Pastor Ike

Christmas Day

The true meaning of Christmas. The Eternal Word becomes flesh. This is one of the two greatest moments in human history.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve rightly focuses on the birth of Christ. Mary runs a close second place. This year, we see how God uses Joseph and his faith to express how God works to bring us salvation.

Holy Innocents

Right after Jesus’ birth, King Herod orders the killing of Bethlehem’s boys under two. Rachel weeps. The world is violent, sinful, and hostile to God’s plan. This sermon confronts that reality—the Law exposing sin in the world and in our hearts—and points to the Gospel: God preserves His Son, and through Christ, even the innocent slain bring salvation to the guilty. Hear the Law. Receive the Gospel.

Advent 4 - Rorate Caeli - Rain down

How would you answer someone if they were to ask you, “who are you?” The religious leaders asked John the Baptist this same question. Wait until you hear how he answered them.

Advent 3 Gaudete Sunday - Rejoice

What happens to joy when life doesn’t turn out the way you expected?
In this sermon for Gaudete Sunday, we listen in on a surprising moment from the life of John the Baptist—a man who preached joy with confidence, who pointed unflinchingly to Jesus as the Lamb of God, and who now finds himself alone in a prison cell asking a painful question: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
This message explores the difference between the fragile joy built on circumstances and the deep, enduring joy that Christ gives even in suffering. Jesus does not rebuke John’s question; instead, He answers with the Gospel—pointing to His saving work among the poor, the broken, and the forgotten.
Here we discover that true biblical joy is not the absence of hardship, but the presence of Christ within it. It is a joy grounded not in how life feels, but in what God has done—and is still doing—for us in Jesus.
Whether you are rejoicing or struggling, confident or questioning, this sermon proclaims the good news that the Lord is near, and that His joy endures even in the darkest places.
Rejoice.

Advent 2: Populus Zion

Populus Zion or the People of Zion. Zion is the name of the mountain on which the Temple was built. It was closely connected to the place where God came to be with His people. Eventually, it became the way that the Scriptures identified the people of God. The New Testament identifies the people of Zion as those redeemed by the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

Advent 1: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus

Today’s sermon explores why the Church sings the Sanctus—“Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth… Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”—immediately before the Lord’s Supper. Drawn from Isaiah 6 and Matthew 21, the Sanctus joins the worship of heaven with the cries of Palm Sunday. It proclaims that the Holy God Isaiah saw on the throne is the same humble King riding into Jerusalem—and the same Christ who comes to His people in the Sacrament.
Far more than a liturgical ornament, the Sanctus is the Church’s bold confession that Christ Himself is truly present in the Sacrament: the crucified and risen King who still draws near in humility to save, forgive, and sustain His people.

The habit of Thanksgiving

The habit of Thanksgiving will change your life.

Last Sunday of the Church Year

The Wise, the Foolish, and the Midnight Cry…
Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins reminds us that faith cannot run on empty. Five wise bridesmaids brought extra oil, five did not—and when the Bridegroom came at midnight, only the prepared entered the wedding feast. The oil represents Spirit-given faith, nourished by Word and Sacrament, which keeps our lamps burning through the weariness and distractions of life.
On the Last Sunday of the Church Year, we hear this call: stay awake. Christ may come at any moment, and each of us must carry our own lamp. We cannot borrow faith from others or rely on memories of past devotion; only the living grace of Christ sustains us.
Yet this parable is not a warning of despair; it is the Gospel. Every delay of the Bridegroom is mercy, every Lord’s Day a chance to receive His Word, His Supper, His Spirit. Christ has already given you the oil of faith, and He continues to fill it, preparing you for the eternal feast.
Be vigilant. Be joyful. Be ready. The Bridegroom comes.

Trinity 22: The Debt We Cannot Pay

How does the Bible talk about sin? Sin is not just about breaking "the rules," but as debts we owe, marks we miss, and obligations we fail to meet. Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant is a powerful picture of our own impossible debt and God’s overwhelming mercy changes how we relate to others, especially those who sin against us. At the center is the good news that Jesus doesn’t just cancel what we owe—He gives us His own righteousness. From that grace flows the freedom to forgive others as we have been forgiven.