Discover resources and the sermon for Trinity 26 at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

As the Church year draws to its close, our Lord speaks with clarity about the Last Day: the heavens passing away, “all these things” being dissolved, and the Son of Man coming in His glory to sit upon His throne. Before Him all nations will be gathered, and He will separate the sheep from the goats, revealing every work and every hidden thing. Yet Christ does not give these words to alarm His people but to keep them steadfast.

When He appears, His coming will be unmistakable—not delayed, not hidden, and not uncertain. The Judge who returns is the Savior who has already borne the judgment in our place, who clothes His people in His righteousness, and who calls them “blessed of My Father.” In His Word and Supper, Christ steadies His Church amid the trials of these latter days and anchors us in the promise that His elect will be kept, gathered, and preserved until He comes again in glory.

Against pharisaic self-confidence in our own works and against despairing in our lack of enough good works, the Lord shows us in this parable that He imputes to us or reckons to us who trust in Him the works necessary for us to enter into the kingdom prepared for us before the foundation of the world. In the end, we must have the God-worked humility to know by faith that we are but unprofitable servants who have only done what was required of us. And on top of that, we must know that Christ is reckoning to us His works. When we were hungry Christ fed us with His very flesh for the life of the world; when we were thirsty He gave us to drink of His blood and bathed us clean in that same blood in Holy Baptism; when we were strangers He spread out His arms on the cross to draw us in and hide us under the shadow of His wings; when we were naked He clothed us in Himself and His perfect righteousness and holiness; when we were sick He visited us as the great Physician of Souls to call us to repentance and heal our diseases; when we were in prison He came to break the chains of sin and unbelief in which we were bound in slavery to the the devil and the fear of death.

Discover resources and the sermon for the Third-Last Sunday of the Church Year at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

As the Church year draws toward its close, our Lord speaks with clarity about the coming days: times of tribulation “such as has not been since the beginning of the world,” false christs and false prophets who “show great signs and wonders,” and the temptation to believe those who say, “Look, here is the Christ!” or “There He is!” Yet Jesus teaches His people not to be led astray. When the Son of Man comes, His appearing will be unmistakable—“as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west.” In His Word and Supper, Christ steadies His Church amid all trials and anchors us in the promise that His elect will be kept, gathered, and preserved until He comes again in glory.

Strong arguments, bold assertions, great power and might by worldly standards—that is what Jesus tells us to expect. Do not be deceived. Do not be led astray.

Our Lord Jesus loves the people that He chose in their father Abraham according to the flesh. He loves them. He loves men like Bibi Netanyahu. He loves men such as these. He chose them according to the flesh in their father Abraham.

And to them belong all the prophets that we listen to, like Job, an Israelite according to the flesh. To that same flesh belong all the blessed apostles whose words we listen to every Sunday, who gave their lives up for the sake of the truth of Christ. And because of their boldness, we hear God's word today.

To them belongs the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who was an Israelite according to the flesh. Do not forget that because these are certain truths. But it is also a certain truth that any Israelite according to the flesh who rejects Jesus Christ as their Messiah is cut off from true Israel. And all Gentiles, you and me, who confess Jesus as Lord, who believe in the heart that God raised Him from the dead, are saved and grafted into true Israel. We are true Israel. You must remember that certain truth as well.

Discover resources and the sermon for All Saints’ Sunday at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Rejoice in the communion of saints, the blessed company of all who live in Christ. As our Lord gathers His saints from every age and place, He comforts us who yet mourn and strengthens our faith in the resurrection of the body. In His Word and Supper, we join the heavenly host in the unending song of victory—Christ has triumphed, and His saints shall rise with Him in glory.

Jesus does not speak about poverty, hunger, sorrow, and rejection from afar. He speaks as One who has lived them all—poor, hungry, weeping, and hated for our sake. The same Lord who was laid in a manger, thirsted on the cross, and wept at the tomb declares with divine certainty that those who suffer for His sake are truly blessed.

There is not a single thing you have thought, done, or said that is above the judgment of God’s Word. No matter how long or how many Christians have accepted a doctrine or practice contrary to the truth, all lies must be exposed by the light of Christ and cast far from us.

This Sunday we celebrate the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity. Discover the appointed readings, historic hymns, sacred music, and devotional resources that prepare us for the Divine Service, where Christ teaches us true humility before God and our neighbor, exalting the lowly and filling us with His gracious call to walk worthy of our vocation. Join us in looking forward with joy to Sunday worship at St. Thomas in Magnolia, TX.

Discover resources and the sermon from the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Behold the compassion of Christ, who has conquered death and brings life to His people. As He raised the widow’s son at Nain, so does He comfort us in our grief and promise the resurrection of the body. Through His Word and Sacraments, our Lord gives us a foretaste of the life to come and strengthens us to live in hope until the day of His appearing.

A dead person cannot raise himself. Just so, a sinner who is spiritually dead cannot raise himself to life with God. But when the Holy Spirit does convert us through the Word and Sacraments, our will is renewed. The one who once hated God’s law can now say with Paul: ‘I delight in the law of God according to the inward man’ (Rom. 7:22). Therefore it is not true that the Christian remains in bondage to sin. ‘For freedom Christ has set you free’ (Gal. 5:1).

This Sunday we celebrate the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity. Discover the appointed readings, historic hymns, sacred music, and devotional resources that prepare us for the Divine Service, where Christ strengthens the inner man through His Spirit and raises us daily to new life in Holy Baptism. Join us in looking forward with joy to Sunday worship at St. Thomas in Magnolia, TX.

Discover resources and the sermon from the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Behold the care of Christ, who sends His holy angels to guard His people. In their vigilance, praise, and joy over repentant sinners, the angels reflect the will of God Himself. Through His Word and Sacraments, our Lord lets us behold the Father’s face even now and strengthens us to fight the good fight of faith under Christ our Captain.

You are precious to the Lord, and that is why you are hearing His words spoken into your ears right now. And it is why you can know that when you pray the Luther morning and evening prayer, it really is true that He sends His holy angel to be with you, that the evil foe may have no power over you. And thanks be to God for this.

Discover resources and the sermon from the Feast of St. Matthew at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Behold the mercy of Christ, who calls sinners to follow Him. In calling Matthew from the tax booth, our Lord shows that His grace reaches even the despised and rejected. Through His Word and Sacraments, Jesus still calls us away from the love of earthly treasures and into the riches of His forgiveness, that we may rise and follow Him.

It is a lot easier to stay on the sidelines—to profess Christ for a little while on Sunday morning, then go about our week as if we’ve taken a vow of silence. But St. Matthew, St. John the Baptist, and our Lord Himself remind us that confessing Christ means speaking both the Gospel and God’s Law, even when it is dangerous, uncomfortable, or costly.

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist. Discover the appointed readings, historic hymns, sacred music, and devotional resources that prepare us for the Divine Service, where Christ comes to us with His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. Join us in looking forward with joy to Sunday worship at St. Thomas in Magnolia, TX.

This Sunday we observe the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, lifting our eyes to Christ who was lifted up for our salvation. The appointed readings, hymns, and devotional resources prepare us for the Divine Service, where we receive the fruits of His cross—victory over sin, death, and the devil. Join us in looking forward with joy to Sunday worship at St. Thomas in Magnolia, TX.

Discover resources and the sermon from Trinity 12 at St. Thomas Evangelical Lutheran Church (UAC) in Magnolia, TX.

Behold the compassion of Christ, who opens deaf ears and looses mute tongues. In healing the man in Decapolis, Jesus shows His power over both physical and spiritual deafness and muteness. In Holy Baptism and the Holy Supper, our Lord continues to open ears to hear His Word and looses tongues to confess rightly, so that we join the crowd in proclaiming, He has done all things well.

People sometimes say, ‘Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?’ But Christians must also ask: Do you commune with your Lord with that mouth, and then use the same tongue for blasphemy, gossip, or tearing down your neighbor?

This Sunday we observe the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, as we hear the Gospel account of Jesus healing a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. The appointed readings, hymns, and devotional resources draw our attention to the power of Christ’s Word to open ears and loosen tongues. In the Divine Service, our Lord continues to open our hearts to His mercy and enable our lips to declare His praise. Join us in joyful expectation of Sunday worship at St. Thomas in Magnolia, TX.