Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

In the twelfth year of Xerxes’ reign (474 BC), one of the king’s governors identified the Jews as a subversive element and planned their extinction. God rescued his people through the risky and loving intervention of Queen Esther. Her faith reminds us that we to need to answer the question: Why am I here in this present moment?

Have you ever dared to ask God really hard questions that burden your heart? Do you wonder where God is and what He is doing about all the evil, violence and destruction going on in our world today? Have your cried out, “God what in the world is going on and why aren’t You doing anything about it?” If you have then you are in good company. This week we study the writings of the prophet Habakkuk who was bold enough to have a difficult conversation with God about the issues the nation of Israel was facing in Habakkuk’s day. In our study of this powerful book we find that our cries for God to intervene in our lives are very similar to those of God’s people throughout all generations.

Inviting Christ the King to be Lord of our lives is the best thing we can ever do. Jesus is the King who came not to serve but to be served and give His life as a ransom for many. He is love and light and all good things. Then why is it so hard for us to make Him King and Lord of our lives?

This selection of readings from biblical history makes me wonder: Does this mean anything to me in the here and now? It sounds too complicated! We can learn from this that "God's got this."

Are you familiar with the Books of the Minor Prophets? Do you know when they were written or what their messages are about? If not, don’t feel bad you are in good company. It is important for us to study these unfamiliar books like Micah, Habakkuk, and Esther because if we don’t we can easily lose our way around the Bible that helps us keep our eyes focused on Jesus. So, join us this weekend as we dive into the message of rebuke and hope found in the words of the Prophet Micah.

In this sermon we see the correlation between Ask, Seek, and Knock and the Lord's prayer. We'll take a look at how wisdom can become faithfulness, how faithfulness can increase trust, and how trust becomes God's will in action.

Who can fathom the horrors we saw this week? 11 gunned down in a synagogue? Mail bombs? A shooting at the U of U? Like King Solomon, we need extraordinary wisdom to live out God’s mission in our world today. Our communities need reformation! Pray that we succeed in showing God's goodness and kindness in this world!

Have you ever felt far away from God? Has there ever been a time in your life when you wondered if Jesus had abandoned you? In our story today about King David we learn how sin drives our hearts far from God’s heart. We also come to understand that God loves us so much He made a way for our relationship with Him to be restored through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus who died for our sins.

This week we’re taking a look at two really interesting texts. One is in Matthew where Jesus is “tempted” by the devil with all of the kingdoms on earth if He will only bow down and worship Satan. I have a take on this that you’re going to want to hear. The second is where Joshua recounts the ways that God has proven Himself again and again to the children of Israel and he sets them straight. Either worship and serve the false man made gods that have never proven themselves to you, or worship and serve the one true God who has proven himself time and time again. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.

People often think that the 10 Commandments are God's rules for being a good person. While this is not wrong, it is a minimalist reading of things. The 10 commandments describe a lifestyle of abundance living.

Have you ever wondered if the story of God parting the Red Sea is really true? Some in the world today will tell us this story is fictional, however the author of the Book of Exodus gave us a compelling account of the story to ponder. Therefore, we must ask ourselves if the miraculous story of God parting the Red Sea so His people could walk across to the other side on dry ground is fact or fiction. How we answer this question says much about our relationship with our Abba Father God who still rescues and saves His people. For if God is able to part the waters of the Red Sea and help His people pass through to the other side, then just maybe He is powerful and faithful enough to help us get through the trials of our lives as well.

If you've ever experienced the light of God shining on you, you know that life is better when we feel His presence. What about when we aren't experiencing God? It doesn't mean that he's not there. He is. So, how can we experience God in the darkness so He can not only shine on us, but also through us so others can experience Him too?

God's covenant with Abraham promises to cause him to be a blessing to the nations. A covenant is an unbreakable promise, and God blesses the nations again and again through Abraham's lineage. This happens most clearly in the salvation all may receive through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Have you ever wondered what the story of Noah and the flood is all about? Why would our loving God bring a flood to wipe our all life from the world? How do we reconcile with a God who has not only the capacity, but the ability to destroy all life? If you have ever wrestled with these and other important questions about the story of Noah and the flood then I invite you to listen to this sermon as you ask the Holy Spirit to bring you peace in the midst of God's answers to these questions.

Baptism might not be what you think. Is it a sprinkling? Is it a dunking? How do you live daily something that might have happened once before you even remember it? We are going to look at what Baptism is and what it isn't. We will take a look at how Jesus explains being born again and what it means to live a life in Jesus Christ.

People in our world need to know that God is good, and that God's story has a place for them to live in his good world. If we don't tell them, how will they know about God?

Have you ever wondered why God commands us to seek forgiveness? When the topic of forgiveness comes up do you want to turn and run away as fast as I can? In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God to forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, but what does that mean? What about the wounds of transgressions we are not capable of forgiving? How is seeking forgiveness being a blessing to others? In this sermon we will explore these and other important questions about forgiveness.

Joy is the experience of being in the company of someone who loves you and is glad to be with you. A life of spiritual worship, which includes continue the work of Christ, with Christ, in the world that He loves is a big part of experience the joy of God. In this sermon we are going to explore some really misunderstood terms including "righteousness," and "religion." We will also look at the difference between living a "what if" life based on fear and hypotheticals, and an "if/then" life based on God's promises and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we worship in the world as well as in church? Worship — recognizing the worthship of God — begins the restoration process for our broken humanity. As we experience more and more of our Abba’s love, we are restored and empowered to love God and one another. We are called to serve both God and others in the world, in order that unbelievers can see the goodness of God!

Have you ever wondered why we seek God’s blessing? More specifically, have you ever thought about why we as your pastor’s raise our hands at the end of our worship services and pronounce a blessing on you? Have you ever wondered where this practice comes from or why we do it every Sunday? Does the Benediction time feel like we are Charlie Brown’s teacher going, “Wha, wha, wha, wha, wha?” Does it mean any more to you than the pastors saying, “That’s all folks. The service is over.” Today, I invite you to allow the Holy Spirit to come and teach us more about this part of our worship to our Abba Father so we will have a deeper appreciation for how God is blessing us each week.