jesus's resurrection, death, life, death, life."
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A brief exposition of Romans 5:6-15
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The Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life, the Doer of all Good, and the One who brings us to faith in Christ. Like breathing, we don't think about the Spirit. But that is because, like breathing, the Spirit's work is so ubiquitous and essential it simply fades into the background. But it shouldn't.
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Peter urges us to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us, but with gentleness and respect. Can you tell people why you have "bright hope for tomorrow"? Can you do it with gentleness and respect? You can, if your hope in our Good Shepherd Jesus Christ.
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We know that Baptism gives the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. But it also makes us the living stones of a new temple; royalty in God's Kingdom; priests, and prophets as well. Text: 1 Peter 2:2-10.
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In some ways, everyone is a sheep (even when they are more "goat-like"). The real question is, who is your shepherd?
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What does Peter mean when he says we should "conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile" (1 Peter 1:17 ESV)? Do Christians understand that they are at home both everywhere and nowhere? Citizens of all places, and yet citizens of none?
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If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
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Why didn't the disciples simply just up and stop Judas from leaving? Why did Judas feel the need to ask if he was the one who would betray the Lord? Could it be because they weren't looking the right way? Could it be that sin causes us to look the wrong way as well?
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In the musical Hamilton, George Washington tells a young Alexander Hamilton that "Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder." The way Jesus deals with the death of Lazarus shows that Jesus understood this all too well, and chose as the last sign before his death to reveal himself as the Lord of Life.
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Being physically blind is hard. Being spiritually blind is much worse. Who is more blind than the one who believes that, spiritually speaking, they have 20/20 vision?
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Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well, stung quite likely by her barrenness and sense that God has abandoned her. Can Jesus show her that despite all this that God is love?
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"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For in this way God loved the world." (John 3:14-16)
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Israel failed. We fail. But Jesus has prevailed, is prevailing, and will prevail. Even in the desert.
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"And we have more fully confirmed the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)
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Encirclement is a military strategy which cuts off any reinforcement or path of retreat, leaving troops the option of either fighting to the death or surrendering. In many ways, Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount encircle us with God's Law, in the hopes we will surrender to being encircled with his grace.
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"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:13-16, ESV)
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The beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount announce that the blessings of God are not found in what the world considers to be blessings.
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Kingdoms with no inhabitants are silly. Jesus could have done his mission alone, but then he wouldn't be bringing a kingdom near.
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In a few short seconds, John the Baptist explained who Jesus was and what he came to do: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
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When it comes down to it, most of us want to grow up to make a name for ourselves. God is more interested in giving away his good name. We see this most clearly in Jesus' baptism, and in his desire that disciples of all nations should be baptized in the name of the God who has saved us.
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Advent is often centered around four words, one for each Sunday: Hope, Faith, Joy and Peace. Christmas could also have four words associated with it: those would be light, life, truth and grace.
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Signs of God's wrath are everywhere, and often terrifying. But God's Good News wraps itself up in simple things: a manger, rags, water, bread and wine, and even simple preaching.
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Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:10-14)
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"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force." Matthew 11:12 (ESV)
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John the Baptist said, "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:11-12, ESV)
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NOTE: We are fine tuning a new sound system. The sound quality today was not great, but should be fixed next week! We WILL be ready :-)
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"The rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:35-39)
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In the words of Nick Fury (The Avengers), “Until such time as the world ends, we will act as though it intends to spin on.” Or if you prefer, in a quote often falsely attributed to Martin Luther, “if the world were ending tomorrow, I would still plant a tree today.”
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The Saints of God in Christ have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. They don't wash them in the blood of others.
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"‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’" (Luke 16:27-28). Here's a question: why five? Could it be that that number is the key to what Jesus is teaching in this parable?
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"‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’" (Luke 16:27-28). Here's a question: why five? Could it be that that number is the key to what Jesus is teaching in this parable?
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"[Jesus said] The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." Luke 16:8
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Is God in the punishment business, or the celebration business? Is he down in the dungeon, or celebrating in the salon? That is the question today’s text poses to us. Do we serve a God who revels in anger, or one who wants to rejoice with us? Text: Luke 15:1-10.
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"What king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace." (Luke 14:31-32)
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"When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him." Luke 14:8, ESV
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"Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’" (Luke 13:26-27)
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Luke 12:20 (ESV): "But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’"
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Luke 11:9–10 (ESV)
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
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Jesus tells the lawyer to "go and do likewise" to his neighbor. Martha serves her neighbor, but Jesus says her sister Mary has chosen "the better part." When are we supposed to be doing, and not doing?
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"You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. " (Leviticus 18:3-4).
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[Jesus said to them] "Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him." (Luke 10:5)
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God gives the world what it wants, but God gives his children what they need in Jesus Christ.
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"So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple." John 8:59.
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“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:25-26)
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In a world awash in hopelessness, can we find hope in Jesus' ascension to the right hand of the Father?
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Woody Allen said that 90% of life is showing up. The mission of the Church is like that too. Often, the hardest but most necessary part is simply showing up.
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"Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood." Acts 20:28, ESV. Watch on YouTube.
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[Paul] asked [the high priest] for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:2, ESV). What does it mean to be "in the way" of Jesus?
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"Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”
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Reflection on the first stanza of "Go to Dark Gethsemane" for Passion Sunday
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In Isaiah 5, the Lord asks what more he can do for his vineyard than he has already done? In Luke 20 he gives the answer: send his beloved Son.
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When we read the parables of Jesus looking for ourselves, we often find out we're the bad guys. The good guy in the story is God, who we discover is merciful and gracious and wants to gather the world together in his arms - the arms his Son stretched out on the cross.
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Can a leopard change its spots? Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Jesus challenges our assumption that "the apple new falls far from the tree" and suggests that change, for God, is never impossible.
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Jesus is no chicken. He portrays himself as a mother eagle longing to gather her wayward eaglets under her wings. We're reluctant to be gathered, but he comes to do it anyway.
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When people look at Christians, do they see holy people? What makes us holy?
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Jesus calls us to follow him. But you cannot follow one whom you cannot rightly see.
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Jesus warns his disciples that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than the rich - or anyone, really - to enter the Kingdom of God. How so?
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What gives you identity and purpose? Your wealth? Your family? Your children? Or your Lord?
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A short passage from Mark 10 speaks of divorce and children, but really it's about our lives of death and Christ's death to give us life.
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You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. But he does bless you.
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Sermon for the commissioning and installation of Deaconess Emilie Stoller-Prozenko at Ascension Lutheran Church, Montreal, Quebec.
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"From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things ought not to be so." (James 3:10)
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James warns Christians not to show partiality. After all, Jesus showed no partiality towards us and our sins.
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Christianity is not the smoothest path, the fastest path, or even the most direct. But it is the right path. So teaches the life of John the Baptist.
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When a baptism and a funeral coincide with the reading of Mark 7:1-13, how can one not talk about the power of baptism for life and in death?
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On Sunday, August 15 we remember Mary, the mother of our Lord, and how good ideas can get warped quickly over time.
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Elijah is given food from the Lord because, without it, the journey will be too great for him. Without the spiritual food Jesus provides, the journey of life will be too great for us.
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“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. " (2 Cor. 12:9)
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"Your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. " (2 Cor. 8:14)
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Christ sends his Spirit to broaden our hearts, so often limited by our own affections and affectations.
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Our earthly "tent," our body, is hardware infected by the malware of original sin.
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Jesus has come to bind the Strongman and plunder his house, to divide Satan's kingdom and bring his house down. What is he doing if not a coup?
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Today is not a day to remember that God is Triune. It is a day to reflect that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are together one God.
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The Spirit of Jesus is always at work in and among us, growing fruit that abides and leads to life.
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On Ascension Sunday we spend time reflecting on the question, "Where is Jesus Now?"
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Children may not obey, but children will listen. A child of God is not first one who does, but one who hears.
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John urges us to test the spirits. Is that something we should still be doing today?
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How should children of God by the merit of Jesus treat one another?
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John writes that Jesus has made us children of God. But what does that mean?
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Jesus' resurrection is the evidence on which our hope for our future is based.
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If we want to know how and where God loves us, we must look to the cross.
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Where do we find Jesus now, millennia after his resurrection and thousands of miles away?
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What is the evidence that we are Christians, followers of Christ?
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Why is it that some see proof of God's existence where others see nothing at all?
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In Mark's account of the Passion of Jesus, Pilate only asks questions. What was he hoping to learn? What are the questions you ought to be asking this Holy Week?
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The covenant God makes with Israel is "normal." The new one he makes with us in Jesus is not. Sermon for the installation of Rev. Dr. Gerald Paul.
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John 3:16 isn't about how much God loves the world. It's about how he loves it.
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Do a great people make a great God, or does a great God make a people great by his own work and will?
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What does it mean to claim Jesus as Messiah? Do we say it like we mean it, or just casually?
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Mark is alone in describing Jesus' wilderness temptation as taking place "among the wild animals." What does that mean for us?
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February 14, 2021 is the Feast of Transfiguration and St. Valentine's Day. So let's talk about how to love Jesus - and let Jesus love us.
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Once you're dead, you are free from all obligations. We who are dead in Christ are free to serve our neighbour without restriction or restraint.
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In Mark 1:20-28, Jesus rebukes an unclean spirit, supposedly for telling the truth. Why?
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Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to be fishers of men. Is that our calling too?
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When there is a thirst and a hunger to hear and see the Word of the Lord, do you know where to find it?
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When God speaks, things happen. When Satan speaks, he delivers lies. What words do you trust?
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The Lord promises to make his own home among us; and that home has room for plenty!
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John the Baptist was not the light but, like us, he was the one who bore witness to the light. We are not the Prophet or Elijah, but we can point people to Christ.
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The coming king for whom John the Baptist is preparing is unlike any king we have known. And good thing: this king has come to save us, not subjugated us.
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"O Savior, rend the heavens wide" goes the old hymn based on the words of Isaiah. But do we really want God to come down? Are we ready for what that means?
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What if someone entrusted you with their riches? How would your view of that person impact what you did with the money?
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Christianity is not a worldview, a concept, or an idea. It is a belief and trust in a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who remembers and saves his people.
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"There are none so blind as those who will not see." On this Reformation Day, what are the things to which we are blind, that keep us enslaved?
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Jesus deals with the hypocrisy of the religious and the political by asking a Capital One question: "What's in your wallet?"
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On this thanksgiving Sunday, Jesus shares a parable about a banquet with ungrateful and unexpected guests.
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Text: Philippians 3:4b-14. What do you really need: money, power, fame, or something else entirely? Paul figured it out, and shares his Good News with us.
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Today both Paul and Jesus challenge us on the nature of authority, what authority Christians have been given, by whom, and for what purpose.
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Paul writes to the church in Philippi, describing how he is caught between life and death. Our lives, too, are walked on a line. But Christ is always with us to pull, push, and catch when we fall.
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Text: Romans 14:1-12. What is essential to the faith, what is non-essential, and how do we handle the difference?
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In Romans 13, Paul addresses the appropriate Christian attitude towards government. Must we always submit to them, even when they seem to be in the wrong?
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Teachers assess students based on a rubric. Paul outlines a rubric for judging Christian behaviour vs. worldly attitudes in Romans 12:8-21.
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A little more than 2/3rds of the way through his letter to Rome, Paul pivots, and begins to write about the life of the Christian saved by grace looks like.
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Paul is preparing to transition from pure theology to more practical application in his letter to the Romans. Before we can go on, a little pop quiz. What does Paul mean when he says "All Israel will be saved?"
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In Romans 10, Paul addresses a serious question for the Church: how do people become Christians and confess the saving faith?
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Paul asks the question, were all Israelites true Israelites? The question might be asked in our day, are all who sit in pews on Sunday Christians?
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What does it mean to be "predestined," as Paul says it, to be God's elect? What if it does not mean what we think it means?
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In Romans 8, Paul shows how to hold in tension the wonder of God's creation and the bugs, viruses, and venom we see there as well.
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"Justification and sanctification" were the two big watchwords of the Reformation. They can be more easily understood in the terms identity and action.
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Paul, in Romans 7, writes about being burdened by good desires but bad actions. Jesus wants to take away the yoke of a bad conscience and delivers us from the war within.
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"Good fences make good neighbors" goes the old proverb. But are fences always good? Is the offense of the cross that it takes the old fences down?
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An old proverb says that the one who fears dies many times, but those without fear die only once. If Jesus has defeated death, and God who ought to be feared wants to be known as our true Father, what is left to fear?
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The Lord has compassion on us, because we are like sheep without a shepherd. How does the Lord shepherd His lost sheep today?
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Do you see God as someone always looking over your shoulder to judge you, or as a shoulder you can lean on in the worst of life's storms?
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In the book of Genesis, water represents destruction and chaos while the Spirit represents breath and life. In Jesus, both are brought together in Baptism, where water and Spirit both kill us and give us new and eternal life in Christ.
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In John 17, we hear Jesus pray to the Father for us. What can we learn from him and the early disciples about the importance and content of prayer?
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In Acts 2, Peter was sharing the Gospel with Jews. In Acts 17, Paul was sharing the Gospel with Greek philosophers. With whom are we sharing the Gospel? How do they understand sin and death and the need for forgiveness and life?
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In the House of the Father are many dwelling places. But what matters most is that Jesus is there. Where we are with Jesus, we will always find a dwelling place.
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"And they lived happily ever after." Things in life don't always work out that way; but in Christ, the Good Shepherd, the lost sheep always make their way home.
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Peter encourages us to have joy in the midst of trials. This is, in fact, the pattern of the Christian life from the days after the first Easter until now.
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Every Christian in christendom liked Easter a lot. But the Devil, who lurked all around them, did not. Satan hated Easter! The whole Easter season! For it saved us from sin – that’s the plain, simple reason.
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Ca va bien passer - everything will be alright. Christians can proclaim this loudly, because Christ's death has destroyed disease and death, and his resurrection is the promise of our eternal life.
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The passion of Jesus Christ according to John begins and ends in a garden. The significance should not be lost on those who remember how sin started in the first place.
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Where are you looking for God: up on a throne somewhere, or down at your feet, serving you in humility and offering you grace?
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Jesus speaks of Satan entering Judas, but also Peter. What does it mean when Satan enters in? How is the Spirit different?
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There are never enough signs, and never a persuasive enough reason to follow Christ. It is through the Good News that Jesus draws people to himself. John 12:23-50.
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The simple request of some visiting Greeks to Jerusalem ought also to be our request of any preacher: we want to see Jesus.
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Things are clearly out of control. Something has to be done. Praise God, it was Christ Jesus who did something about it.
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Do you feel like hope is gone, like you're cut off from friends and neighbors, and that your bones are getting dry? Today the Lord speaks and offers the hope of Jesus' death and resurrection for you.
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Who is responsible for the coronavirus? Is it something we did? Or does God use these disasters to demonstrate his work among us? John 9:1-41.
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When God acts, it is often through very small things. But through those small things the Lord does work that saves us and redeems the world.
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When Satan tempts us, he goes for the Big Three: Money, Power and Fame. He tempts Jesus with the same Big Three as well. By conquering those temptations, Jesus reveals to us exactly what he is saving us from.
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In order to choose life, we need to know how dead we are.
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Jesus told his disciples that they would be salt and light in the world. God himself is the salt that preserves our fallen world, and the light that shines life into our lives. The Spirit now lives in us, the baptized, to change the world from the inside out.
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Once upon a time February 2 was the Purification of Mary. Now, it's groundhog day. We humans have a habit of making the same mistake, over and over again. This time, it's exchanging trust in the Creator for a creature - a groundhog. But Christ is making all things new. At his cross, the cycle is broken forever.
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1 Corinthians 1:10-18. Paul points to Christ and his cross for proof of our salvation, not to the people in the pews.
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When disaster strikes, or it seems like God has left us, or we find ourselves in doubt, follow John's pointing finger to Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
The armies of God show up over the field of Bethlehem, not to declare war, but to proclaim peace. Do we realize the war is ending in Christ Jesus?Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
Joseph, in desiring to keep the Law but show mercy, reveals why he is the perfect adopted father of God's incarnate son.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
What Jesus do you expect to see when you come to worship?Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
This is a field trip to the Jordan River; when you get there, who are you? And who are you meant to be?Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
Like Scrooge in Dickens' famous novella, we are visited by Jesus three times today: the Jesus of the past, of the present and of our future.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
Christ reminds us that he will be with us to the end of the world – and beyond into the life of the world to come.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
The Jews of Jesus' time did not have a unified view of life after death. Jesus pulls together all the Spirit's words from the prophets and announces that, indeed, the dead will rise on the Last Day.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
Abide with us at the end of the day, at the end of our life, at the end of the world.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)
Reformation Day service at St. John, Pembroke, ON, Canada.Support the show (http://lcms.org/stonge)