Sermons by Rev. Jason M. Braaten (Page 45)

The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

What sort of man is this? He is the Lord. And what sort of God is this? The only true God. For He rebukes us if He must. He sends the waves over the sides of the boat to make us desperate, full of fear, and even angry, that we learn to pray. And then, He gives us peace according to His Word. He gives us the faith we lack. He gives us the Holy Spirit, and He will bring us home. For He remembers His Word and Promises, while we wait for the Resurrection to come and the consummation of all our hope. What sort of man is this? He is Jesus, the God who saves.

The Third Sunday after Epiphany

So we cling to what the Word of God, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, says—not just about forgiveness but about everything. When he speaks, we take it to heart, believe it, hold fast to it, and seek to conform our thoughts, words, and deeds to it.

The Second Sunday after Epiphany

And so it is quite fitting that our Lord’s first sign takes place at a wedding. For in the changing of the water into wine, Jesus shows us what he came to do: to make all things new.

The First Sunday after Epiphany

The First Sunday after Epiphany Luke 2:41–52; Romans 12:1–5

The Feast of the Circumcision and Name of Jesus

Now then, all of you who believe in God’s Word, let your watchword for entering the new year be this: “I am baptized!” Not as an excuse to keep on sinning, but as the reason and power to live life anew in God’s grace and Word.

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve Luke 12:35–40 + IN NOMINE IESU + There are two customary ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The world throws a party. It’s out with the old and in with the new. Auld Lang Syne with Guy Lombardo, Champagne toast at midnight, and dance the night away! Some churches prefer a more…

The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord

For the Word made Flesh is the only stable thing, the only thing that does not age, wither, and die, the only thing that does not disappoint, in all of Creation. And nothing can ruin that, therefore, nothing can ruin Christmas. The Word became Flesh. We have a Savior. Thanks be to God.

The Feast of the Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

“When all was still, and it was midnight . . . .” The eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the most Holy Trinity, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, was born—bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh, though without sin. God became man in the man Jesus Christ. And if we really fathomed what our Lord Christ has done by taking on human flesh, becoming our brother, living our life and dying our death, we would die of joy; our hearts would simply burst with joy. For the light of God’s love shines upon us in Jesus Christ, and yet the darkness of our hearts so often and so readily comprehends it not.

Midweek Advent IV

Christ alone accomplished our salvation. He did this by his perfect life (active obedience) and His substitutionary death (passive obedience). Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is our only source of forgiveness, life, and salvation.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Do not be anxious about anything. The Lord is at hand. For the same body that was born of the Virgin Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lain in the manger; the same body that hung upon the cross, rested in the tomb, was raised from the dead; the same body that ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, this same body is at hand and given to you as a feast in the Holy Communion. And this body takes away your sins, gives you His own divine life, and peace with God and one another.