ST. STEPHEN’S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
Striving to speak God’s saving truth in love. Ephesians 4:15
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15Dec
Our Joy Anticipates a Great Change!
A sermon on Isaiah 35:1-10 for the 3rd Sunday of Advent, December 12/15, 2019. Joy fills the air. Christmas carols blare continually on the radio. Stores stock their shelves in anticipation of the many shoppers that come in during this time of the year. Houses twinkle in lights of red, green, and white. In case…
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08Dec
Prepare the Way of the Lord
Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12 for Advent 2 (A), December 8, 2019 The season of Advent has many themes. Last Wednesday we heard four prophetic pictures from Isaiah: A child, a sprout from a stump, life in the desert, a royal highway. There are the four “Rs” of Advent, Readiness, Repentance, Rejoicing and Revealing. And then…
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28Nov
Thankfulness Motivates. Unthankfulness Desecrates!
Sermon on Luke 7:36-50 for Thanksgiving, November 27 & 28, 2019 Gratitude is all about attitude. If your attitude is “What do I deserve?” (Really, “What do I think I deserve?”) your life is not going to be a happy one, and not a very grateful one. Every day, you will be looking for the…
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24Nov
Jesus Wants Us to Be Ready!
A sermon on Luke 12:35-40 for the Sunday of the Fulfillment November 21/24, 2019. Ready or not, here it comes. The recent bout of cold temperatures and snow on the ground caught many people by surprise. People needed to finish raking their leaves, that is if the trees dropped them by this point. Leaves piled…
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10Nov
Our Best Days Are Yet To Come
A sermon on Revelation 22:1-5 for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, November 7/10, 2019. The hurt continues to hang on. Every night the tears still flow. The pain does not want to disappear but stays as a constant reminder of the difficult time. Family and friends say that the days will get better. Their words…
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03Nov
Blessed Now, Blessed Forever
Sermon on Luke 6:20-23 for All Saints, October 31 & November 3, 2019 What is a saint? A few years ago, there were news stories from Rome about Pope John Paul II and Mother Theresa being canonized, that means they were added to the list of saints. In that church, it seems that saints are the superheroes…
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01Nov
God’s Son Makes Us Family!
Sermon on John 8:31-36 for Reformation / “Welcome Home” Sunday, October 27, 2019. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Family of God, In the last few decades it seems it’s harder to get families together, doesn’t it? Jobs take family members to all parts of our country, and sometimes to other parts of the…
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20Oct
Prayer Means Holing On To God
A sermon based on Genesis 32:22-30, for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, October 17/20, 2019. Butterflies flutter in the stomach. As the person waits in line, they watch as rider after rider comes and goes. The smiling faces offer some comfort, but still the nerves start to grow stronger. Finally, they climb into the car….
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13Oct
Your Faith Has Saved You
Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 for Pentecost 18 (Pr 23), October 10 & 13, 2019 Language has changed. And one word—one very important word has developed a very sloppy and hard-to-define meaning. That word is faith. In our time, faith has come to mean many things. Most of the time it seems that having faith or believing…
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03Oct
We Are His Witnesses
A sermon on Matthew 5:13-16 for Mission Festival October 3, 2019. What do you want to be when you grow up? A little child dreams of going to space to be the first person to walk on Mars, fighting crime as a superhero, or becoming the next famous professional athlete. Their dreams remain big as…
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22Sep
Money!
Sermon on Luke 16:1–13 (also references to 1 Timothy 6:6-8) Pr. 20, September 19 & 22, 2019 Money is a sensitive subject in the church for a couple reasons. There are some preachers that talk about money constantly. There used to be one who was on TV every day and he had one text he preached…
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20Sep
Our Savior’s “3 R’s”
Sermon on Luke 15:1-10 for 14th Sunday after Pentecost, September 15, 2019 Dear fellow retrieved and restored sheep of Jesus’ flock, You rarely hear of the “3 R’s” of education anymore. They are three words that begin with the “R” sound that used to be “emphasized” in education (and, I believe, in our school still…
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01Sep
Empty, Sinful Pride vs. Solid, Holy Pride
Sermon on Luke 14:1, 7–14, August 29 & September 1, 2019 In today’s Gospel, Jesus gets to be a little like Miss Manners or Emily Post. He was expanding on one of the proverbs.[1] He pictures a wedding banquet, and the embarrassment of a person choosing one of the seats reserved for an honored guest and…
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25Aug
God Equips Us for Life Long Learning
A sermon on Proverbs 2:1-6 for Christian Education Sunday, August 22/25, 2019. It all started a little over a month ago. For many they did not pay much attention. So many other things had to be checked off their list before they got to this task. Much time remained until they had to worry about…
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23Aug
God Is Watching Us – From a Distance and Nearby!
Sermon on Jeremiah 23:23-29 for 10th Sunday after Pentecost, August 18, 2019 Dear friends in Christ, Last week Pastor Stratman began the sermon with a few comments about “interpreting” the Bible, mentioning two underlying truths: that the Bible is clear in its message from God to us and that it tells us everything we need…