Faith Lutheran - Sharpsburg

You were an object of God's wrath. Today, you're a saint, loved by the Father on the same playing field as Jesus himself. This All Saints Day message from 1 John 3 looks at what we were, what we are, and what we will be, all through the lens of a love so otherworldly it seems to come from another planet. Life as God's child may look lowly now, but you will see Jesus face to face, because the grave doesn't get the last word. He does.Sermon preached by pastor Behm on November 1, 2026.Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

On this Reformation Sunday, Jeremiah 23 shows the difference between false prophets, who tell people what they want to hear, and true ones, who have stood in God’s counsel and speak his word faithfully. That temptation hasn’t gone away: our own hearts will offer reasons, even loving-sounding ones, to soften, excuse, or ignore what God says. But God has written his law on our hearts and sealed a new covenant of forgiveness in Jesus, giving us a peace no false prophet can offer. Next to that word, human opinion is straw beside grain, and God’s word remains a fire and a hammer that breaks rock in pieces.Sermon preached at Faith by Pastor Schroeder on October 25, 2026.Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

What are you building your life on? In this message from Matthew 7, Jesus’ story of two builders, two houses, one storm, and two destinies drives home that the only thing that matters when the storm hits is the foundation. Self-improvement and “just try harder” are sand that will collapse under the storm of God’s judgment and the storms of everyday life. But Jesus took the full force of that storm on the cross and walked out of the tomb as the solid rock, so you can face anything with joy, peace, and confidence and go build away.Sermon Preached by Pastor Behm at Faith on October 18, 2026Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

A king throws the wedding banquet of the century, and the invited guests refuse to come. In Jesus’ parable from Matthew 22, the king doesn’t cancel the party but sends his servants to the street corners to invite anyone they find. That’s us: once outsiders, now guests, because someone brought us the invitation of a lifetime. And now God sends us out to invite others, good or bad, until his banquet hall is full.Vicar Lindemann’s sermon preached at Faith on October 11, 2026Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

If this life were all there is, how would you live? In this sermon on Philippians 3, which opens the new series "The Beginning of the End," we follow Paul in picturing the life of faith as a race, one we've already won because Jesus ran it perfectly and hung his medal around our necks. So we run free from guilt over what's behind us and free from comparison with those beside us. We keep our eyes on the finish line, where our Savior waits, because our citizenship is in heaven.Pastor Behm’s sermon preached at Faith on October 4, 2026Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

When the leaders of Jerusalem challenge Jesus' authority in the temple, he answers with a parable about two sons: one who refuses his father but later goes to work in the vineyard, and one who says "Yes, sir" but never goes (Matthew 21:23–32). The hard truth is that we have been both sons. But there is a third Son who said yes and went all the way to the cross (Philippians 2), and his obedience gives us a righteousness we could never perform. That's why the message of the kingdom has always been not "obey" but "believe," and why forgiven sinners gladly walk into the Father's vineyard.Pastor Schroder’s sermon preached at Faith on September 27, 2026.Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

Drawing on Peter's question about how often to forgive and Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18), the sermon contrasts our grudging, conditional forgiveness with God's radical, limitless grace. God has cancelled an incalculable debt of sin through Christ's death on the cross–not merely showing mercy, but wiping the slate clean and remembering our sins no more. Because we've received that kind of forgiveness, we're called to extend the same grace to those who've hurt us, releasing them (and ourselves) from the prison of the past.Pastor Schroeder’s sermon preached at Faith on September 13, 2026Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

We build gods we're comfortable with — laid-back about sin, easy to please. Then we open Scripture and meet the real one: holier than we expect, and far more merciful than we deserve. Through the story of Jonah and Nineveh, this message uncovers a God who takes sin seriously enough to warn a violent empire of judgment — and loves deeply enough to forgive it the moment it turns back, no conditions attached. Mercy that isn't earned. Just given.Pastor Schroder’s sermon preached at Faith on September 6, 2026Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

Peter made the boldest confession in the Gospels: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And then, moments later, he tried to talk Jesus out of the cross. This sermon on Matthew 16:21-26 sets Peter's glory-first way side by side with Jesus' cross-first way, and asks which one is actually shaping your life.Pastor Behm’s sermon preached at Faith on August 30, 2026.Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz

Who is God and what is he really like? In Exodus 34, God himself answers that question by revealing that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. That mercy of God reaches its fullest expression in Jesus Christ. Through Christ, Baptism, and Holy Communion, God continues to assure sinful people that he has forgiven them, loves them, and will never leave them.Vicar Lindemann’s sermon preached at Faith on August 23, 2026.Intro/Outro Music: “Depth of Field” by David Hilowitz