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Sermo Dei: The Marriage of Jonathan Scheck and Cari Geyer
Pastor Esget and Pastor Scheck, ordained June 19 at Immanuel October 21, 2016 Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Apostles, Melrose Park, IL Dear Saints loved by God, bride of the mystical bridegroom,...
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Sermo Dei: Reformation 2016
The ghosts that haunt us are not the ones hanging from trees around our neighborhoods every October. We have our own Dickensian specters, the wraiths in our minds poking at our memories, haunting us...
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Sermo Dei: Psalm 119:105-112 (“Nun”)
A strange way the Psalm speaks to us. God’s Word is not a light to our eyes, but to our feet and path. Why not the eyes? Because what we see leads us astray. All around we see boasting and pride,...
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Sermo Dei: Trinity 25, 2016
The “Abomination of desolation” is an intriguing item in today’s Gospel (Matthew 24:15-28). Listening to America talk this past week, you’d think the Abomination of Desolation is Donald Trump in the...
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Sermo Dei: The Funeral of Barbara Pauling
November 22, 2016 Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia John 10:11-16; 11:21-27 Frederick, dear brother in Christ; Ellen, Steve, Taylor, and Drew; Alyson; Steve and Melissa; and...
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Sermo Dei: Ad te levavi (Advent I, 2016)
Ad te levavi – First Sunday of Advent November 27, 2016 Matthew 21:1-9 Does the character of a leader matter? Last year, a mega-church pastor was expelled after his multiple affairs came to light....
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Sermo Dei: Gaudete (Advent 3, 2016)
Gaudete – Third Sunday of Advent December 11, 2016 Matthew 11:2-11 “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Always? That’s fine for church – but it seems so unrealistic. “Rejoice” is the theme for today. It’s...
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Three Meditations for Evening Prayer
Immanuel Lutheran School Choral Evening Prayer for Advent Three Meditations on Savior of the Nations, Come December 14, 2016 I. A Light to the Nations We tell the story of the world by the stories of...
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Sermo Dei: Rorate Coeli (Advent IV) 2016
Rorate Coeli – Fourth Sunday of Advent December 18, 2016 John 1:19-28 What is destroying your soul? As surely as rust causes metal to crumble, as surely as the acid burns holes in your esophagus, so...
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Sermo Dei: Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols
Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols Immanuel Ev.-Lutheran Church Alexandria, Virginia December 24, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 It’s too good to be true. The Christmas we imagined, the Christmas we...
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Sermo Dei: Christmas Midnight 2016
Christmas Midnight December 24, 2016, 11:00 p.m. Isaiah 9:2-7 What kind of darkness is in your life? What kind of gloom enshrouds your soul? The holy prophet Isaiah sees a world of vagabonds, starving...
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Sermo Dei: Holy Innocents 2016
“These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.” This day’s liturgy applies those words to the little children of Bethlehem cut down by Herod’s sword. But the great tribulation is a vast span...
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Sermo Dei: New Year’s Eve 2016
2016 was a strange year. Retrospectives now abound, along with advice to get your finances in order and plan for a healthy and productive new year. Look back, take stock, do better. On New Year’s Eve,...
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Sermo Dei: Circumcision and Name of Jesus
In six days God made the world, and on the seventh, He rested, for everything that He had made was very good. It did not stay good for long. The man God made fell. He returned to the earth from which...
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LCMS 2017 Life Conference Sermon
March for Life 2017 January 27, 2017 • Arlington, Virginia Matthew 5:13-19 LCMS at the March for Life 2017 The trash collectors rumbled away from the suburban neighborhood, and as sometimes happens,...
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Sermo Dei: Epiphany 4, 2014
Following Jesus means following Him into the storm. The men with Jesus (Epiphany IV gospel, Matthew 8:23-27) are not unused to ships, wind, and the swelling of waves. But the storm that assails the...
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Sermo Dei: Septuagesima 2017
Bourbon Street, New Orleans February 12, 2017 • Matthew 20:1-16 • Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Virginia On Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a sign advertises a so-called gentlemen’s...
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Sermo Dei: Quinquagesima 2017
It’s hard to love difficult people. And everywhere we go, we find them. At work. At school. On the road. Sitting behind you, kicking, talking, spilling their drink on you. “A man’s enemies will be...
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Sermo Dei: Reminiscere 2017
“That was a nice prayer.” When people say that to me, I know I’ve failed. Prayer is not supposed to be nice. Prayer is confident desperation, shouted in the dark, or whispered while trembling. Our...
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Sermo Dei: The Inheritance (Vespers, Lent 3)
Bloomberg last week reported on a survey on trends with inheritances and expectations of heirs. More often, children are disappointed, because the amount inherited is less than anticipated. Undoubtedly...
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