GSLCVA Podcast

God forbids the use of the occult to “find answers” when darkness overwhelms us. Why? As Pastor Johann explains in this message, it’s because God knows what’s best for us and has given us prophetic voices to speak His truth. Jesus, the Word of God, spoke with true prophetic power, with authority, and speaks to us still through the Bible. Many people do not listen to Jesus. But with Peter, we proclaim, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Alleluia!  And at the end of the sermon, please enjoy this weeks Hymn of the day as you reflect on the message

In today’s gospel, Jesus uses agricultural language to talk wheat and weeds—just as he did in last week’s parable of planting seeds and soil. People who grew up with the farm as part of their life may not easily grasp why the farmer in Jesus’ parable would allow the weeds to continue to grow alongside his wheat. Here’s the wonderful thing about Jesus’ parables: they always contain an unusual twist. And even though the title of this sermon is “God: The Crazy Farmer . . . Again,” we’ll hear in this sermon that our farmer isn’t crazy – despite what today’s farmers may think – when He tells his disciples to “let both (the wheat and the weeds) grow together until the harvest.” We’ll also see that we are called to “till and keep” our covenant with God, to be beautiful and loyal in an imperfect world.    

The voice is a powerful thing, admired by untold millions purchasing music or sitting breathlessly awaiting the winners of "American Idol" or "The Voice." Join Pastor James as he challenges us to hear the Spirit's voice – the source and means of our hope for this life and the next.

Join us this Ascension Sunday as Pastor Johann provides us a refresher on what our mission should be…right here, right now. Often, it is easy to get lost in the details of day-to-day activities and forget our purpose. We ask the wrong questions, emphasize the wrong things, and don't move on with the mission He has assigned us. Christ is everywhere he is here and now, calling us to be witnesses. Are you ready to tend His flock? If not now, when?

When God chose to love us, it was His choice. Join Pastor James as he discusses how because of God's choosing us we are empowered and filled with His love and must then resolve to live out that same love each and every day of our lives.

The linkage between our love for each other and God's love for us is a distinctly Christian message from today's epistle reading. Join us today as Pastor Johann discusses how God is love, love is an action of God, and love is an example through Jesus's atoning sacrifice for our sins. When we abide in God by loving each other, God's purpose in loving us in completed. We are saved by Christ and are assured of this by loving as He did.

Anyone can say, "I love you." Words are cheap and the meaning can be lost. Even today as Christians, we use the same phrase. What is the Christian meaning of love? Join Pastor James as he delves into our response to God's great love as we seek to define Christian love through the lives we live.

Have you ever wondered, "What is the point of the Resurrection?" Is it simply about Jesus' offering of peace? Join Pastor Johann as he discusses the Resurrection. It happened because the Messiah was meant to suffer and to rise from the dead; it provides a basis for us to wake up and ask for repentance and forgiveness of sins; and finally it allows us to proclaim this message and bear witness of the good news of the Resurrection.

"Peace be with you," Jesus said to His disciples locked behind doors. Join Pastor James as he discusses today's Gospel. Assuring us that with Jesus' peace-bearing presence, we have a secure foundation in a Savior who accepts us as and where we are.

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Throughout Lent, we have heard a drumbeat call from God to return to Him, and today we rejoice that this call was issued so that we might have life in abundance through the One who lived, died, and rose again to secure our salvation. Join Pastor Johann as he discusses how we are called to come and see the Christ; to see the salvation won for us; to see the life that He has secured; and to see the Word that we are to share with others.

The author of creation hangs on the cross, wracked with pain and writhing in agony. It is almost unbearable to look on this scene, and yet without it we would be lost forever, still trapped in our sins. As we gather tonight to remember the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for each of us, may we focus on the One who is the way and the truth and the life, even Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Join us this Maundy Thursday as Pastor Johann discusses how Jesus invites us to join Him at the Table. He repeats this invitation repeatedly, because He feeds us in order to build us up and strengthen our faith. His invitation draws us into a place where we have fellowship with all believers. Yet, our fellowship is stained by sin. To remedy our sin Jesus gives us His own body and blood with a promise, to make all things new and share the fruit of the vine with Christ Himself.

Today is Palm|Passion Sunday, it is one of the more cluttered and confusing liturgical days of the church year. In celebration of Palm|Passion Sunday, today we remember a parade deliberately staged by Jesus. Join Pastor James as he focuses on the cheers of Hosanna during that parade, shortly followed by the jeers of the crucifixion on Good Friday. The parade and crucifixion both unwittingly show humankind's part in highlighting God's great love for each of us as sinners.

What does Jesus mean when he refers to "the kingdom of God?" Pontius Pilate wrestled with this exact question asking, "What is truth?" How do we navigate the waters of worldly authority and stay true to the eternal authority of God? Join us today as Pastor James discusses how Jesus is our King in a way that no earthly authority could ever comprehend. He loves and provides for His subjects, leads by example, and offers Himself to ensure the salvation of His people.

In today's Gospel reading, some Greeks come to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and say, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." They wanted to see Jesus, which in John's gospel, is closely connected with believing. Join Pastor James as we, on our journey to the cross, come to understand that in the end, you don't have to see Jesus in a physical sense to come to know Jesus through faith.

Join us this Lenten Wednesday as Pastor Johann discusses Peter's denials of Jesus. Like Peter, we too may shrink from our faith. The pressures of living in a culture that does not recognize Jesus as Lord and God can be significant and may lead us to soft-pedal our beliefs or even to outright deny Jesus. However, Jesus will have the last word. He will forgive us, restore us, and send us out with a task to complete. He calls us to return to Him, to return from denial.

In today's gospel, John 3:16, Jesus articulates, as Luther says, "the Gospel in a nutshell." God is fundamentally a God of love, love is the logic by which the kingdom of God runs, and God's love trumps everything else; even justice, in the end. Join Pastor James as he speaks to how frightening it can be to be so utterly dependent on God, and understanding that it is about God's boundless love in the gift and exaltation of Jesus Christ.

Join us this Lenten Wednesday when Pastor James discusses Judas's betrayal and where the sin of false witness prevails. The false witness of Jesus' sham trial is evident, however ours is seldom so. In what ways do we bear false witness? How do our failures lead us away from God? God calls us to turn from our sin, to look to Him, and to find our rest and identity in Him. When we do, Jesus takes our sins—even our false witness against Him—and offers us forgiveness.

The true power of the cross can be hard to see. In religious culture, it is an icon, yet in the first century, it was a gruesome capital punishment device. Join us as Pastor Johann discusses the message of the cross. To those perishing it is foolish; to those being saved, it is the power of God. The cross shows us the broad love of God, reminds us that God's ways are not worldly ways, and points to grace and unto salvation.

Join us as Pastor Johann explores betrayal, specifically the ways that we betray one another and Jesus through our denials and rejection of faith. We live in a culture that prides itself on rejecting the morality that Jesus taught. Whether it is failing to acknowledge our faith or embracing our own sinful urges, it is too easy to turn away from God and betray Jesus. Yet Jesus did not avoid betrayal and accepted the consequences to ensure that all who believe in Him are free.