Sunday Worship Podcast

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Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Austin and Our Savior Lutheran Church of Brownsdale, MN

Episodes

Wednesday Nov 22, 2023

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Wednesday Nov 22, 2023

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 28
(19 November 2023)

Zephaniah 1:7–16
1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
Matthew 25:14–30

God’s Gift of Forgiveness Engenders Our Forgiveness of Others

The Day of the Lord is “near and hastening fast,” and it will be “a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation” (Zeph. 1:14, 15). The Lord will search out and punish “the men who are complacent” concerning His Word, “who fill their master’s house with violence and fraud” (Zeph. 1:9, 12). Then all their works and efforts will be for nothing: “Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them” (Zeph. 1:13). But those who fear, love and trust in the Lord are “good and faithful” stewards of His property (Matt. 25:21). They live by faith in His free gift of forgiveness, and they multiply His goods in the loving forgiveness of their neighbor, and “the master of those servants” settles His accounts with them by the gracious reckoning of His Gospel (Matt. 25:19). Likewise, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). Therefore, let us also “put on the breastplate of faith and love” in our dealings with one another (1 Thess. 5:8).

Acknowledgments:
The Lutheran Service Book. CPH Creative Worship
Scripture quotations are from ESV Bible
All Liturgy Audio Files are from LCMS Worship Ministry - Lutheran Service Book Audio (https://lcms.app.box.com/v/lutheran-service-book)
Please note that the Hymnals are taken from online Auto-generated by YouTube or from thehymnalproject.org, Lutheran Warbler, Koiné, Downtown Music Publishing, CPH, Hope of the World" - Foundry Virtual Choir; Lectionary Summary from: https://www.lcms.org/worship/lectionary-summaries

Wednesday Nov 22, 2023

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Wednesday Nov 22, 2023

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 27
(12 November 2023)

Amos 5:18–24
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
Matthew 25:1–13

The Gospel Prepares Us for Our Heavenly Bridegroom’s Coming

The Day of the Lord is “darkness, and not light” (Amos 5:18, 20) for all who trust in their own righteousness and piety. The Lord will not accept their “burnt offerings and grain offerings,” nor will He look upon their “peace offerings” (Amos 5:22). Instead, He desires a heart of faith that trusts in Him, which lets “justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24) in love for the neighbor. In order for the “lamps” of our lives to burn brightly with such love, we must be filled with the “oil” of forgiveness through faith in our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:1–4). Therefore, as we await His coming, wisdom directs us “to the dealers” (Matt. 25:9), that is, to the ministers of His Gospel. Thus we wait upon the Lord, and we “encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18). Waking or sleeping, we are prepared to meet Him when He comes “with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God,” and “we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

Monday Nov 13, 2023

ALL SAINTS’ DAY

Monday Nov 13, 2023

ALL SAINTS’ DAY (Observed)
(5 November 2023)

Revelation 7:(2–8) 9–17
1 John 3:1–3
Matthew 5:1–12

Saints Are Blessed in the Eternal Presence of Christ

“A great multitude … from all tribes and peoples and languages” cry out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne” (Rev. 7:9–10). Faith-filled saints from every place and time with unified voices eternally magnify the Lamb of God. As His beloved children, we, too, “shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Joined with the throng of angels and myriad saints, we shall “serve him day and night in his temple” (Rev. 7:15). In our earthly tension vacillating between saint and sinner, faith and doubt, sacred and profane, we earnestly seek Jesus to calm our fears, comfort our spirits and forgive our sins. The Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ, propels us forward to our eternal home, fortifying us in Word and Sacrament. In the midst of our constant struggle as believers, we need to be blessed. And so we are. The poor in spirit, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure and the persecuted are all blessed, and we will most certainly inherit the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:1–12).

Monday Nov 13, 2023

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Monday Nov 13, 2023

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 24
(22 October 2023)

Isaiah 45:1–7
1 Thessalonians 1:1–10
Matthew 22:15–22

We Are Recreated in the Image of God by the Cross of Christ

Plotting against Jesus, the Pharisees attempted “to entangle him in his words” by asking about the payment of taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:15). The Lord pointed to coins required for the tax, and He answered that we should “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). But if coins bearing the image of Caesar should be rendered to him, then man — who is made in the image of God — must be rendered to the Lord. That tax is paid for us by the Lord Jesus, the image of God in the flesh, by His self-offering on the cross. And from His cross, as the Lord’s anointed, He reigns as the true Caesar over all nations “from the rising of the sun and from the west” (Is. 45:6). The Lord once called and anointed Cyrus “to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings” (Is. 45:1). Now by the preaching of the Gospel, “in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:5), foreigners from all over the world are “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thess. 1:9–10).

Friday Oct 20, 2023

TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Friday Oct 20, 2023

TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 23
(15 October 2023)

Isaiah 25:6–9
Philippians 4:4–13
Matthew 22:1–14

Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ, We Partake of His Wedding Feast

By His cross and resurrection, the Lord has swallowed up death forever, and by His Gospel He “will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” (Is. 25:8). Therefore, “let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Is. 25:9). On the mountain of the Lord of hosts — in His Church on earth, as in the kingdom of heaven — He has made “for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine” (Is. 25:6). It is the royal “wedding feast” of the Son of God, “and everything is ready” (Matt. 22:1, 4). Thus, His servants are sent into the highways and byways to invite and gather as many as they find, “both good and bad,” to fill the wedding hall with guests (Matt. 22:8–10). In Holy Baptism, He clothes them all in the “wedding garment” of His own perfect righteousness (Matt. 22:11). Therefore, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God,” and “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4–6).

Friday Oct 20, 2023

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Friday Oct 20, 2023

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 22
(8 October 2023)

Isaiah 5:1–7
Philippians 3:4b–14
Matthew 21:33–46

The True Vine Redeems the Vineyard of the LORD of Hosts

“The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel” (Is. 5:7), which He planted “on a very fertile hill” (Is. 5:1). He did everything for His vineyard, not only clearing it of stones and planting it with “choice vines,” but also building the “watchtower” of His prophets and hewing out the “wine vat” of His priesthood in its midst (Is. 5:2). But when “he looked for it to yield grapes,” there were only “wild grapes” of bloodshed and unrighteousness (Is. 5:2, 7). The Lord Jesus likewise described the unfaithfulness of those who were called to care for His vineyard (Matt. 21:33–35). But in this He also describes His cross and Passion (Matt. 21:38–39), by which He has redeemed the vineyard for Himself. He is the true Vine, planted by death into the ground, and in His resurrection He brings forth “the fruits in their seasons” (Matt. 21:41). Among those good grapes of the true Vine is the apostle Paul. Once a zealous persecutor of the Church, he “suffered the loss of all things” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him,” to “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:8–10).

Saturday Oct 07, 2023

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Saturday Oct 07, 2023

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Proper 21

(1 October 2023)

Ezekiel 18:1–4, 25–32

Philippians 2:1–4 (5–13) 14–18

Matthew 21:23–27 (28–32)

The Cross of Christ Opens to Us the Way of Repentance to Life with God

The way of the Lord is righteous and just: “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:4). However, because the Lord has “no pleasure in the death of anyone” (Ezek. 18:32), He calls sinners to repentance and faith in His gracious forgiveness of sins. The man who is thus turned away from his wickedness, who henceforth lives by the grace of God, “shall surely live; he shall not die” (Ezek. 18:28). This way of repentance has been opened for us by the cross of Christ. In the righteousness of faith and love, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death” (Phil. 2:8), and He was vindicated in His resurrection from the dead. Indeed, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). He has given us this name in our Baptism into Christ, in whom we now “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). He uses the authority that He has received from His Father (Matt. 21:23–27) to preach a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, by which even “the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God” (Matt. 21:31–32).

Acknowledgments:

The Lutheran Service Book. CPH Creative Worship

Scripture quotations are from ESV Bible

All Liturgy Audio Files are from LCMS Worship Ministry - Lutheran Service Book Audio (https://lcms.app.box.com/v/lutheran-service-book)

Please note that the Hymnals are taken from online Auto-generated by YouTube or from thehymnalproject.org, Lutheran Warbler, Koiné, Downtown Music Publishing, CPH, Hope of the World" - Foundry Virtual Choir; Lectionary Summary from: https://www.lcms.org/worship/lectionary-summaries

Saturday Oct 07, 2023

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Saturday Oct 07, 2023

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Proper 20

(24 September 2023)

Isaiah 55:6–9

Philippians 1:12–14, 19–30

Matthew 20:1–16

Disciples Live in Their Vocations by Grace through Faith in Christ

Those who are sent as “laborers for his vineyard” (Matt. 20:1) depict the wide diversity of vocations to which the disciples of Christ Jesus are called. Whatever our particular stations in life may be, we are called to live and serve by faith in His promises. Our labors do not merit anything before Him, for He is already generous to one and all without partiality. In mercy, He has chosen to bear “the burden of the day and the scorching heat” on our behalf, to make us equal to Himself and to give us what belongs to Him, that is, the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 20:12–15). This way of the Lord is foolishness to the world and foreign to our thoughts, but He draws near, so that “he may be found” (Is. 55:6), “have compassion” and “abundantly pardon” (Is. 55:7). So it is that we are found in Christ Jesus, and He is honored in our bodies, “whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20), by “fruitful labor” (Phil. 1:22) or by suffering. It is by faith in His forgiveness that our works are “worthy of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27).

Acknowledgments:

The Lutheran Service Book. CPH Creative Worship

Scripture quotations are from ESV Bible

All Liturgy Audio Files are from LCMS Worship Ministry - Lutheran Service Book Audio (https://lcms.app.box.com/v/lutheran-service-book)

Friday Sep 15, 2023

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Friday Sep 15, 2023

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Proper 18

(10 September 2023)

Ezekiel 33:7–9

Romans 13:1–10

Matthew 18:1–20

Living as Humble Little Children of the Father

True greatness is not self-sufficient strength, but humility like that of a little child. The greatness of childlike faith receives all good things as gracious gifts from our Father in heaven. Apart from such faith, “you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” but whoever is humbled like a little child will be “the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3–4). Though in our sin we deserve to be “drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6), we have instead been drowned (“buried”) with Christ in Baptism and then raised to the new, humble life of a child of God. The Lord sends His watchman to warn us with a word from His mouth, in order that we may not die in our iniquity but be turned from our pride and selfishness to live (Ezek. 33:7–9). Thus, we live in humility and faith before God as well as in love for our neighbor, which “is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). In the reverent fear of God, we do no harm to our neighbor, but we “pay to all what is owed to them” (Rom. 13:7) and we “owe no one anything, except to love each other” (Rom. 13:8).

Acknowledgments:

The Lutheran Service Book. CPH Creative Worship

Scripture quotations are from ESV Bible

All Liturgy Audio Files are from LCMS Worship Ministry - Lutheran Service Book Audio (https://lcms.app.box.com/v/lutheran-service-book)

Friday Sep 15, 2023

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Friday Sep 15, 2023

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 17
(3 September 2023)

Jeremiah 15:15–21
Romans 12:9–21
Matthew 16:21–28

The Glory of God Is the Passion and Cross of Christ Jesus

After St. Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Lord “began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Matt. 16:21). Upon hearing this “theology of the cross,” Simon Peter stumbled into a satanic “theology of glory.” But the glory of God is revealed in the Passion and cross of His incarnate Son. The faithful prophets, such as Jeremiah, suffered persecution and rejection in anticipation of Jesus’ cross. Yet the Lord did not abandon them; He remembered them, and He was with them to deliver them (Jer. 15:15–20). By His cross, Jesus has redeemed the world, and in His resurrection, He has vindicated all who trust in Him. Thus, the Christian life is a discipleship of self-sacrificing love. Since Christ Jesus has reconciled us to God, we “live peaceably with all” (Rom. 12:18). By the certainty of His cross and resurrection, we “rejoice in hope,” and we are “patient in tribulation” and “constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).