St Marcus Mke Sermons

This week Pastoral Assistant Ron Kelly will be lead us in a message from Ephesians 2:1-10. This text is essential in understanding the manner of salvation - by grace, not by works. That message runs counterintuitive to a flesh that encourages us to feel like we are the center of the universe. It runs counterintuitive to the spirit of a society that tells us we can do ("work") anything we put our minds to. The manner of the gospel is something this fallen world rages against. So we remind ourselves of a truth that is alien to this world.

Mother’s Day is our theme for this morning, please join us in worship! Today’s message is titled “Adoptive Mothers are God’s Heroes Too” and is based on 2 Chronicles 22:10-12.

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS II: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." That's right  we're bringing it back for a second straight week. I mentioned last week that Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. If you care about witnessing as a Christian in 2020, you must wrestle with Acts 17. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find.  The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a  away that resonates to their worldview. In particular, this week we're going to learn the art of convincing someone they're already worshipping an Unknown God. We're also going to see the importance of repeatedly pushing people back towards the Resurrection as the focal point of any evangelistic conversation.  

We focus on Jesus as the Good Shepherd in our study this morning. Pastor Jeske’s message is based on John chapter 10 - “THE GOOD SHEPHERD REALLY DOES CARE FOR HIS SHEEP.”

This week we'll be studying Acts 17:16-34 under the worship theme of "PAUL'S SERMON IN ATHENS I: Witnessing to a Post-Christian World." Acts 17 may very well be the single most helpful text in the Bible for figuring out how to evangelize in 2020 America. The highly educated, pluralistic, hedonistic philosophers that Paul meets in Athens are about as close a biblical equivalent to America's cultural moment as one can find.  The Athenians need Law & Gospel, but they need it applied in a way that resonates to their worldview. So we're actually going to spend 2 weeks seeing how Paul teaches us to do that. 

Join Pastor Leyrer on this Third Sunday of Easter as we worship under the theme “He Lives in Our Hearts by His Word.” Today’s message is titled “What a Difference God’s Word Makes,” and is based on Acts 2:36-47.

This week we'll be studying Acts 16:23-34 under the worship theme of "THE JAILER AT PHILIPPI: How a pragmatist gets converted." Acts 16 is a chapter of conversions that are all unique. Timothy, Lydia, The Slaver Girl, and the Jailer are all VERY different people. The gospel works for all of them. And yet God's ministry to them through Paul (and others) is different from one situation to the next. It tells us something about God's personal discipleship plan for us. In particular, we're going to zero in on the category of person that most modern people fall into - the Jailer, i.e. the pragmatist. The Jailer is spiritually apathetic. What can shake someone out of their indifference and lethargy about Jesus? ANSWER: crisis & the practical benefits of Christian faith. We'll see all of that in this lesson as Paul & Silas minister in prison.

For the past 3 years, after Easter, we've taken a look at the Book of Acts, which tells us what the Early Church did after Jesus ascended into heaven. This year we will do the same, moving from Acts 15 - Acts 19, covering incredibly valuable lessons from The Jerusalem Council, Paul's Mission Work in Macedonia, Paul's Sermon in Athens, and the Rioting in Ephesus.  This week we'll be studying Acts 15:1-21 under the worship theme of "THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL: The Gospel is BOTH Non-Negotiable AND Extraordinarily Flexible." The Council at Jerusalem is the single most important event of the Early Christian Church that most Christians don't really know about. Yes, Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave and the Spirit now compels us to believe this. But are there REALLY no further qualifications for salvation? Your flesh and world religions tell you there are. The gospel says otherwise. 

Message from Easter Sunday, based on Luke 24: 13-35.

Pastor James Hein leads us in worship on this Maundy Thursday under the theme “A Union of Things Coming Together” based on Hebrews 10:19:25.

Pastor Jeske leads us in worship this morning as we observe Palm Sunday. Today’s message is titled “I Must Keep Going” and is based on Luke 13:31-25.

This week we'll be studying John 12:20-33 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers LIFE THROUGH DEATH." Common sense would tell us the way to rise above the world would be to go up. But Jesus' Kingdom is upside-down to this world. In this lesson he'll provide an extraordinary analogy of a seed dying that gives us the secret to Kingdom expansion. The way to LIFE is actually through DEATH. 

Pastor Hein explains why we and other churches keep baptismal fonts visible in their sanctuaries. We can take comfort not only in our own baptism but also the baptism of our Savior. Based on Romans 6:1-4.

Pastor Steinberg centers his message around the figure of Jesus that stands central not just in our sanctuary, but also in our lives.

This week we'll be studying John 12:1-1 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers THE ULTIMATE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY." Sometimes "zealot" or "fanatic" is used as a dirty word for religious practitioners. The reality, however, is that EVERYBODY worships someone/something, and worship, by its very essence, is extreme. So what does extreme Christian worship look like? We find a perfect example this week in Mary of Bethany. 

Pastor Leyrer highlights the significance of the color purple during Lent.

From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life.  This week we'll be studying John 11:17-27 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers SYMPATHY & HOPE." Jesus loves all people, but he also had some earthly friends that were his closest. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus fell into that category. So, when Jesus hears that Lazarus has fallen ill, and waits to visit him, his patience in the face of panic doesn't feel like love to his friends. We can learn so much from Jesus' interaction with Martha - including how to process grief, how Jesus ministers to us personally, and what the resurrection really means beyond even any superficial level. 

Pastor Kleist outlines the meaning of phrase INRI (Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum) or, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews," which was fixed above Jesus' head during his crucifixion. Recorded on March 11, 2020.

From now until Easter we are back into our GOSPEL OF JOHN: Believe and Live! series, in which we see how our own unbelief is the biggest obstacle we find to true life.  This week we'll be studying John 10:1-15 under the worship theme of "Jesus Offers GOOD SHEPHERDING." The only Bible text that I’m aware that is built into EVERY funeral service is Psalm 23 – the Good Shepherd Psalm (i.e. “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want... …” There MUST be something about it that so powerfully resonates with human longing that in our most vulnerable moments, the SHEPHERD metaphor, even in a non-shepherding society, is comforting. The safety, the satisfaction, the protection and provision, the tender loving care…it touches the heart in a profound way. Why? We all intuitively know we need some form of shepherding. And Jesus tells us he IS the GOOD SHEPHERD.

This year for Lent, we’re walking through the theme, "Silent Sermons from the Sanctuary" to find inspiration and depth of learning from within the walls of our church. "The Zimbelstern" Recorded 03/04/2020