Claim OwnershipConcordia Sermon Podcast
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© 2026 Concordia Lutheran Church - Texas
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Sermons from the Pastors at Concordia Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX.
201 Episodes
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When we begin to drift, it can chain us to empty tombs. We get caught in life’s currents, stray from loving God and others, and miss Easter’s victory. In a distracting world, we get stuck and lose track of the gratitude we should have for others. Our sense of duty fades as we drift away. Jesus’ resurrection breaks all chains. Jesus honored us by giving everything, including His life, for us. His empty tomb calls us to lives of honor… praising God and respecting others. It brings our duty into focus and unsticks us to live faithfully.
What we dream for our relationships is often not how they turn out. When a relationship falls apart, what gives us the best chance at making things better? Jesus answers, “A tender heart.” Hurt creates hard hearts. But Jesus invites us to choose tenderness rather than hardness.
When Jesus dies, it is not just him who feels forsaken by God. His disciples feel forsaken by God, too. But on Easter, Jesus’ cry of forsakenness melts aways in the reality of his resurrection.
The question Jesus asks his disciples on Palm Sunday is a question that will be a question the disciples get asked: “Why are you doing this” (Mark 11:3)? We have all asked this question of others, especially our kids when they are getting ready to get themselves into trouble. But we also ask it of God: “God, why are you doing this? Why are you taking whatever-my-colt-is from me?” And God’s answer is the same as Jesus’: “Because the Lord needs it.” Sometimes what is taken from us is used for us – for our blessing and benefit.
Our world can be a dark place. From hopelessness and despair to anger and violence: it can be hard to see our way through. But God has broken through the darkness. God shines the light of Christ into our lives. But God does more: He shines the light through our lives, too. We are the light of the world, shining like stars in the universe as we point others to true life!
Even in agony, Jesus sees the people standing near the cross. He sees His mother’s grief and the beloved disciple’s presence. With intention and care, He entrusts them to one another. This word reveals love in action. Jesus creates a new family at the foot of the cross. This sermon speaks to those who feel lonely, displaced, or disconnected. It reminds us that the church is not simply an institution or a program. It is a family given by Jesus, formed by His love, and sustained by His care.
Paradise was God’s idea from the beginning. In the garden, God created a place of life, beauty, and communion with Him. Sin shattered that world and closed the garden gates. Psalm 16 looks ahead with confidence to joy and eternal pleasures in God’s presence. In this midweek service, we hear how Jesus’ promise of paradise on the cross reaches all the way back to creation. What sin closed, the cross reopens. Redemption restores what was lost and fulfills what God promised from the start.
Hanging beside Jesus is a criminal with nothing left to offer. He has no good record, no future plans, and no time to make things right. All he can do is ask Jesus to remember him. Jesus responds with a promise that defies human logic: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This word speaks hope to anyone who believes it is too late for them. Salvation is not earned over time or proven by performance. It is given by grace. Paradise is promised not to the deserving, but to the trusting.
Hanging beside Jesus is a criminal with nothing left to offer. He has no good record, no future plans, and no time to make things right. All he can do is ask Jesus to remember him. Jesus responds with a promise that defies human logic: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This word speaks hope to anyone who believes it is too late for them. Salvation is not earned over time or proven by performance. It is given by grace. Paradise is promised not to the deserving, but to the trusting.
Every marriage brings together two sinners in need of grace. Without forgiveness, resentment grows and distance widens. With forgiveness, healing becomes possible. This week places forgiveness at the center of marriage, not as a technique, but as a gospel necessity. Forgiveness does not ignore pain or pretend sin does not matter. It names the hurt and refuses to let it have the final word. Rooted in the forgiveness we receive from Jesus, this week invites us to see how mercy makes permanence livable and love resilient. Marriage, as God designed it, is not sustained by perfection. It is sustained by grace.
Marriage begins with God’s declaration that it is not good for us to be alone. Before sin enters the world, God creates marriage as a gift marked by unity, commitment, and permanence. In a culture that treats relationships like contracts that last only as long as they benefit us, Scripture presents marriage as a covenant rooted in promise. This week sets the foundation by reframing marriage not as a consumer arrangement, but as a covenant designed to reflect God’s faithful love. Before marriage asks anything of us, it shows us what kind of love God has already given us.
In a culture where millions have walked away from the church, the invitation is not to religion but to rediscover the living Jesus: His identity, His presence, His authority, and His mission.
In a culture where millions have walked away from the church, the invitation is not to religion but to rediscover the living Jesus: His identity, His presence, His authority, and His mission.
Christmas is over. The lights are still up, but the magic is fading fast. And if we are honest, the Christmas story itself gets dark fast. After the wise men leave, an angel warns Joseph to flee. Herod orders the murder of innocent children. Mary and Joseph became refugees in Egypt. This is not the story we put on Christmas cards. Yet it is part of the story of Jesus. God with us does not mean God protects us from every hard thing. It means God is present in every hard thing. This week, as we step into a new year, we will see that even in the darkest moments of the Christmas story, God was faithful. Jesus came into a weary, broken, dangerous world. And He is still with us.
Christmas is here. The waiting is over. The One we have longed for has arrived. His name is Immanuel. God with us. Not God far away. Not God watching from a distance. God with us. Right here. In the mess. In the joy. In the weariness. In the celebration. Jesus is God's promise kept. God's love made visible. God's presence made real. Today we celebrate the greatest gift ever given. A Savior. A King. A Friend. God Himself, wrapped in flesh, laid in a manger, given for us. The weary world rejoices because Immanuel has come. And He will never leave us.
Christmas Eve is the night we have been waiting for. The night heaven touched earth. The night God became flesh and entered our weary world. There was no room in the inn. No grand announcement. No comfort or fanfare. Just a young mother, a newborn King, and a feeding trough. Jesus arrived in the most ordinary, humble way possible. And that is the beauty of it. God did not wait for us to clean up our mess. He came into the mess. He came into the weariness. He came for us. Tonight, we gather to celebrate the arrival of the One who changes everything. The weary world rejoices!
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