Rev. Michael Holmen's Sermons
282 episodes - English - Latest episode: 14 days ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingSermons preached at Peace Lutheran Church, Oelwein, IA and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Independence, IA. This is a dual parish of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. We use the one year, historic lectionary.
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Episodes
191222 Sermon on John 1:29-34 (Advent 4) December 22, 2019
December 26, 2019 20:35191222 Sermon on John 1:29-34 (Advent 4) December 22, 2019 The first thing that is noticed with John is how he was cowed by no one. We can see that in our reading for today. John was out preaching, and who should show up but some bigwigs from Synod headquarters. They’ve come to make sure that everything that John is doing is proper and in order. They’ve heard some strange things about John baptizing, and they aren’t so sure about that. Had John received the prior approval from his ecclesiast...
191223 Funeral Sermon for Butch Schroeder, December 23, 2019
December 26, 2019 20:26191223 Funeral Sermon for Butch Schroeder, December 23, 2019 Christmas can be a hard time for people who have lost a loved one. Christmas is, bar none, the most nostalgic of all holidays. When a person is missing from the Christmas get-together, there is a hole. With Butch’s death coming so close to Christmas, and this funeral service coming even closer to Christmas, it’s on our minds. There are a lot of people here who are sad when they think of those difficult moments in the couple days ah...
191215 Sermon on Isaiah 40:1-11 (Advent 3) December 15, 2019
December 17, 2019 22:20191215 Sermon on Isaiah 40:1-11 (Advent 3) December 15, 2019 We are in the season for “Dear Santa” letters. “Dear Santa, I’d like this and this and this and this. Be careful that it’s this one and not that one. Make it just so.” Everybody knows that Santa is the giver of good gifts. Christians know that God is the giver or all good things. James, in his letter, says, “Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, who does not change...
191117 Sermon on Daniel 7:9-14 2 Peter 3:3-14 Matthew 25:31-46 (2nd Last Sunday of Church Year) November 17, 2019
November 18, 2019 16:44191117 Sermon on Daniel 7:9-14 2 Peter 3:3-14 Matthew 25:31-46 (2nd Last Sunday of Church Year) November 17, 2019 Monuments are not made of paper or wood. Monuments cannot be made with things that quickly rot, otherwise the whole purpose of the monument is nullified. Monuments are supposed to be long standing reminders so that we do not forget something or someone who is important. They are not made with perishable things, but with relatively imperishable things. They are made with metal or ...
191110 Sermon on Luke 17:20-30 (3rd Last Sunday) November 10, 2019
November 11, 2019 20:02191110 Sermon on Luke 17:20-30 (3rd Last Sunday) November 10, 2019 Today I’d like to speak about the kingdom of God. When people hear the phrase, “kingdom of God,” they might think of many different things. A king, a throne, a crown might come to mind. Politics and borders and wars might come to mind. All these things can be incorporated into the understanding of the kingdom of God and it wouldn’t be wrong to do so. But I think it is helpful to have something that pulls all this stuff togeth...
191106 Funeral Sermon for Marty Wendel (Job 14 Matt 10)
November 06, 2019 17:59191106 Funeral Sermon for Marty Wendel (Job 14 Matt 10) I received the phone call from Lavonne on Saturday around noon. She was at the emergency room. Marty had died. I was shocked. What happened? We don’t really know. He just got suddenly sick and died. Everybody who has heard about Marty since then has had the same reaction. It is unusual for people to die suddenly. We’re used to hearing about people being sick before they die. That provides some kind of warning. Unexpected deaths hit the...
191103 Sermon on Rev 7:7-17 Matt 5:1-12 (All Saints' Day) November 3, 2019
November 03, 2019 18:46191103 Sermon on Rev 7:7-17 Matt 5:1-12 (All Saints' Day) November 3, 2019 A way of life is a way of looking at our existence. What is life all about? What is going on? What is significant about what has happened in the past and what can we expect in the future? Unfortunately, asking questions like these is usually seen as decadent or highfalutin. This is the stuff of Philosophy 101 and other unproductive, impractical classes like that. Normal people are too busy working. Well, without ...
191027 Sermon for Reformation Day (observed) October 27, 2019
October 28, 2019 14:54191027 Sermon for Reformation Day (observed) October 27, 2019 Last week I spoke about the two great doctrines of the Christian religion: the Law and the Gospel. These two teachings both come from God, but they are quite different from one another. The Law consists of God’s commandments for how we are to live. Last week we heard about the way that all these commandments can be summed up: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and love your nei...
191020 Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 (Trinity 18) October 20, 2019
October 21, 2019 14:12191020 Sermon on Matthew 22:34-46 (Trinity 18) October 20, 2019 One of the techniques that wise people use to get things accomplished is a checklist. You put on the checklist the things that you would like to accomplish during the day. As each task is completed the item on the list is checked off. It feels good to check off those things. I know a person who puts stuff on a checklist that has already been accomplished just for the joy of crossing it off. When you are done with the checklist y...
191013 Sermon on Luke 14:1-11 (Trinity 17) October 13, 2019
October 16, 2019 15:08191013 Sermon on Luke 14:1-11 (Trinity 17) October 13, 2019 I’d like to speak today about what it means to have a station in life. Your station in life consists of the relationships that God has put you into. If you are married, you have a relationship and responsibility to your spouse. If you are a father or mother, then you have responsibilities toward your children. If you are a child, then you have responsibilities towards your parents. If you are employed, then you have responsibilities...
191006 Sermon on Luke 7:11-17 (Trinity 16) October 6, 2019
October 06, 2019 14:50191006 Sermon on Luke 7:11-17 (Trinity 16) October 6, 2019 We are confronted with two tremendous facts in our Gospel reading today. The first thing that we can see is that a young man is dead. This is a dreadful fact. When it happens among us, we do whatever we can to shy away from it. We don’t want to look at the body until some makeup has been put upon it. We don’t want to say that the young man is really dead, but that the young man will live on in our hearts and memories. Much of the fun...
190929 Sermon for St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2019
September 30, 2019 14:38190929 Sermon for St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 2019 One of the most powerful stories that we are all taught by many different sources is that progress is marching on. We are getting better and better all the time. There seems to be a lot of evidence for this. People used to not have toilets. Now we do. People used to not have electricity. Now we do. Sick people used to die quickly. Now they die slowly. People used to have to write letters. Now they text. Who knows, then, what w...
190922 Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 (Trinity 14), September 22, 2019
September 23, 2019 18:46190922 Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 (Trinity 14), September 22, 2019 Leprosy was a terrible disease not just because of what it did to the body, but also what it did to a person socially. If anyone had leprosy they were considered unclean. They were shunted off to a colony by themselves. Therefore, there wasn’t hardly a single aspect of their life that was left untouched. In our Gospel reading Jesus comes upon practically a crowd of lepers. Ten men were desperately calling out to Jesus for help....
190915 Sermon on Luke 10:23-27 (Trinity 13), September 15, 2019
September 15, 2019 21:33190915 Sermon on Luke 10:23-27 (Trinity 13), September 15, 2019 Our Gospel reading today teaches us what God considers the highest and best life. That is important knowledge. Many kings and prophets would like to know such knowledge, and here it is, right before our eyes. The best life is the one where we love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, and with all our mind. We should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is the highest ambition a person can have, and the...
190908 Sermon on Romans 10:8-17 (Trinity 12) September 8, 2019
September 10, 2019 13:59190908 Sermon on Romans 10:8-17 (Trinity 12) September 8, 2019 The doctrine of election is the teaching that God has chosen who will be saved from death and hell from before the foundation of the world. God has known from eternity who his own people are. He has loved them even before they have done anything right or wrong. God says, “Jacob have I loved. Esau have I hated.” Jacob was to become Israel with his twelve sons. Esau was to become Edom, a nation that was not chosen as God’s own. T...
190901 Sermon on Genesis 4:1-15 Luke 18:9-14 (Trinity 11) September 1, 2019
September 03, 2019 13:56190901 Sermon on Genesis 4:1-15 Luke 18:9-14 (Trinity 11) September 1, 2019 The Bible is a very useful book because it teaches us the truth about life. This always conflicts with the way that the unbelieving world looks at life. That is why the Bible is useful. If the Bible didn’t tell us so, then there would be no way for us to understand things correctly. The world will loudly tell us the opposite, and we can’t help but believe it, if that’s the only thing that we are taught. This is why ...
190825 Sermon on Jeremiah 7:1-11 Romans 9:30-10:4 Luke 19:41-48 (Trinity 10), August 25, 2019
August 27, 2019 14:04190825 Sermon on Jeremiah 7:1-11 Romans 9:30-10:4 Luke 19:41-48 (Trinity 10), August 25, 2019 Wherever the Word of God is, there is a paradise, an oasis in the desert. This is because the Word of God brings to us the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. If ever we have missed a friend, if ever we have loved a child, then let that serve as the way to start to measure the goodness of being together with Jesus. Knowing God as our friend and champion is the highest and best thing that can possibly be...
190818 Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 (Trinity 9), August 18, 2019
August 21, 2019 15:15190818 Sermon on 1 Corinthians 10:6-13 (Trinity 9), August 18, 2019 St. Paul is doing something important with the Bible in our Epistle reading that we should learn from. He is taking the history that was recorded by Moses in the first five books of the Bible and he is applying it to the Corinthians even though they live in a different time, different place, and are even of a different people—for most of the Corinthians were Gentiles, that is, not descendants of Abraham. After recounting wha...
190811 Sermon on Jeremiah 23:16-29, Matthew 7:15-23 (Trinity 8), August 11, 2019
August 12, 2019 14:37190811 Sermon on Jeremiah 23:16-29, Matthew 7:15-23 Two topics are prominent in our readings today. The first is the topic of false prophets. The prophet Jeremiah, in our Old Testament reading, speaks about the false prophets who were saying the opposite of what he is saying. Jeremiah was telling the people to repent because the wrath of God was coming upon them. These false prophets were saying, “Oh no, Jeremiah is overreacting. No such thing will happen.” They claimed also to have the Spi...
190804 Sermon on Romans 6:19-23 (Trinity 7), August 4, 2019
August 05, 2019 16:29190804 Sermon on Romans 6:19-23 (Trinity 7), August 4, 2019 In the Garden of Eden the serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die.” The devil’s lie was in direct contradiction to God’s Word. God had said that if Adam and Eve should sin, then they would most certainly die. And yet the serpent says, “You won’t die.” God had made a law, but the devil said, “There is no such law.” It was the power of lawlessness that led Eve and then Adam to eat what God had forbidden with his law. They hoped ...
190728 Sermon on Romans 6:1-11 (Trinity 6), July 28, 2019
July 30, 2019 15:03190728 Sermon on Romans 6:1-11 (Trinity 6), July 28, 2019 When Adam and Eve were created in the Garden of Eden, they were created differently than all the other creatures. With light, the seas, the land, the heavenly bodies, the plants, the birds, fish, and animals, with all these things God spoke them into existence. He said, “Let there be…” and there was. But when he gave himself the task of creating Man, he did several things that he didn’t otherwise do. First, he took council within hims...
190721 Guest Sermon (Bruce Boyce) on Luke 5:1-11 (Trinity 5), July 21, 2019
July 30, 2019 15:02190721 Guest Sermon (Bruce Boyce) on Luke 5:1-11 (Trinity 5), July 21, 2019
190714 Sermon on Romans 8:18-23 (Trinity 4), July 14, 2019
July 14, 2019 18:04190714 Sermon on Romans 8:18-23 One day everything is going to change. The things that we think of as being unchangeable are going to crash. The sun, the moon, and the stars are going to go wobbly. The seas will rage and foam. The earth itself will become unstable with earthquakes because it will knocked off its foundation. These are all things that have been worshipped by ancient man because they truly are impressive. There is something of the almighty Creator that is reflected in them. Mod...
190707 Sermon on Luke 15:1-10 (Trinity 3), July 7, 2019
July 08, 2019 21:45190707 Sermon on Luke 15:1-10 (Trinity 3), July 7, 2019 In the two parables that we heard in our Gospel reading today we are dealing with things that have been lost. Something being lost means that it can’t, at least as of yet, be found. But not all lost-ness is the same. For example, if someone is on a cruise and their ring falls into the ocean, then there’s nothing that can be done. Even if you hired a scuba diving crew to search the area, that ring will never be recovered. When you lose ...
190630 Sermon on Luke 14:15-24 (Trinity 20) June 30, 2019
July 02, 2019 19:39190630 Sermon on Luke 14:15-24 (Trinity 20) June 30, 2019 There are a lot of ways to tell the story of history. The history that is taught in most of the schools is based on the story of the rise and fall of political powers. So it tells us how this nation rose to the top and what happened so that it was brought low. Then another nation rose to take its place. But why should this be the only or even the main thing that is talked about with history? Is it only the top nation or the top handfu...
190623 Sermon on Luke 16:19-31 (Trinity 1), June 23, 2019
June 24, 2019 14:49190623 Sermon on Luke 16:19-31 (Trinity 1), June 23, 2019 The nation of Israel was at the peak of its greatness at the very beginning of its history. God led them out of Egypt, distinct from every other people on the face of the earth. God was with them. No other nation could say that. He led them by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. They were baptized in the Red Sea, and fed and watered on their way to Mt. Sinai. When they reached the mountain God took up residence...
190616 Sermon for Trinity Sunday, June 16, 2019
June 17, 2019 15:01190616 Sermon for Trinity Sunday The word “Trinity” or “triune” is two words put together into one. “Tri” means three—as in triangle or tricycle. “Une” is the other word, which means one—as in the card game Uno. So “Tri-une” is an adjective that means “three-one-ness.” The Triune God is the God who is three-one. The Holy Trinity is another name for the one true God alongside other names like Elohim, Jahweh, the Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The word “Trinity” does not appear in t...
190609 Sermon for Pentecost, May 10, 2019
June 10, 2019 14:04190609 Sermon for Pentecost, May 10, 2019 The book of Joel is about one thing—the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the day when God simultaneously judges and vindicates. He judges and punishes sinners. He vindicates and rewards those who are right. The Day of the Lord is when things come to an end and are sorted. The time of harvest is here. The angels are sent out to gather the wheat into the barn, but the weeds are bundled together and thrown into the unquenchable fire. “Time’s up!...
190526 Sermon on John 16:23-33 (Easter 6) May 26, 2019
May 27, 2019 13:41190526 Sermon on John 16:23-33 (Easter 6) May 26, 2019 In our Gospel reading Jesus says, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give it to you.” Immediately we assume that that can’t be true. What if I asked for this? What if I asked for that? There are dozens of things that we don’t think God would give us. Maybe our interpretation of this verse is mistaken. But there are other statements from Jesus that back it up. In Matthew 7 and Luke 9 you have those familiar words: “As...
190519 Sermon on John 16:5-15 (Easter 5) May 19, 2019
May 20, 2019 14:58190519 Sermon on John 16:5-15 (Easter 5) May 19, 2019 Early on the morning of Good Friday the Jewish leaders brought Jesus bound and scuffed up and covered in spit to Pontius Pilate. Pilate was not happy to see them. He is thoroughly annoyed. He had better things to do than make judgments about religious matters. He had roads to build and people to tax to the glory of the Roman Empire to see to. But the Jews wanted Jesus dead and that was an authority that they no longer had for themsel...
190512 Sermon on Lamentations 3:22-33, John 16:16-22 (Easter 4) May 12, 2019
May 13, 2019 19:21190512 Sermon on Lamentations 3:22-33, John 16:16-22 (Easter 4) May 12, 2019 The strength of our life of faith that we have as Christians is the most important thing in our lives. What I mean by the life of faith is the way that we trust in Jesus. When this is strong we are holding onto Christ very firmly. When this life of faith is weak, then we are not. It can even get to the point where we might think that we are still holding on to Christ by faith, but that turns out to be self-delu...
190505 Sermon on John 10:11-16 (Easter 3) May 5, 2019
May 08, 2019 16:25190505 Sermon on John 10:11-16 (Easter 3) May 5, 2019 One of the principles that Americans have held most dear is the freedom of religion. The government does not force anyone to go to any particular church. The government isn’t even supposed to advise the citizens which church to go to. This is a personal matter for us Americans. Some go one place. Others go someplace else. This has also enabled the churches to manage their own affairs according to their own lights. That is the grea...