St. Stephen Lutheran Church

06/02/2026

Three in One

06/02/2026

This sermon takes us deep into the mystery of God's triune nature and the earth-shattering significance of Christ's resurrection. We're reminded that some realities are meant to inspire awe rather than be fully comprehended. Just as we stand amazed before the ocean's power or a mountain's majesty, we should approach the Trinity with wonder, recognizing we're encountering something beyond human mastery. The sermon unpacks Peter's Pentecost message from Acts 2, showing how the resurrection proves Jesus is both Lord and Christ. What's striking is the journey from 'woe' to 'wow' that the crowd experienced. They realized they had killed the very one God sent to save them, yet that same death became their salvation because it was God's appointed plan all along. Their worst sin became the means of their redemption. This paradox speaks to our own lives: the sins we try to rationalize or minimize are the very things Christ died to forgive. Through baptism in the triune name, we're claimed by this mysterious, majestic God who doesn't leave us in our woe but transforms it into wonder. We're invited to see the sign of the cross not as condemnation but as comfort, to remember that our risen Lord lives not to shame us but to set us free.

00:00 -

05/29/2026

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

05/28/2026

In these pentecost days God has spoken, once for all, through His Son.

05/26/2026

What does it truly mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? The events of Pentecost challenges our modern assumptions about spiritual fullness. We discover that being Spirit-filled isn't about emotional experiences, charismatic energy, or mystical feelings—it's about being filled with Jesus through His Word. The dramatic events of Acts 2 reveal something beautiful: when Jesus ascended, He poured out His Spirit with wind, fire, and tongues to accomplish one central purpose—to fill His church with the Gospel. The prophecy from Joel comes alive as we realize that all believers are now prophets, not because we can tell the future, but because we have God's complete Word and can speak it in faith. Every time we confess the creed, sing a hymn, or share the Gospel, we're prophesying. The Spirit works like a spotlight operator in a theater—we never think about the person running the light because our eyes are fixed exactly where they should be: on Jesus. This transforms how we understand our faith journey. We're not seeking special experiences or secret revelations; we're being filled with the sweet wine of the Gospel that gives us visions of the new creation, dreams of resurrection, and hope that energizes us to witness. In a world of many languages and nations, right in our own neighborhoods, we have the one tongue of Pentecost: the message that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

00:00 -

05/21/2026

Jesus will fulfill His work in the church.

05/20/2026

Jesus is fulfilling His work in the church and in you.

05/19/2026

Jesus' forgiveness is your fullness.

05/18/2026

https://youtu.be/nbpxOeMve0g

This mighty God who has gone up, as the Psalm says, with a shout, with the sound of a trumpet, this glorious king who has placed all things under his feet, is a man, your brother who has gone where he has promised to bring you.

Jesus' fullness is your forgiveness and his forgiveness is your fullness. He supplies all that is lacking. He has finished what he has started and now he's ascended on high to fill all things, especially to fill his church, to fill and to fulfill you.

00:00 -

05/12/2026

Let your love and hope be beacon