Author Archives: pastortapken

If you were asked to summarize our reading from St. Luke this morning into a straightforward sentence describing the message that Jesus is trying to convey, it would probably be something like “Only by faith in Jesus Christ can one escape the fires of hell.” However, it is undoubtedly a true statement and summarizes theContinue reading “Second Sunday of Advent (Populus Zion) Luke 21:26-35”

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah. When he preached these words to the people of Israel, he spoke to those who had come from the tribes of Israel, but now they were scattered across the region because of their unfaithful kings. The people longed to be united and toContinue reading “First Sunday of Advent (Ad Te Levavi)”

This is the last Sunday of the church year, and next Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, a new year in the church. This Sunday and the four Sundays of Advent, we take up the second coming of our Lord. And we Christians have something to learn from this. That we must always be mindfulContinue reading “The Last Sunday of the Church Year Matthew 25:1-13”

The gospel brings us into the kingdom of heaven, which was bought and purchased for sinners by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the revelation to St. John shows, the Saints around the throne of God and the Lamb are dressed in white robes that have been washed by His blood. Without Christ’s taking onContinue reading “Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity Matthew 18:21-35”

Upon first read of our text this morning, it may appear that Jesus becomes impatient with this man. The nobleman pleads with Jesus at least twice in our text to come to the bedside of his son, whose death seems certain, so that he might be healed. The Christ seems to have been short withContinue reading “Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity John4:46-44”

As this past Sunday was our celebration of the Feast of All Saints, I thought it would be more than appropriate for my first issue to reflect on baptism. This is not only because St. John’s witnessed a baptism during our All Saints’ service, but this holy day also brings to mind our own baptisms,Continue reading “From Pastor’s Desk Issue 1: All Saints: A Day for Baptism”

On this All Saints Day, we give thanks to God for those who died in the faith, both in recent memory and in days of old. First, we must ask: what is a saint? A baptized faithful member of the Christian Church. We cannot understand the church apart from baptism. Before Faith and baptism, weContinue reading “Feast of All Saints Matthew 5:1-12”

A common motto in the reformation was “the word of the Lord endures forever,” and it was often abbreviated in Latin as VDMA. This quotation from Isaiah chapter 40 was the driving force behind the world-changing events of the Reformation. Martin Luther and others knew that it was not the words of men that hadContinue reading “Reformation Sunday Matthew 11:12-19”

Dear family and friends of Anna Mae Wolfgram, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen. The Christian life is not one of ease or convenience. When we are guided by the Holy Spirit into the waters of holy baptism, where we die to sin andContinue reading “Christian funeral for Anna Mae Wolfgram 2 Timothy 4:6-8”

 Today, in our gospel reading, we find a surprisingly unique interchange between Christ and the Sadducees and the teachers of the law. They attempt to confuse and entrap Jesus, but to their amazement, Christ not only answered a question that they cannot answer. They were also put to shame. And in return, he inquires ofContinue reading “Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity Matthew 22:34-46”