The Word at Shalom

April 13, 2025, Palm Sunday: "The Tender-Hearted King"

When Jesus rides into Jerusalem, he doesn’t do it as a leader of an army. He doesn’t come with weapons or armor after the way of the world. He comes rather as a tender-hearted King who weeps over those he has come to save. Why would Jesus save humanity in this way? Why not come in force? Pastor David preaches “The Tender-Hearted King” based on Luke 19:28-44. 

 

This podcast channel will come to a close on April 28, 2025. You can find Pastor David's sermons at shalomlutheran.org/sermons. 

April 6, 2025, Lent 5C: "God's Work, Our Resistance"

Judas is appalled when Mary, Lazarus’s sister, anoints Jesus’s feet with an ointment made of pure nard. He sees the act as simply wasteful. But this anointing points to a radical new thing that God is doing in Christ on our behalf. What is this new thing and why does it matter for our lives? Pastor David preaches “God’s Work, Our Resistance” based on John 12:1-8.  

 

Please note: This podcast channel will come to a close on April 28, 2025. Please go to https://shalomlutheran.org/podcasts/media for downloadable media.

March 30, 2025, Lent 4C: "Title?"

The title we give to the parable traditionally called “the Prodigal Son” says a lot about how we view ourselves in it. Is it really about the younger son, his disrespect toward his father, and his wastefulness? Is it about the gracious father welcoming a wayward son home? Or is it about the lawful elder son, sitting in judgment over his brother and father? What if the parable is not about where we are in it, but about what God is always doing for us in Jesus Christ? Pastor David preaches “Title?” based on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32. 

 

Please note: This podcast channel will come to a close on April 28, 2025. Please go to https://shalomlutheran.org/podcasts/media for downloadable media.

March 23, 2025, Lent 3C: "Another Year"

From pop culture to the household, examples of unfaithfulness abound. It can be difficult to live our everyday lives when trust seems to be at a premium. However, Jesus reveals a different sort of God—one who is faithful even when God’s people are faithless. So, why would God be faithful to a faithless humanity? How does God’s fidelity help us live in an uncertain world? Pastor David preaches “Another Year” based on Isaiah 55:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; and Luke 13:1-9.

 

Please note: This podcast channel will come to a close on April 28, 2025. Please go to https://shalomlutheran.org/podcasts/media for downloadable media.

March 23, 2025, Lent 3C: "Another Year"

From pop culture to the household, examples of unfaithfulness abound. It can be difficult to live our everyday lives when trust seems to be at a premium. However, Jesus reveals a different sort of God—one who is faithful even when God’s people are faithless. So, why would God be faithful to a faithless humanity? How does God’s fidelity help us live in an uncertain world? Pastor David preaches “Another Year” based on Isaiah 55:1-9; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; and Luke 13:1-9. 

March 16, 2025, Lent 2C: "The Heavenly Citizen"

The Body of Christ has experienced great fractures in the past few decades. However, these fractures are not necessarily on theological fault lines, but on cultural, ideological, and partisan ones. How does the apostle Paul counsel the church at Philippi when they’re experiencing division within their community? How do we keep focused on Christ when so many voices in our culture proclaim other gospels fueled by partisanship? Pastor David preaches, “The Heavenly Citizen”, based on Philippians 3:20-4:7. 

March 9, 2025, Lent 1C: "The Slow Way"

The devil’s temptations of Jesus are not unique. They are the original temptations to dominance that have confronted every nation and organization since the beginning of history. What makes these three temptations—bread, dominion, and spectacle—so alluring? What makes Jesus different? And how does Jesus’s resistance point to a new way of being in the world? Pastor David preaches “The Slow Way” based on Luke 4:1-13. 

March 2, 2025, Transfiguration Sunday: "Listen to Him!"

Based on Luke 9:28-36.

February 23, 2025, Epiphany 7C: "A Radically New Life"

Despair in American life is nothing new. From 2005-2019, an average of 70,000 persons per year died deaths of despair (including drug addiction, alcohol overdose, and suicide, among others). For many, it’s hard to see how life has any good. But Jesus gives us a new way of being. How does Jesus not only give us a more joyful way to live, but also attaches a powerful promise to that life? Why is that life so radically different from the life we have now? Pastor David preaches “A Radically New Life” based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50 and Luke 6:27-36. 

February 9, 2025, Epiphany 5C: "Fish Story"

The miracle of the fish in Luke 5 may sound like a grand fish story, like something you might hear from a goofy uncle. But the true miracle is not the great catch itself, but what happens afterward. How does this catch change Peter's life? How are our lives changed when we encounter Jesus in word and sacrament? And what does his amazing grace empower us to do and be? Pastor David preaches "Fish Story" based on Luke 5:1-11.