Lutheran Church of the Cross

09/06/2026

Sermon title: God’s Love in Action
Sermon text: Matthew 18:14 (ESV): So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Thought for the week: "God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you’." Billy Graham

Psalm: 25: 1-4
1st reading: Romans 13: 8-11
GO: Matthew 18: 10-20

Entrance: 575 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (vv. 1-2)
Opening: 575 My Hope is Built on Nothing Less (vv. 3-4)
HOD: 606 I Lay My Sins on Jesus
Offering: 609 Jesus Sinners Doth Receive
Communion: WOV 699 Blessed Assurance / 550 Lamb of God
Recessional: 832 Jesus Shall Reign (vv. 1,4)

09/03/2026

Sermon notes from last week's message from Pastor Paul Lantz!

08/30/2026

Sermon title: Return to the Lord
Sermon text: Jeremiah 15:19 (ESV):
Therefore thus says the LORD:
"If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them."

Thought for the week: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Joel 2: 13

Psalm: 26: 1-4
1st reading: Jeremiah 15: 15-21
GO: Matthew 16: 21-24

Entrance: 660 Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus (vv. 1,2)
Opening: 660 Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus (vv. 3,4)
HOD: 611 Chief of Sinners Though I Be
Offering: WOV 744 Soon and Very Soon
Communion: 570 Just As I Am, without One Plea / 801 How Great Thou Art
Recessional: 806 Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart

08/23/2026

Sermon title: God’s Comfort
Sermon text: Isaiah 51:3 (ESV):
For the LORD comforts Zion;
he comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the LORD;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.

Thought for the week: “God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.” J.H. Jowett

Psalm: 138: 1-4
1st reading: Isaiah 51: 1-6
GO: Matthew 16: 13-20

Entrance: 763 When Peace, Like a River (vv. 1,2)
Opening: 763 When Peace, Like a River (vv. 3,4)
HOD: HFFG 105 Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Offering: 697 Awake, O Sleeper, Rise from Death
Communion: WOV I Am the Bread of Life / 619 Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior
Recessional: 818 In Thee is Gladness

08/16/2026

Sermon title: Gathered by God
Sermon text: Isaiah 56:8 (ESV):
The Lord GOD,
who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
“I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”

Thought for the week: “To gather with God’s people in united adoration to the Father is as necessary to the Christian life as prayer.” Martin Luther

Psalm: 67: 1-4
1st reading: Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8
GO: Matthew 15: 21-28

Entrance: 657 A Mighty Fortress is Our God (vv. 1,2)
Opening: 657 A Mighty Fortress is Our God (vv. 3,4)
HOD: WOV 752 I, the Lord of Sea and Sky
Offering: 858 O Father, All Creating
Communion: 770 What a Friend We Have in Jesus / 550 Lamb of God
Recessional: C-176 Freely, Freely

08/09/2026

Sermon title: Divine Understanding
Sermon text: Job 38: 4

Thought for the week: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46: 10

Psalm: 18: 1-3, 6
1st reading: Job 38: 4-18
GO: Matthew 14: 22-33

Entrance: 790 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (vv. 1-3)
Opening: 790 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (vv. 4-5)
HOD: HFFG 454 Trust and Obey (vv. 1,3,4)
Offering: 829 Christ the Eternal Lord
Communion: WOV 784 You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore / 707 Oh, That the Lord Would Guide My Ways
Recessional: 729 I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus (vv. 1,4,6)

07/31/2026

07/27/2026

This devotion last week reminded me of our beautiful cross from Dave Johnson outside our office door! I invite you to read it and enjoy! https://www.odbm.org/en/devotionals/devotional-category/anchored-in-god?ts=1784851200000