St Marcus Mke Sermons

We are in the 2nd half of our summer series on Romans. The Apostle Paul has clearly established that salvation comes as the gift of Christ Jesus, not through pedigree (who you are) or performance (what you do). The natural response for some listeners was to say, “Well, I guess what I do in my life doesn’t make any difference then. Are you saying my sins don’t matter?” Paul is directly addressing that logic this week and it’s supremely practical. Paul confronts everything you’ve ever been disgusted with in yourself or others in licentious, lukewarm, standardless Christianity. And he teaches us that if we are “United to Christ” we become instruments of righteousness. Join us this week as we examine Romans 6:5-14.  

This week we begin our 2nd half of the series on Romans. The Apostle Paul is shifting from making the radical statement that we are saved by grace (NOT performance or pedigree) through faith in chapters 1-4 to now teaching about how that impacts our present lives in chapters 5-8. This week we’ll learn 4 distinct and amazing implications of the Christian gospel as we worship under the theme “What Justification Brings” and study Romans 5:1-11.

Every human wants acceptance, love, and appreciation. In this world, we’re convinced we’ll have to work for it. That’s how the world operates - meritocracy. So we work hard at something on which all our hope rests. The Apostle Paul would call that life pursuit our “boast.” And if we achieve what we’re working for, we become proud. If we fail at what we’re working for, we start self-loathing. Both of those are dangerous. But what if there was a validation we could receive that would make us confident, but not arrogant? Humble in success but also content even after failure. The gospel offers exactly that. It’s what Abraham needed. It’s what David need. And Paul will teach us this week that we need it too as we study Romans 4:1-8.

At the center of all biblical doctrine is Paul’s Letter to the Romans. And at the center of Romans is the notion of gifted “RIGHTEOUSNESS,” perhaps the most under-comprehended, underappreciated teaching of the Bible. This week we’ll do our most thorough study of this concept of “The Righteousness of the Gospel” as we examine Romans 3:21-31.

In Romans, Paul teaches that the good news of Jesus is the only one-size-fits-all solution for humanity. Last week we established that the gospel is the thing that the pagan world desperately needs. The bad behaviors in society come when people suppress the truth of God and exchange it for a love of created things. This week, Paul teaches about another form of idolatry – a religious idolatry. Consequently, though they tend to be shocked by this revelation, religious people need the gospel just as much as the pagans. Paul will expound on this truth as we study Romans 2:17-29.

Humanity’s greatest need is reconciliation to the God we’ve rebelled against. Last week, the Apostle Paul told us that this reconciliation cannot come through man’s work, but only through Christ’s gift. This week, Paul adds the thought that the pagan world is not inherently interested in this “good news” of Jesus. This world inherently knows the truths of God, but suppresses those inconvenient truths, choosing to worship created things rather than a Creator God. And this idolatry drives all the bad behavior we see in the world, including our own. As we study Romans 1:18-25 this week, however, we’ll see what God does to solve the problem.

This summer we’re going to be working our way through the first half of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, which is considered by many scholars to be the most foundational of Christian writings. It is here that the Apostle Paul, who is the primary human agent that God uses to record the New Testament, lays out the essence of the gospel in the most comprehensive form. This week, as we hear Paul stating that he is not “ashamed” of the gospel, we’ll be looking at the natural offense the message of Jesus is to human flesh, which is further proof as to why we need that gospel. The start to our series will be a study of Romans 1:16-17.

This is our final week in the series and we’ll be worshipping under the theme “Merely Human Messengers.” This week we examine a fascinating account from Acts 14:8-21 in which the pagans in the city of Lystra don’t know what to make of Christian missionaries Paul and Barnabas. In fact, after witnessing a miracle, they start worshipping them as gods. This week we’ll examine what we can learn from this for our own witness.

Our theme for this week is “Paul’s Early Preaching.” When it comes to witnessing, an area where many Christians get stuck is in debating peripherals – aspects of the sanctified life God intends for his people. In reality, the most important point of discussion is “Did Jesus rise?” Our willingness to submit to his will all hinges on whether or not he’s God. The Apostle Paul is excellent about always staying on task and we too can learn how to stay focused in spiritual discussions as we study Acts 13:26-44.

Our theme for this week is “What the Church Did.” In Chapter 11, after hearing three stories of conversion, we start to understand that the gospel is moving full force out into the Gentile world. Perhaps the best example of that is the church in Antioch under the leadership of Barnabas. Studying that location and that guy will give us a fantastic insight in how the Holy Spirit seeks to work through his churches in the city today. This week’s message comes from Acts 11:19-30.

Our theme for this week is “The Conversion of Saul.” The Book of Acts tells us a great deal about conversion. Conversion is an essential part of Christianity. And while in one sense, our hearts are converted only once, in another sense, as our sinful unbelief it’s perpetually being fought by the Spirit, our hearts are continually converting. Saul of Tarsus, who turns from persecutor of Christians to famous missionary is perhaps the most famous conversion in history and there’s a ton to learn as we study Acts 9:10-19. 

Our theme for this week is “Philip and a Foreigner.” The Book of Acts tells us the story of the Early Christian Church. By and large, what the Spirit of God moved the early Christians to believe and do would seemingly fully apply to us still today. This includes things like gospel proclamation, conversion, discipleship, communal love and healing, etc. In the second quarter of Acts, we see numerous stories of conversion that should shape the way we understand Christianity, and inspire us to deeper discipleship, particularly extending ourselves into the lives of those drastically different from us. This week, we find an early church leader (Philip) evangelizing a highly talented, but spiritual lost foreigner (an Ethiopian eunuch.) There’s much to learn as we study Acts 8:26-40.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Coming as King.” The Bible is filled with irony at its most crucial moments. When God becomes human at Christmas, he’s born in a barn, lower than most humans. When Jesus conquers Satan on Good Friday, it’s not the blood of enemies, but his own blood being poured out. When Jesus rises on Easter Sunday he appears first to women, who don’t legally qualify as witnesses. When God the Spirit evangelizes about Jesus at Pentecost, he does so through Peter, the guy who most famously had denied Jesus. Our salvation is thoroughly ironic, right down to the fact that we are saved by grace, not by works. All that said, I might argue that the event which most clearly teaches this irony, and the subsequent confusion of mankind, is that which takes place on the weekend prior to Holy Week – Jesus Coming as a King into the Holy City. We’ll learn what this teaches us and how to use it this Saturday as we study Matthew 21:1-11.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: The Next Life.” Will we be married in heaven? It’s not a question to which a simple “YES” or “NO” is a sufficient answer. It’s complicated. But it’s also beautiful. And it’s practical. That’s what made it a great test question when the Sadducees presented it to Jesus. His answer is paradigm-shifting. And in the process, Jesus exposes the real issue with the Sadducees, which is one that we unwittingly struggle with just as much. We’ll find out how to leverage the promises of heaven in our daily lives this week as we examine Matthew 22:23-33.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Why Grace and Not Merit.” This week we’re taking a look at one of the most seemingly UNFAIR stories in the Bible. It’s a parable in which Jesus teaches us how His Kingdom works. And it totally exposes our flesh’s inherent dislike of grace. On Saturday we’ll be studying The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard from Matthew 20:1-16.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: How To Forgive.” When defining Christianity, the place you have to start is forgiveness. While this might seem obvious, it’s often forgotten. The fact that we’re bitter comes from holding grudges. This is a lack of forgiveness. The lack of self-esteem we have and the self-loathing that comes from regret. This is a lack of forgiveness. The inability to form and maintain meaningful relationships. Generally speaking, this is a lack of forgiveness. Christianity is nothing if it isn’t forgiveness. But Jesus’ forgiveness offers us life and teaches us how to do life. We’ll learn the practical steps of reconciliation as we study from Matthew 18:15-20.

Pastor Jeske's message from the Feast of St. Patrick service. Acts 18:1-4 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: Sufficient Evidence.” A major factor to our insecurities in life is not as much a lack of evidence/reason to be secure, but a lack of belief despite the evidence. This week, we’ll see Jesus teach the Pharisees about the sufficiency of the “Sign of Jonah.” The death & resurrection of Christ is the ultimate proof that we are loved by God and that God is in control of our lives. Come learn further what this means as we study Matthew 12:38-45.

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: The Necessity of Priority.” A fallen human heart struggles to ascribe value to the right things. We are, by nature, misprioritizers. Since the word “worship” comes from the Old English “worth-ship” (meaning, to ascribe value), we should assume that without the guidance of God’s Word, we’re continually struggling with worshipping the wrong things. We need Word & Sacraments to aim us back in the right direction. Jesus offers a profound teaching on the nature of priorities through two very short parables which we’ll study this week, from Matthew 13:44-46. 

Our theme for this week is “Jesus: The Danger of Rejection and Joy of Reception.” Perhaps the single most common question I get about God as a pastor today is some variation of “How could a loving God send someone to hell?” Closely related to that is the question of if salvation comes through the good news of the gospel, how is it fair that some people seemingly have more access to the gospel than others? It’s an honest and logical question. But it’s also one God has already thought about. While God doesn’t answer every speculation we might have, he always provides reasonable evidence for us to see his wisdom and love. We’ll learn about the nature of God’s judgment this week as we study Matthew 11:20-30.