Lebanon Lutheran Church - Cleveland, NC

10/12/2026

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 22:1–14) can feel a little confusing — a king giving a wedding banquet for his son, people who were invited refusing to come, even murders, and then someone being thrown out for not wearing a wedding robe.

I will let Martin Luther break it down for us.

Luther preached on this same text and put it simply:

The banquet is the free gift of God’s grace. The son is Jesus, and the wedding robe isn’t something we earn — it’s faith in him. You’re invited just as you are. The only thing that matters is trusting that he really is for you.(From Luther’s Church Postil, Trinity 20, 1523)

If the parable left you uneasy, that’s the heart of it: “Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find.” “both good and bad”, so the wedding hall is filled with guests.

The door is open, the banquet is ready, and the robe is a gift from Christ. ✝️

10/10/2026

Reminder: Service at Oak Park Retirement at 4pm Sunday!
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The table is set. The king is not waiting for better guests. He sends servants into the streets and says, “Everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet” (Matthew 22:4).
This Sunday we hear that parable. Many are called. The hall is filled with the good and the bad. Grace comes first. The robe is given, not earned. The question is no longer “What did I do to deserve this?” It is “What will I do because I received it?”
Join us Sunday at Lebanon Lutheran at 10:30. Everything is ready. Come.✝️

10/05/2026

The Lord blessed us with good weather yesterday as we held our 1st Blessing of the Animals service. There were dogs. There were cats. There were goats. And there were cremains and pictures of the ones we have lost. We called them by name. We gave thanks. We asked God to bless them, that they would know love all their days. It was good to be together for this special time. Blessings to you and your furry friends for a wonderful week! Thank you all for coming and join us next Sunday at 10:30. ✝️

09/30/2026

***Join us Sunday at 10:30am.

***And join us at 4pm for the Blessing of the Animals Service!

We hope to to see you there.

Grace, Peace and the love of ✝️Christ,

Lebanon Lutheran Church✝️

09/20/2026

Today at Lebanon’s 133rd Homecoming we feasted at Christ’s table and we shared fellowship over an abundant potluck meal! Thank you to everyone for all you do every day!

Today’s Gospel: MATTHEW 20:1-16

Excerpt from today’s sermon:

Some of you have borne the burden and seen the fruit of this congregation
since long before many of us arrived. Some of you walked in at what feels like five o’clock new to these pews, or newly returned. The landowner does not rank
the dawn crew above the ones who came late. He puts a denarius in every open hand.
One hundred and thirty-three years
of the same wage: Christ himself, given freely, never ours to ration.
Somewhere in that vineyard, against every rule of human arithmetic, a worker who arrived with only an hour left in the day
opens his hand and discovers a full denarius.
The cucumber is still a cucumber.
The grape is still a grape.
And justice still matters.
But grace,
was never ours to ration. +

Peace,
Daniel ✝️

09/20/2026