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In this sermon on the parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1–13), five lamps are going out and five are still burning. What might the women have seen by the light they already had? From the gas lines of the 1970s to the cost of groceries and housing today, the sermon explores what happens to hope when we’ve spent years wondering whether we’ll have enough. It offers a picture of how Christ sustains us through the faith of others, especially when our own wears thin. Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Prairie Village, Kansas · November 8, 2026

In Romans 3:19–28, Paul proclaims that we are justified by God’s grace as a gift through Jesus Christ. This Reformation Sunday, we consider how that gift changed Martin Luther’s life—and how it continues to change ours. Grace gives us room to ask forgiveness, revisit old certainties, and discover new ways to love our neighbors. Because God already loves us, we are free to ask: “What might I do with the life God has given me?”

The vineyard belongs to God. You have been given a place in it. You can tend your part. You can enjoy its fruit. You can love that child through a decision you cannot make for them. You can share what you have while tomorrow is still uncertain. You can sit down at the table and discover that someone else has brought something, too. You can receive this day and discover what love is possible in it. You can go to sleep. And, while you sleep, somewhere in the dark, a seed will open. Because beyond the reach of your hands, God is faithful. You belong to something magnificent—and God is still at work—giving the growth, opening the future, tending to everything God loves.

Showing UpMatthew 21:23–32 We say, “Let’s get together,” “I’ll pray for you,” or “In a minute.” But sometimes our good intentions never get us out the door. Through Jesus’ parable of the two sons, this sermon explores the commitments that give relationships depth, the unexpected blessings of vineyard work, and the mercy of Christ that makes a fresh start possible. Whatever our first answer has been, there is still time to show up.

When did disagreement begin to mean separation? Drawing from Romans 14:1–12, “When Convictions Collide” considers how we can hold sincere convictions without judging, despising, or abandoning one another. We may understand faith, politics, and life differently, but God’s welcome is greater than our divisions. We can still love, serve, and stand together—because we are the Lord’s.

Contempt has become one of the defining habits of our time. We see it in the pleasure people take in another person’s humiliation, in the cruelty of social media, in the ease with which disagreement becomes judgment of another human being. Into that darkness Paul announces something almost audacious: “The night is far gone. The day is near.” This sermon explores why Christian hope rests not in our ability to make humanity kinder, but in what God has already done in Jesus Christ—and what it means to live in the light of a day that has not yet fully dawned.

Peter believed in Jesus. His problem was that he thought he knew where Jesus ought to go. When Jesus turned toward Jerusalem, Peter tried to redirect him—and Jesus told him to get back behind him and follow. Following Jesus means giving up our insistence on seeing the whole road before we take the next step. Sometimes the future we have planned is good, safe, and reasonable. But what if there is more waiting farther down the road than we can presently see? Matthew 16:21–26

Paul’s image of the church as one body is more than a call to appreciate different gifts. It is a reminder that none of us is complete on our own. Again and again, the things that enrich our lives—our music, food, traditions, knowledge, and even our faith—have come to us through other people. What grace might God intend to give us through the very people we have decided we don’t need?

What about our friends and family members who have never followed Jesus? Or our children or siblings who grew up in the church but have now rejected the faith handed down to them? What will become of people who have lost their faith—or who never had it? Is God’s grace wide enough for them? Paul reminds us that all people dwell in disobedience. All people. Including all of us. We are not saved because we deserve it. We are saved because God is good. God’s mercy is deeper than we can understand. God’s faithfulness reaches farther than we can see. “For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable”— and God’s promises… unbreakable.

What happens when we are doing exactly what Jesus has called us to do—and the wind is still against us? In Matthew 14:22–33, the disciples struggle through the night against a relentless headwind. Peter steps out of the boat at Jesus’ command, only to become overwhelmed when he realizes the strength of the wind around him. This episode explores the headwinds that resist us, the surprising power of “Little Faith,” and the Christ who comes to us when we are exhausted, frightened, and struggling to keep going.

What story is shaping the way you see your life? Every day the world tells us there isn't enough—not enough money, time, security, opportunity, or hope. Before long, that scarcity story begins to shape our own hearts. But Isaiah 55 and the feeding of the five thousand reveal a different reality. God invites thirsty people to come without money, and Jesus feeds a multitude in the middle of a wilderness with five loaves and two fish. This sermon explores how God's future is often larger than our imagination, challenging us to trust Christ even after we've done the math, counted the loaves, and decided how the story ends. Scripture: Isaiah 55:1–5; Matthew 14:13–21

In a world that seems increasingly divided between "good people" and "bad people," Jesus tells a surprising parable about wheat and weeds growing together in the same field. Instead of calling us to judge or uproot others, Christ invites us to trust God's patient work—both in the world and within our own hearts. This sermon explores why we are often mistaken about one another, how grace continues to grow amid brokenness, and why the promise of God's coming harvest gives us hope that evil will not have the final word.

When life leaves us feeling stranded—caught between what was and what we hoped would be—we may wonder whether God has forgotten us. Drawing on Isaiah 55:10–13, this sermon explores God's promise that his Word never returns empty. Like rain quietly nourishing the earth, God's grace is already at work beneath the surface, bringing hope where despair has taken root. Through the unforgettable story of a mama duck and her ducklings rescued from a busy Chicago highway, we discover that God is present even on life's "off-ramps," faithfully accomplishing the purposes of love, mercy, and new life.

In a world that celebrates the powerful, the successful, and the highly visible, Jesus tells a very different story. Beginning with a memorable account from preacher Fred Craddock, this sermon explores one of the most surprising promises in the Gospel: that the person who offers something as simple as a cup of cold water stands alongside prophets and the righteous in the Kingdom of God. Through ordinary acts of love, quiet faithfulness, and unseen service, Christ reveals that no disciple is insignificant and no gift offered in faith is ever forgotten. This is a message of grace for everyone who has ever wondered whether their small acts of kindness really matter.

Some decisions are easy. Others leave us awake at night. In this sermon from Genesis 21:8–21, Abraham faces a painful choice between two loves, while Hagar and Ishmael find themselves alone in the wilderness with no clear future. Yet this difficult story reveals a surprising truth: God's faithfulness is larger than our failures, our fears, and the choices that seem impossible to make. When the future appears to hang by a thread, God is already there—hearing, providing, and opening a way forward.