Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Epiphany of Our Lord - Sunday, January 8, 2023

Text: Isaiah 60:1-6

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Wasn’t today (yesterday) glorious? Does anyone else feel like it had been a while since we had such a nice sunny day? I suppose it’s typical around here. It’s no wonder so many people take advantage of a holiday break or use vacation time or take a few months if they are able to head south. For one, the days are still short, even if they are slowly gaining some daylight; but even during the day, more often than not lately it’s been either mostly cloudy or completely cloudy all day long, with some rain and snow flurries mixed in. This time of year, some people find themselves feeling more tired than usual—whether it’s having a hard time getting going in the morning, or a lack of energy later on in the day, and there’s a reason behind it. Scientists tell us that a lack of sunlight translates to lower serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in fatigue, irritability, and even depression. We all benefit from some light in our lives.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - New Year's Eve - Saturday, December 31, 2022

Text: Hebrews 13:5-8, 14

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Where has the time gone? As we pause on the Eve of yet another New Year, maybe we find ourselves asking questions like that to note how quickly time seems to fly by. Where has the time gone? We can think back to something that happened five or ten years ago and say, “I remember it like it was yesterday.” Any of us who remember New Year’s Eve of 1999 and the fears that all of our computers were going to quit working because of the Y2K bug can stop and marvel now that this “new” century is already 23 years old—almost a quarter completed. Generally speaking, the older we get, the more we realize how precious time is, because once it’s gone, we can’t get it back. And it does go quickly.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Third Sunday in Advent - Sunday, December 11, 2022

Text: Matthew 11:2-11

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One of life’s many challenges is learning to manage our expectations. Perhaps you can think of a time when you were so excited to see a movie that you made plans to see it on the day it came out. Maybe you loved the book, so you knew the story and couldn’t wait to see it on the big screen. It might be a movie that featured one or more of your favorite actors and the previews claimed it would be the biggest thriller of the year, or it could be a long-awaited sequel—the next episode in an epic series. Going in, you thought it had the potential to be the best movie ever made. What could possibly meet those expectations?! And what was your first thought when the credits rolled at the end? Was it everything you expected it to be? Or, did you come away at least a little bit disappointed?

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The First Sunday in Advent - Sunday, November 27, 2022

Text: Matthew 21:1-11

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Christian worship is all about freedom. But “worship” and “freedom” haven’t always gone together. You may well know that in Old Testament times, at least from the time of Moses on, God’s people were instructed to keep the calendar that he had given them on Mount Sinai. What did that look like? Their worship life was tied to Sabbath Days; every Saturday was a day where regular work was set aside to leave room for the study of God’s Word, singing God’s praises, and making sacrifices. Every new moon marked a new month, and there were more sacrifices. In the springtime and in the fall, there were major festivals to thank God for the grain harvest and the fruit harvest, and each festival came with its own celebrations and rituals—and, you guessed it, additional sacrifices. The people of Israel had no choice in the matter; God laid out the calendar exactly the way he wanted it to be observed. There was purpose behind it. Each one of those calendar events, in its own way, pointed ahead to the Savior that would one day come, so sticking to the schedule was one of the primary ways that his faithful people showed their love for God and their trust in the Savior that he promised.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - All Saints' Day - Sunday, November 6, 2022

Text: Luke 6:20-23

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²⁰ Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²² Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. ²³ “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost - Sunday, October 16, 2022

Text: Luke 18:1-8

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The strength of any relationship can often be measured by the communication within that relationship. We could be talking about children and their parents, brothers and sisters, a business partnership, a friendship, or a marriage, but wouldn’t you agree that it’s true that the strength of the relationship can be measured by the communication that is (or isn’t) taking place? If the conversations between two people are flowing on a regular basis, and the discussions that take place are healthy, and both parties generally leave with positive feelings, then that sounds like a strong relationship, doesn’t it? On the other hand, maybe the interactions are sporadic, and there is a lot of conflict, and one or both parties leave feeling defeated, then that relationship might need some work.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost - Sunday, October 2, 2022

Text: Luke 17:1-10

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Sometimes we might assume that we know more about a situation than we actually do—at least until we have the details. For instance, maybe we observe someone in their occupation and conclude that we know what their job is all about. The classic example would be a teacher. The school day starts at 8 and ends at 3; weekends off, holidays off, June, July, and most of August off. Seems like a pretty sweet gig, especially if you don’t mind kids. But unless you’ve been a teacher, you might not understand or appreciate how much extra time goes into it, with all the planning, preparing lessons, correcting and meetings that it takes to do the job well.

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost - Sunday, September 18, 2022

Text: Luke 16:1-13 

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Have you ever heard someone say something like this: “The church talks way too much about money”? I know I have. Sometimes it has been in the context of our church, and other times people were giving a reason why they don’t attend their former church anymore—or any church, for that matter. And maybe there could be some truth to that idea that the church shouldn’t talk about money so much, because the church isn’t supposed to be primarily about money at all. No, church is supposed to be about worshipping God and hearing his word and singing his praise. Church is supposed to be about strengthening and nurturing believers, equipping us all to do the work that God has given us of serving our neighbor and reaching out to the lost in our world. So why would the church have any need to talk about money?

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost - Sunday, September 4, 2022

Text: Malachi 3:17-4:6

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“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. ⁴ “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. ³ Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty. ⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. ⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

Pastor Eric Schroeder - The Tenth Sunday After Pentecost - Sunday, August 14, 2022

Text: Zephaniah 3:14-20

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It’s quite common that as time goes on, people start longing for “the good old days.” We can all get selective in our memories and romanticize the past, thinking back to all of our favorite times and lumping them all together into a vague notion of the kind of life we might wish we could have forever. When we were younger, we didn’t have all these bills to worry about, and we didn’t have all these aches and pains that we have accumulated over the years, and we weren’t so worried about running out of time all the time. So, in a lot of ways, life was simpler, and to a whole lot of people, that means life seemed better. So they long for “the good old days.”