Author Archives: pastortapken

For the evangelist, St. John, to understand the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ comes down to one word, and that is fulfillment. Everything recorded in the death of Christ has a purpose and points us to the work He has done for our salvation by means of His agonizing death upon theContinue reading “Sermon from Good Friday (John 18:1-19:42)”

The Lord Jesus washes the disciples’ feet to show the way that He must die. By taking on the form of the servant, performing the task below the expectations for the Son of God to endure, Christ teaches that the death He will soon die is for the sheep. As this brought scandal upon PeterContinue reading “Sermon from Holy Thursday (John 13:1-15; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32)”

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week, the holiest seven days in the entire church year. This is the week dedicated to the suffering, death, and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we will remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem as He rides in, in a humble manner, on the back of a donkey,Continue reading “Sermon from Palm Sunday (Matthew 27:11-54)”

This portion of the gospel of St. John is Christ’s last discussion with the Jews before He is arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin for trial, before being taken on to Pilate to be tried again and found guilty. And prior to this reading, St. John earlier in chapter 8 states that some of theContinue reading “Sermon from the Fifth Sunday in Lent (John 8:46-59)”

When Jesus crosses the sea, a great crowd follows Him, having seen many of His signs of healing. The people want more without understanding the purpose of the miracles or who Christ is.  As Jesus says later in the same chapter of John’s gospel, “I say to you, you seek me, not because you sawContinue reading “Sermon from the Fourth Sunday in Lent (John 6:1-15)”

As we see in today’s gospel, Jesus’ ministry does not proceed without opposition. This opposition is primarily composed of demonic forces. This evil influence of the devil is manifest in our text in two different ways. First is the man who is mute. It is under the demonic oppression of the devil that this manContinue reading “Third Sunday in Lent (Luke 11:14-28)”

As the Lord Jesus opens the eyes of this blind man, it is the disciples who are truly blind spiritually. When Jesus predicts His own death for the third time to His disciples, He says that He will be delivered up to the gentile and be mocked, insulted, and spat upon. Then Christ will beContinue reading “Sermon for Quinquagesma (Luke 18:31-43)”

Many readers of the Parable of the Sower tend to categorize people by the soil types the Word of God falls on. Jesus said the parable is about the seed, the Word of God. No matter where it falls, the seed tries to grow, accepting, believing, and holding it sacred at least temporarily. It wouldContinue reading “Sermon for Sexagesima Sunday (Luke 8:4-15)”

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)”