Holy Words from Holy Cross

The Kind of People God Works With

March 05, 2019 05:00 - 12 minutes - 5.99 MB

I once heard someone say, "I want to walk with God, but I've got to wait until I'm ready." Does God wait until we're ready before working with us, changing us, helping us become His agents of change and healing in a hurting world? The Bible and Church history tells an interesting story...

The Healing Power of Forgiveness

February 25, 2019 05:00 - 18 minutes - 8.7 MB

Most people think the world could be improved, but we mostly think it could be improved if OTHER people would change something about themselves. The life of Joseph from the Book of Genesis and the words of Jesus from today's Gospel reading teach us something radically--and critically--different.

In Fact Christ Has Been Raised

February 17, 2019 05:00 - 19 minutes - 9.18 MB

"How can there be a God when there is so much evil and tragedy in the world?" It is an honest question, and one with which Christians should reckon honestly. It turns out that St. Paul did just that in his first letter to the church at Corinth. How do we apply his insights in our own time with modern questions?

You Catch 'Em, He'll Clean Em

February 10, 2019 21:00 - 14 minutes - 6.88 MB

Why don't we experience the glory of God in an unmistakable way all the time? What stands in our way? How does God overcome our spiritual blindness? The story of Isaiah's calling has some important lessons for us.

Get in the Game

February 05, 2019 05:00 - 10 minutes - 5.04 MB

As Americans face the biggest game of the year, enormous amounts of money are being spent to get us to buy things... How much would you pay for the most valuable thing in the world? It may be available for free...

Baptized Into Christ

January 15, 2019 05:00 - 18 minutes - 8.49 MB

When Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan, it served a different purpose than our own baptisms. Why be baptized? What benefits does it confer? Is anything different after we are baptized INTO Christ? The Scriptures tell us an important truth...

The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulders

January 10, 2019 05:00 - 13 minutes - 6.24 MB

In order to forestall tyranny, the United States adopted a "separation of powers" wherein in no branch of government is supposed to wield ultimate authority. Yet, in the Nicene Creed, Christians proudly proclaim that when Christ comes again "His kingdom shall have no end." How does God combine the powers necessary for good government in the Person of Christ? The gifts of the Magi point the way for us...

The Bucket List

January 01, 2019 15:00 - 13 minutes - 6.31 MB

Many of us have a "bucket list," a set of things we wish to do before leave this life. What is most essential to have on that list? Our readings the Sunday after Christmas help us learn God's answer to that question.

Not in Our Own Power

December 25, 2018 05:00 - 16 minutes - 7.41 MB

When we discover our greatest strength, we discover our greatest weakness. Can God do something with our weakness He could never do with our strength?

Unprepared for the Messiah

December 25, 2018 05:00 - 14 minutes - 6.92 MB

Most of us reach Christmas day less prepared than we wish we were. The world was far from prepared for Jesus, and in some ways still is. What is the blessing of being UNprepared?

God Will Call the Tune

December 19, 2018 16:00 - 15 minutes - 7.33 MB

The more things change, the more they stay the same... and one thing that has always been true of human nature is that some people are never satisfied. They want it their way, but God insists on having it His way. Why wouldn't God just give them what they want?

We All Come Before God as Equals

December 12, 2018 05:00 - 21 minutes - 9.69 MB

Most of human striving is for recognition and privilege. In what circumstances are we all equals? How does God make us equal? John the Baptist's preaching was harsh, but it also holds the answer to this key human question.

Painfully Awake

December 05, 2018 05:00 - 13 minutes - 6.28 MB

Why do some people put their head in the sand when trouble looms? The new atheists accuse religious people of refusing to look reality square in the eye--and undoubtedly some are guilty of that--but is that the sort of faith Scripture calls us to? Christian faith has real answers for real, painfully real, life. How can a more fully-formed faith help you in your day-to-day life?

Supplication is the final step

November 27, 2018 13:00 - 18 minutes - 8.4 MB

Most of us begin our prayers by asking God--or whatever we think of as God--for whatever it is we want. Christian prayer is always addressed to the true God, the God who has revealed and named Himself in history. When Christians ask God earnestly and humbly for anything, we know the character of the God whom we address. How do we ask God for ANYTHING and know we are heard?

Thanksgiving in Prayer

November 20, 2018 05:00 - 17 minutes - 7.92 MB

"What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" The Apostle Paul uses these words to remind us that even the hardest working person uses time, talent, and resources that they did not provide to themselves. Each of us, to be honest with ourselves and others, has much for which to be thankful. Giving thanks is a key ingredient of prayer, for it is a key ingredient of honesty.

Confession in Prayer - Simul Iustus et Peccator

November 12, 2018 14:00 - 15 minutes - 7.23 MB

Because we all sin, we all hide from God in ways large and small. This is the very opposite of what true prayer is about. Making confession a part of our daily prayer helps us truly open ourselves to the movement of God's Spirit and grow closer.

Adoration is the Heart of True Prayer

November 04, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.38 MB

We adore those who love us, for love is an incalculable gift. The greater the person who loves us, the greater the adoration we feel if have any self perception, for we know that such love cannot be earned. How great is God? How far will He go to secure our love and salvation? Is prayer just asking God for things, or is it something more?

Recalling the Cross

October 30, 2018 04:00 - 10 minutes - 5.01 MB

Why reform the Church? Why reform ourselves? Most people want to be a good person, but we fail daily to our highest aspiration. In the cross of Christ, we find forgiveness... hope to try again without a deficit we can never overcome.

Revelation Bible Study, part 10

October 26, 2018 04:00 - 59 minutes - 27.4 MB

Part 10 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

Surrendered

October 23, 2018 04:00 - 14 minutes - 6.76 MB

Why must give an account to God for what we have done with our stuff? Isn't it ours, after all? An interesting question, and one worth exploring...

Revelation Bible Study, part 9

October 19, 2018 04:00 - 59 minutes - 27.4 MB

Part 9 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

Freed from Every Fetter

October 16, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.39 MB

Why the Biblical warnings against possessions? Can't we use things to do good? We certainly can, but it is difficult to not become consumed with acquiring and managing our possessions. Jesus teaches us how much is too much...

Revelation Bible Study, part 8

October 12, 2018 04:00 - 49 minutes - 22.9 MB

The book of Revelation, chapters 13 to 15.

Revelation Bible Study, part 7

October 12, 2018 04:00 - 54 minutes - 24.8 MB

Part 7 of a Bible study on the Revelation of St. John, an amillennialist interpretation.

Freed from Shame

October 09, 2018 04:00 - 17 minutes - 8.15 MB

Of all the burdens we carry, shame can be the most incapacitating. Christ came to free us not just from the guilt of our sin, but from its shame as well. How? Listen and discover...

Limping Into the Kingdom of God

October 02, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.01 MB

We all have wounds; some we can see, some we cannot. Today, Jesus exhorts us to deliberately wound ourselves--cut out part of our life--if something we hold dear is keeping us from responding to the Gospel and entering the kingdom. We all enter the kingdom with a limp... how are we to pay so high a price?

Recharging Our Spiritual Batteries

September 25, 2018 04:00 - 17 minutes - 8.01 MB

Just like our cell phones, our batteries get run down. A time of retreat with the Lord may refresh us and fill us full. How do you find that refreshment and time to recharge?

Getting Real About Faith

September 18, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.25 MB

Many people know a lot of Bible, but their behavior seems to indicate very little transformation by the love of God. "I might believe in the Redeemer if His followers looked more redeemed," quipped the great atheist (and son of a Lutheran pastor) Frederick Nietzsche. Churches are often places where people "put on a good face" rather than can be honest enough to share--and let the Holy Spirit work on--those aspects of the faith personally challenge them. How can this be different?

I Play for Jesus

September 11, 2018 04:00 - 19 minutes - 8.79 MB

People get really hyped up for sporting events... why don't we get as excited for Jesus? What would it look like if it did?

Believing In Jesus and Believing Jesus

August 20, 2018 04:00 - 18 minutes - 8.31 MB

Most of the time, most people believe in God. Some of the time, some of the people believe in Jesus. All of the time, all of the people have a tendency to NOT believe the One in whom they say they believe. What is the answer to our conundrum?

Walk Worthy of the Calling

August 06, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.79 MB

Walking is a metaphor used almost universally to connote the style or manner of one's life. Do most human lives truly reflect people's the deepest values, or do we live at variance with them? Could most people guess our convictions, not by reading our bumper stickers or checking our Face Book pages, but by observing our day to day habits? How does God help us live our convictions?

Jesus Satisfies

July 22, 2018 04:00 - 9 minutes - 4.53 MB

Decades after the Rolling Stones recorded the song, many are still complaining that they "can't get no satisfaction." Others know THEORETICALLY that ultimate satisfaction is to be only in God, but they don't know how to experience God in that way. How do we find spiritual satisfaction? Intern Byron Burger charts the way for us.

The Spirit's PowerPoint

July 17, 2018 04:00 - 20 minutes - 9.34 MB

We all know that we get off track sometimes, but how does God point us in the right direction? How does He restore us so that we are not hopeless and discouraged when we do get off-base? Listen and find out!

Don't Miss the Obvious

July 10, 2018 04:00 - 13 minutes - 6.38 MB

When we look for evidence of God's Spirit, we usually look for the extraordinary... but overlook the work that can only be of His authoring under our very noses. What is the evidence of the Spirit's work that we can so plainly see?

A Blessing Paid For

July 03, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.6 MB

What do you do when you have stolen a blessing? You have the advantage of something good, but you got it under evil pretenses. See what Jesus does when someone steals a blessing from Him.

Where Were You?

June 26, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.93 MB

When tragedy strikes, even unbelievers sometimes find themselves shaking their fist at heaven saying, "Where were you, God?!" In today's reading, God turns the tables on us and asks us the same question. How should we respond? ...and where is the comfort in God's Word for us?

Slow Growth Is Strong Growth

June 19, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.81 MB

We are a people on the move... and we are used to getting things right away. Instantaneous gratification is part of our way of life, and we rarely question whether faster is better. God takes a different approach in our lives. When Jesus was asked about the kingdom of heaven, He spoke in terms that any farmer would recognize; slow growth is strong growth.

Contemplating and Keeping Company with the Beloved

May 30, 2018 04:00 - 13 minutes - 6.41 MB

There are two things we do with everyone we truly love; we think about them and spend time with them. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity teaches us not only who God is, but how we were made to be with Him.

God's Warranty

May 22, 2018 04:00 - 13 minutes - 6.41 MB

Lutherans believe the Bible clearly does NOT teach "perseverance of the saints"--that we cannot lose our salvation by deliberately rejecting God. So where do Lutheran Christians find their sense of security, their sense that they are "safe and secure from all alarms" in the everlasting arms of Jesus? Listen and find out!

The Right Man in the Right Place

May 15, 2018 04:00 - 16 minutes - 7.83 MB

To win a war, you not only need the best people, you need them in the right place at the right time. The Ascension of Jesus is about God putting Jesus right where we need Him.

Revelation Bible Study, part 6

May 11, 2018 04:00 - 49 minutes - 22.7 MB

Our Bible study continues.

Revelation Bible Study, part 5

May 04, 2018 04:00 - 1 hour - 28.1 MB

The Bible study on Revelation continues.

Walking Alongside

April 30, 2018 04:00 - 14 minutes - 6.64 MB

What is the most transformative relationship in a person's life? Thinkers from the Christian tradition have universally acknowledged spiritual friendship in this way.

A Witness

April 17, 2018 04:00 - 21 minutes - 10.1 MB

How has the Lord worked in your life? Even those with no Biblical knowledge are competent to share how Jesus has had an impact on themselves. In today's sermon, Deacon Michael shares how God brought him to the place he now is.

Meeting Us as We Need Him

April 09, 2018 04:00 - 15 minutes - 7.23 MB

Thomas will be forever known as "Doubting Thomas," but Thomas actually came to the most profound faith when He met Jesus... in exactly the way Jesus determined he should. That is exactly how Jesus meets each of us--as He determines our need--not as we determine it. This can be hard, but knowing we are cared for by the wisest of physicians should comfort us, even when we don't like the prescription.

Easter Sunday - The Humor of God

April 02, 2018 04:00 - 14 minutes - 6.7 MB

Does God have a sense of humor? As we gather to proclaim the triumph of Jesus' resurrection on April Fools' Day, the interpretive wisdom of the Church Fathers can help us hear this news in a whole new way.

Revelation Bible Study, part 4

March 29, 2018 04:00 - 55 minutes - 25.5 MB

We complete the letters to the churches in the Book of Revelation and get ready to launch into the more contentious parts of the book.

TRANSFORMED (7) - Transformed by Our Passion

March 25, 2018 04:00 - 9 minutes - 4.53 MB

A very old saying goes, "What you love, you become." We often say we love God, but how deeply true is that statement? Jesus has strong words of both warning and encouragement for us to let our deepest passion transform us... and let our deepest passion be for God.

Revelation Bible Study, part 3

March 19, 2018 04:00 - 42 minutes - 19.5 MB

Bible study on the Revelation of St. John held at Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church, spring 2018.

TRANFORMED (6) - Transformed by Our Destination

March 18, 2018 04:00 - 17 minutes - 8.16 MB

When we change our destination, our destiny is changed in turn. Through the grace of God in Jesus Christ, the Church is a people with a new and better destination for their lives... the New Jerusalem. How should having such an amazing destination before us change our lives right now?

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