St. John's Lutheran Church - LCMS Sullivan, WI

09/06/2026

September 6, 2026; Fifteenth Week After Pentecost; Seeking The Lost

Happy Labor Day Weekend & Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, WI!

As we gather:
Although the attention of many is distracted on this Labor Day weekend, the focus of the Readings is clear. We have a Savior who has come to find the lost and restore them through forgiveness, and we have a purpose in speaking this Gospel to the whole world.

This is not an easy calling. The lost often do not want to be found, and the wicked are content in their ways. We act not as self-appointed guardians of the truth but as instruments of God, through whom He speaks His Word of love to the lost and erring and by whom they are saved.

The most difficult application is always to those who have fallen from the faith into error or sin. Our greatest temptation is to surrender them to their error or sin. Our greatest calling is to address them with the voice of God’s Word through whom the Spirit works to restore the lost.

Today we pray that we will not be distracted from this goal and purpose.

Sermon: Matthew 18:1–20; Seeking the Lost
https://youtu.be/RcYjfhvDdL4
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Happy Labor Day Weekend & Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden L...

08/30/2026

August 30, 2026; Fourteenth Week After Pentecost; Formed to Follow

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
One of the areas of traditional historical study that has changed greatly in recent years is cartography, the science of mapmaking and map reading. Fewer people these days depend on the once-common foldout paper maps that were in use everywhere years ago. Directions to desired destinations are now often supplied by satellite imagery.

Whatever technology is used, it is still important to be able to follow the instructions given with the map for it to be used successfully. Following is vital! On several occasions, Jesus says to those who would be His disciples very simply and straightforwardly, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19; Luke 9:59). Those who followed Him found renewal and blessing. As we follow His leading through our worship, we are renewed and blessed.

Sermon: Matthew 16:21-28; Formed to Follow
https://youtu.be/q5OOVPxrm5s
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

08/24/2026

August 23, 2026; Thirteenth Week After Pentecost; Therefore

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
Sometimes people at worship are seemingly surprised when the same hymn is sung at services two weeks in a row or even twice in the same month. Many hymns are chosen in a
way that honors the statement of Martin Luther: “A good song may well be sung often” (WLS § 1839).

Luther expressed this truism as he was commenting on how frequently telling and retelling the grace of God is a good thing for Christian people. He states in a sermon from 1537: “This is grace: the forgiveness of sins for the sake of the Lord Christ, the covering up of all sins” (WLS § 1839).

Our lives are shaped by the amazing grace of God, for which, through our faithful worship, we offer our thanks again and again!

Sermon: Romans 11:33-12:8; “Therefore”
https://youtu.be/z4FqV820S9s
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

08/16/2026

August 16, 2026; Pentecost 12; Joy at the Crossroads

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
In today’s Gospel, our Lord Jesus moved beyond His ministry initially among the Jews now to the Gentile woman of Canaan. The miracle greater than the healing of her daughter was her great faith in Jesus addressing Him, saying, “Lord, help me” (Matthew 15:25). Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said He would bring “foreigners” to His “house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:6–7). Here He gives “many blessings even though we are undeserving” (Prayer of the Day). The early church learned how the Gentiles are grafted into Israel, making the Christian Church the fulfillment of the true Israel, God’s people! The outreach of the Gospel of Christ continues through His church, calling all people “that He may have mercy on all” (Romans 11:32). Because of God’s effective call, you can have steadfast confidence in His loving kindness and mercy.

Sermon: Matthew 15:21-28; Joy at the Crossroads
https://youtu.be/RQWwrNC88hM
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

****We appreciate your patience as we work through the blank screen display in the video.****

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

08/09/2026

August 9, 2026; 11th week after Pentecost; A Good View

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
The only way a sinful human being can dare to approach and worship an almighty God is if we also know that He is a God of mercy. God’s mighty power is known from the vastness of His creation, the stars and seas, light and darkness, tempests and storms (Job 38). “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).

Yet we are told, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you” (Isaiah 30:18). This “almighty and most merciful God” (Prayer of the Day) showed both His might and mercy when He became aware of His disciples’ peril on a storm-tossed sea.

Walking on water wasn’t the point. It was the Lord’s coming to save us in our fear and distress (Matthew 14). As the catechism says of God’s commandments, “We should fear and love God.” We can trust the God who has harnessed His wrath with His love. Greater love has no one than the God who joined us in our misery, took our sin upon Himself, and died our death but now is risen to save us from every evil that threatens us or makes us afraid.

Sermon: Matthew 14: 22-33; A Good View
https://youtu.be/VvmP8qF6jxY
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

08/09/2026

August 2, 2026; Tenth Week After Pentecost; The Feast of the Lord

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
After a meal, does your family pray Psalm 136:1, “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever”? That short prayer is not just a reminder to say “thank You” to God, who provides daily bread for our bodies. It also repeats why God provides, specifically, because of “His steadfast love.” In fact, if you pray that entire psalm, it lists the many ways God provides for all our needs of body and soul.

The rich Hebrew word translated “steadfast love” reflects not only God’s general attitude but also His mighty acts and deeds to provide for His people’s entire lives and well-being. Jesus’ provision of food for the people in the wilderness (Matthew 14) as well as “our daily bread” call to the mind of faith His ultimate gift of love, the forgiveness of our sins.

As the prophet Isaiah speaks of the “rich food” God provides “that your soul may live” (Isaiah 55:2–3), so the humble Meal of bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Altar causes us to remember the greatest work of our Lord’s steadfast love on the cross. At the altar, we receive the very substance of God’s steadfast love that enlivens and strengthens a steadfast faith that will endure until we are welcomed to the great and promised heavenly feast of eternal life.

Sermon: Isaiah 55:1–5; Matthew 14:13–21; The Feast of the Lord
https://youtu.be/SANqWDJpo90
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

08/09/2026

July 26, 2026; Pentecost 9; More, More, More – In Christ

As We Gather:
Classic infomercials famously told us, “But wait; there’s more!” in a maneuver to get us to buy. But there’s nothing wrong with you that something from an infomercial can fix. That is not to say there is nothing wrong with you; there most definitely is. Your sin hurts you and others. Death is a sinner’s birthright. You are in the devil’s crosshairs. But the solution isn’t for sale. It is the free grace of Jesus Christ, won at a price as He offers His life for yours. In Him, you have victory over sin. But wait; there’s more! In Christ, death and darkness are defeated enemies. No matter the evils you face, you are more than a conqueror, held securely in the love of Christ, who conquers for you.

Sermon: Romans 8:28-39; More, More, More – In Christ
https://youtu.be/_bALVA9YqG4
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

07/20/2026

July 19, 2026; Pentecost 8; Hope In The Harvest

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
If you have ever done a load of laundry, then you know what it feels like to come up one sock short. It is almost like some troublemaker climbed into the dryer and left only one lonesome sock behind. Our laundry is incomplete. We don’t have everything we are supposed to have, everything we started with. Our frustration grows. If we truly took stock of our lives, we would evaluate ourselves as missing more than a sock or two.

Sabotaged by the enemy and suffering from our own failures, we feel frustrated and incomplete. But perfection is coming. God’s perfect Word is here to speak your forgiveness. His perfect heart pursues lost souls. And His perfect plan includes His return to make all things right.

Sermon: Romans 8:18-30; Through Groaning to Glory
https://youtu.be/oJQ7C5LZ9qM
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

07/12/2026

July 12, 2026; Seventh Week After Pentecost; No Longer Slaves

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
“Good news; the adoption is final. You are part of the family! Sweet words for an orphaned heart. Except you and I were never orphaned in the eyes of God. No, we were far worse off than that. Rather than growing up without a parent, we were being raised under the devilish thumb of fear. Not orphans, but slaves to evil. Which makes the Gospel even sweeter.

In Christ, your fate has been reversed. You are no longer a slave, and you have been given a family. The Word of God in worship today declares your home is with Christ who welcomes you as brother and fellow heir. May today be a rich reunion as you gather among your fellow sisters and brothers in the family of God!

Sermon: Romans 8:12-17; Adopted in Christ
https://youtu.be/VFSkgjU2h1U
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...

07/05/2026

July 5, 2026; Sixth Sunday After Pentecost; A Slave to Sin

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin!

As We Gather:
The secular calendar seems always to try to overshadow the Church Year. The rhythm of the church and her time cycles apart from such holidays. We do not ignore Independence Day weekend and yet we do not allow it to overwhelm the Good News of Christ that transcends all things.

Today our Lord contrasts the wisdom of the world with the hidden wisdom of God—something a child can discern by faith. Because our Lord has accomplished all things for us and our salvation, we rejoice in His easy yoke. We wait upon the Lord, putting our trust neither in flesh and blood nor in princes or earthly powers but in Christ alone. This promise of rest in Christ is given not to the few but to all who come heavy laden with sin, guilt, shame, sorrow, and death.

No wonder the little child understands! Thanks be to God.

Sermon: Romans 7:14-25a; A Slave to Sin
https://youtu.be/pEsCzyEjNts
Copyright license #2750596; Streaming Plus license #21335105

Thank you for joining us in worship today! We pray the Word of God will strengthen your relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To all of our visitors, if you are in need of a church home we hope you have found it with us here.

Welcome to St. John's Lutheran - Golden Lake/Sullivan, Wisconsin! ...