Sermon Audio 8/24/2014, 11th Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

"Who do you say that I am?" Who so we say Jesus is? Who do others say we are? Given the recent (and ongoing) unrest in Ferguson, MO, who do we say Michael Brown is? Jesus asks hard questions, and invites us to do the same.

Matthew 16:13-20

¹³Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

As always, listen here or subscribe on iTunes by searching "Tengwall." 

Sermon Audio 8/17/2014, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo


The history of Lutheran churches in this country is primarily a history of northern European ethnic groups maintaining their cultural identity amidst the American "melting pot" (more of a jambalaya, as the American parts remain distinct in the mix, but that's a story for another day). Seemingly in spite of, but more likely because of, this insider-focused history, as the Lutheran churches have grown up we have become more engaged in our society, more welcoming of outsiders, to the degree that Lutherans are doing vital work with unaccompanied migrant children on the southern border of the US. 

In today's lessons from Isaiah and Matthew's Gospel, we are reminded why we engage in this difficult, compassionate endeavor. We do this work because we know that God's promise is for everyone.

Helpful links for today's sermon:
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan
One Michigan Lutheran church's local efforts

As always, you can listen here or subscribe by searching "Tengwall" on iTunes.

Sermon Audio 8/10/2014, Ninth Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Today we talked about faith in its most basic form, as trust in God. Peter trusted God until his Wile E. Coyote moment out on the water. Then what?

As always, you can listen here or subscribe on iTunes by searching "Tengwall."

Sermon Audio 7/27/2014, Seventh Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

On this Sunday we heard Jesus tell parables about the kingdom of heaven (aka kingdom of God / reign of Christ / kin-dom of God / empire of heaven), so in this interactive sermon we tried to imagine what this kingdom is "like."

As always, listen here or on iTunes by searching "Tengwall."