Good Friday isn’t just about death.

It’s about creation.

When Jesus was pierced, and blood and water flowed from His side, the Church was born—through Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

That means the Church isn’t something we build.

It’s something Christ creates.

Not through programs or personalities—but through His Word, His Sacraments, and His death on the cross.

This is what it means to confess “one holy Christian and apostolic Church.”

Watch and reflect on the deeper meaning of Good Friday.

We fall into this trap all the time:

“If we can just fix this… improve that… get the right program… then the Church will grow.”

But that’s not how it works.

The Holy Spirit is the one who calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the Church. He works through the Word, Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper—not our clever strategies.

That’s not bad news—it’s a relief.

Because it means the burden isn’t on you.

This message from our Lenten Nicene Creed series focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit—and why trusting Him changes everything.

Watch here and be reminded what actually builds the Church.

the crowd was given a choice: Jesus Christ or Barabbas.

They chose the criminal.

It sounds unthinkable—until you realize that this is exactly how the Gospel works. The guilty go free, and the innocent takes their place.

That’s not just Barabbas’ story. It’s yours.

This sermon looks at the moment before Pontius Pilate and shows how the cross is a great exchange: Christ takes your place so that you can go free.

And even those haunting words—“His blood be on us and on our children”—become a confession of faith. Because His blood doesn’t condemn you.

It cleanses you.

Watch and reflect as we begin Holy Week.

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. But the real story is not just about physical sight.

It’s about two different responses to Jesus.

The man who had been blind recognizes what happened and simply believes.
The Pharisees investigate the miracle, question the witnesses, and still refuse to see the truth.

The contrast is striking:
the one who knew he was blind receives sight, while those who thought they could see remain blind.

This sermon explores how Jesus, the Light of the World, still opens eyes today—and why the Word of God always brings both faith and resistance.

In Luther’s day, captured nobles were often ransomed for huge sums of money. But the Gospel tells a completely different story.

Jesus, our Lord, did not demand payment from us.
He paid the ransom Himself.

Not with gold or silver—but with His holy, precious blood.

This sermon explores what the Nicene Creed means when it says Jesus came “for us and for our salvation,” and what it means to live under the rule of a King who sacrificed Himself to save His people.

Watch the message and reflect on the work Christ has done for you.

Can Christians welcome sinners without affirming sin? Jesus certainly does when he offers living water to the woman at the well.

Christians ought to follow Jesus’ example by welcoming sinners. While we can’t affirm sin, we also can’t slam the door in a person’s face. We want everyone, especially sinners like us, to hear about Jesus. How do we do that in the midst of a culture war?

As a young boy at St. John's Lutheran Church, Roland Rossmiller stood up on Christmas Eve and recited Gospel of John3:16 from memory. At the time, they were simply words to get right in front of the congregation.

Years later, he came to understand what those words truly mean.

This message is a clear proclamation of grace: salvation begins with God’s love, not ours. The cross reveals the real cost of sin. Faith is not a work we perform but the empty hand that receives Christ. Apart from Him there is perishing—but in Him there is certainty, forgiveness, peace with God, and eternal life that begins now.

What does it really mean to confess, “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth”?

In this Lenten sermon series on the Nicene Creed, Pastor James Huenink begins with the First Article—God the Father as Creator and Provider. Far from being distant or detached, the Father is actively at work in every part of creation: feeding, clothing, sustaining, and guiding history toward its final fulfillment in Christ.

Why confess the Nicene Creed instead of the Apostles’ Creed?

On this Ash Wednesday, Pastor James Huenink begins a Lenten sermon series on the theology and history of the Nicene Creed—why it was written in AD 325, what problem it was meant to solve, and why it still matters for Christians today.

At the Council of Nicaea, the Church confronted the false teaching of Arius, who claimed that Jesus was not truly God but a created being. The bishops gathered to defend what Scripture teaches: that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God in three persons. Later, at the First Council of Constantinople, the Church clarified the full divinity and personhood of the Holy Spirit.

God encourages us to pray for justice.

God encourages us to pray for justice.