Sermon -- For the wedding of Staci Sexton and Jake Chicos (October 24, 2026)

For the wedding of Jacob Chicos and Staci Sexton

LOVE COMMITS TO THE GOOD OF ANOTHER.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-8a

In the name + of Jesus.

     It is probably no surprise that the readings for your wedding focus on love.  What else would be the emphasis of a wedding?  But what kind of love are you thinking of?  Is it the sweep-you-off-your-feet kind of love that you see in a movie?  Maybe.  Is it the kind of romantic scene that you see in a jewelry commercial?  Perhaps.  Is it unbridled passion which carries you away?  Well, certainly not during the ceremony.  While such visions of love sound thrilling, they are also temporary.  No one can sustain the sweep-me-off-my-feet feelings continually.

     If you are interested in a love that persists and remains steadfast, there is only one place you can look.  You look to Jesus Christ whose love for you is not driven by emotions or romance.  Jesus’ love is a commitment he makes for your good.  Love commits to the good of another.

     This is the commitment that our Lord wants you to have toward all people.  When God said, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), he was saying that you should seek the good of all people, no matter who they are or what they have done.  Jesus said, “Love your enemies.  Do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).  Yes, even them.  Love commits to the good of another.

     Of course, you are not marrying your enemy.  You have developed an affection for one another which has led to a desire to be united in marriage.  The command to “Love your neighbor as yourself” becomes a daily commitment.  For who is a closer neighbor than the one you are married to?  You will see each other daily, talk with each other daily, work with each other daily, and wake up to each other daily.  If you are getting married, you should regard all of that as good stuff.  Marriage provides you with a unique opportunity to commit to the good of each other.

     But you are also sinners.  You will see each other daily, but you may see things that annoy you.  You will talk to each other daily, but sometimes those words will be sarcastic and biting.  You will work with each other daily, but you will also discover that your priorities do not always line up.  You will wake up to each other daily, and you may end up restarting an argument that you did not finish the night before.  In short, you will sin against one another.  If love is all about feelings, it may fade quickly.  But St. Paul tells you that the love you are to have is different.  “Love is patient.  Love is kind. …It is not selfish.  It is not irritable.  It does not keep a record of wrongs.  …It bears all things, …endures all things.  Love never comes to an end” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5,7-8).  The love you are to have is not merely an emotional reaction.  Love is the policy.  Love is the commitment to the good of the other.

     So, you will prove to each other that you are sinners.  And since you deal with each other more than anyone else, it is likely that you will end up sinning against each other more than anyone else.  Not that you want to, but you probably will.  So, what hope is there for sinners?  Our hope is found in the one whose love for us is pure and constant.  Our hope is found in the one whose love for us is sacrificial and unconditional.  Our hope is found in the Savior who lived and died so that we can be pardoned of all sin.  Our hope is in the one who loved a world of sinners, even when we lived as his enemies.

     Jesus demonstrates a committed love to you.  The love that Jesus Christ has for you is spelled out by St. Paul.  In fact, you can replace the word “love” in our reading with Jesus and it proves to be true.  “[Jesus] is patient.  [Jesus] is kind.  [Jesus] does not envy.  [He] does not brag.  [He] is not arrogant.  [He] does not behave indecently.  [He] is not selfish.  [He] is not irritable.  [He] does not keep a record of wrongs.  [He] does not rejoice over unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).  Jesus’ love is a commitment to your eternal good.

     Everything Jesus did for you and still does for you is for your eternal good.  St. Paul wrote that Jesus Christ “loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, by cleansing her with the washing of water in connection with the Word.  He did this so that he could present her to himself as a glorious church, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but so that she would be holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:25-27).  The beauty and glory of the Church comes from Jesus Christ.  He is the heavenly Groom who exalts his beloved Bride.  Jesus is committed to the good of the Church.  He lived and died for you to give you what is good for you—forgiveness of sins, new life, and eternal salvation.

     Love commits to the good of another.  The Bible calls for a groom to love his bride as Christ loved the Church.  Jake, you are called to love Staci with a sacrificial, fully-committed devotion for her good.  In response, the bride submits to her groom.  The Church is not degraded by submitting to Christ; she is exalted.  So, Staci, your submission to Jake is not degrading.  Your willing submission means that you receive good things from him, his provision, and his protection.  You get to support him as he gives himself for your good.  In this way, you commit to the good of each other.  The love between Christ and his Church is reflected in the love of husband and wife.  Love commits to the good of another.

     You will need this commitment to make your marriage joyful.  This commitment will serve for your blessing.  You get to live together, talk together, and work together.  You get to laugh together, cry together, and to strengthen and encourage one another in every circumstance of life.  Love is the policy that will uphold you and sustain your union. 

     This is God’s plan for marriage, and it is good.  This is God’s blessing for you, and he is committed to your good.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sermon -- Funeral for Marvin Lester Howatt (October 23, 2026)

For the funeral of Marvin Lester Howatt

(March 7, 1941 – October 9, 2026)

WHAT IS PLANTED IN WEAKNESS SPRINGS UP IN GLORY.

JOHN 12:20-28

In the name + of Jesus.

      Marvin Howatt knew a lot about seeds.  He planted them in hopes of getting a nice crop.  He sold them in hopes of bringing prosperity to farmers.  Marvin Howatt knew a lot about seeds.

     Jesus Christ knew something about seeds, too.  Having grown up in an area known for its agriculture, Jesus was familiar with planting and harvesting.  One of his parables described a sower casting his seed to the ground.  Some seed did not take root.  Other seed began to grow but died off before it matured.  Other seed took root and produced a crop 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.  This seed did what it was designed to do.

     During Holy Week when Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Passover, some Greeks came to Jesus’ disciples with a request.  “Sir, we want to see Jesus” (John 12:21), they said.  When they were introduced to Jesus, we do not hear about Jesus exchanging pleasantries with them.  Jesus immediately told them what he had come for.  “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” (John 12:23).  Then he spoke about seeds.  Actually, Jesus spoke about one seed—himself.  He said, “Amen, Amen, I tell you: Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it continues to be one kernel. But if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24). 

     Jesus is the Seed who died and was planted into the ground.  He is the Seed of the Woman who was promised back in the Garden of Eden.  As soon as sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, and death came upon all mankind because of that sin, God promised a Savior to crush the head of the devil and to rectify everything that was cursed because of sin.  The Seed of the Woman, Jesus, has delivered us from sin by taking up our sins for us.  Jesus has delivered us from the curse of death by enduring the curse on our behalf.  He is the Seed who died and was planted in the earth in burial.  Jesus was laid to rest in weakness—having been beaten and flogged, crowned with thorns, stripped of his garments, and dying a shameful death.  But then Jesus rose from the grave with his body raised immortal, imperishable, and incorruptible.  This is what the promised Seed was designed to do.  The Seed which was planted in weakness has sprung up in glory to live forever. 

     Jesus said that if a seed falls to the ground and dies, it will produce much grain.  Any farmer can testify that this is true.  One kernel of corn that is planted produces a stalk with hundreds of kernels on it.  According to a Google search, the average ear of corn produces about 800 kernels.  That is an incredible yield for one kernel of corn which falls to the earth and dies.  I doubt that every seed that Marvin planted in the ground was successful, but he certainly gained far more than he planted.

     Jesus has had far better success as the Seed who was sown into the earth.  Jesus rose from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  Jesus is the firstfruits, and millions will follow at the final harvest.  The final harvest will come on the Last Day, and on that day, what is planted in weakness springs up in glory.

     We will follow the same path that has been laid out by Jesus.  In this world, we live in weakness and humility.  Certainly, weakness was evident in the final weeks of Marvin Howatt.  He had declined from what he once was.  He once was very active in the congregation, serving in many different areas, and in the community, serving with 4-H and the Wabasha County Fair Board.  He was once vibrant, active, and strong—riding and grooming snowmobile trails and hunting deer and turkey.  But as time goes by, as it does for all of us, the body’s strength and vibrance fade.  Activity gives way to frailty.  All this is because of sin which corrupts every body, mind, and heart.  Finally, the body gives out, and it is sown in weakness.

     But just as Jesus Christ has taken away Marvin’s sin, so he will also deliver Marvin from the grave.  The Seed of the Woman has conquered sin, death, and the devil as promised.  Jesus Christ has authority over the grave.  On the Last Day, he will summon all the dead out of the grave.  No one will be left behind.  Those who have been clothed in Jesus’ righteousness will be raised up to live forever.  At his baptism, Marvin was clothed in Jesus’ righteousness.  By the sacrament of the altar, Marvin was sustained in the true faith unto life everlasting.  Even if you recognized Marvin’s decline in old age, that is not his eternal future.  What is planted in weakness will spring up in glory.

     St. Paul wrote of the body that springs up in glory.  He wrote, “What you sow is not made alive unless it dies.  And what you sow is not the body that will be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain.  But God gives it a body of the kind he wanted it to have, and to each of the seeds he gives its own body.  …That is the way the resurrection of the dead will be.  What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.  It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory.  It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  It is sown as a natural body; it is raised as a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:36-38,42-44).  What is planted in weakness springs up in glory.  Marvin Howatt will be raised by Jesus with a body like Jesus’ risen body.  He will forever be strong, vibrant, and active.  He will find joy in serving the Lord in the heavenly kingdom.  He has already joined the choirs of saints and angels.  This is the glory that Jesus has won for him, and we will see that glory with our own eyes at the resurrection on the Last Day.  Because Jesus lives, Marvin Howatt will live again and live forever.

     When the Greeks wanted to see Jesus, Jesus declared that he would soon be glorified.  The glory of Jesus is that he saves sinners.  He lived for us.  He died for us.  He rose for us.  And he promises us, “Where I am, there my servant will be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26).  Marvin Howatt was a servant of Jesus Christ.  No, wait.  Let me correct that: Marvin Howatt IS a servant of Jesus Christ.  He has gone to be with Jesus.  The Father honors him.  The Holy Spirit who dwelt in him will raise him back from death to life.  What is planted in weakness will spring up in glory. 

     Marvin Howatt knew a lot about seeds.  He also believed in the Seed of the Woman who redeemed him and set him apart for the glories of heaven.  The promised Seed was sown and has sprung to life to produce much fruit.  He guarantees that Marvin Howatt will spring up in glory.  He guarantees your glory, too. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

YouTube -- Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist (October 18, 2026)

Here is the Divine Service from Sunday, October 18, 2026.  My apologies for the feedback on the mic at the beginning of the service.

Sermon -- Festival of St. Luke, Evangelist (October 18, 2026)

ST. LUKE WROTE THE HISTORY SO YOU CAN HAVE CERTAINTY.

LUKE 1:1-4

In the name + of Jesus.

     More and more these days, I am becoming a skeptic.  I wish I did not have to be, but I know that people often tell their stories with an agenda.  Different news outlets can report on the same story, but you would never guess they are covering the same thing.  They report the version of the story that favors their audience.  That is on purpose.  CNN and FOX both know what their audiences are looking for.  To keep their audience, they cater to their political leanings.  Sadly, it is to the point where I will listen to a report and say, “Well, that’s good (or bad)—if it’s true.”

     If you have become more skeptical over time, that is no surprise.  No one wants to be played for a fool.  No one likes being lied to.  So, every story is treated with suspicion.  We learn to be careful.  News is reported, and then we investigate to see if it is accurate or if it is biased.  Sometimes, we have no way of knowing, and that is frustrating.  It is also a terrible way to live, never really trusting anyone. 

     When St. Luke wrote his Gospel, it was written to someone named “Theophilus.”  Theophilus means “Friend of God.”  His Gospel may have been written to Christians in general; for each of us is a “Friend of God.”  But even if St. Luke wrote to a specific individual named Theophilus, his Gospel was intended for Christians everywhere.  I don’t know if Theophilus was a skeptic or not, but St. Luke wrote to remove any doubts about Jesus Christ.  He wrote, “It seemed good to me … to write an orderly account to you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you were taught” (Luke 1:3-4).  St. Luke wrote the history so that you can have certainty.

     The Bible calls Luke a doctor, which he was.  But he was also an incredible historian.  Luke places Jesus firmly in a historical time and place.  This is no “Once upon a time in a land far, far away.”  This is “while Quirinius was governing Syria” (Luke 2:2).  This is “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene—during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas” (Luke 3:1-2).  This is in places like Nazareth, Bethlehem, Capernaum, and Jerusalem.  If this were a mythical tale, Luke would not have named people and places that could be verified.  But Luke presented details.  He logged specific dates.  He labeled specific places.  He named specific people.  St. Luke wrote the history so that you can have certainty.

     Many writers have attempted to teach virtues, morals, and even spiritual insights.  Aesop wrote fables, almost all of which include talking animals.  Aesop’s Fables may help teach morals, but they are fictional.  Mohammed’s writings have no historical placement at all.  They are statements which cannot be verified by any historian.  Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons, claimed to receive his revelation from golden tablets that no one has seen, written in a language that no one had ever heard of.  By contrast, the writers of the Bible included historical and geographical information.  They practically beg you to verify what they are writing.  Historians and archaeologists have vindicated the Biblical record over and over again.  There is no need for skepticism.  The Bible records the history so that you can have certainty.

     Even if people do not believe it, the Bible records some certainties that all people acknowledge.  For example: No one is perfect.  That’s why we have erasures on pencils and delete buttons on our computers.  These can correct our mistakes.  Of course, no one goes to hell for mispronouncing a word or being bad at algebra.  But our imperfections go far beyond grammar, spelling, or math.  The Bible asks, “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin’” (Proverbs 20:9)?  In case you get stuck on that question, the Bible gives you the answer: “There is surely not a righteous man on earth who does good and does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 20:7).  With every spiteful, petty act, with every obscene word, with every unkind or envious thought we sin against our fellow man and against our God.  No one is perfect.  No heart is clean.  No mouth is pure.

     Our sinfulness leads to another certainty: All people die.  The Bible states why: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).  Death is the curse we must suffer because we are sinners.  But there is a greater reason that death fills us with dread.  The Bible reminds us, “It is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  God gave our lives to us, and he holds us accountable for what we think, say, and do.  Since the world he created and the people he put in it were perfect, that is what he still demands of us.  And that is why people are terrified of death.  For, no one is perfect.  No heart is clean.  No mouth is pure.  Death is certain.  Judgment is certain.  And we certainly have earned a sentence of condemnation.

     St. Luke recorded the history of Jesus so that you can be certain of a better future.  St. Luke began his gospel describing how our Lord entered history for the benefit of mankind.  Luke was not merely telling his version of how it may have happened.  Luke testified, “I followed everything closely from the beginning” (Luke 1:3).  The verb suggests that Luke investigated everything.  It seems likely that he interviewed those who were eyewitnesses.  Twice Luke commented that Mary pondered all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19,51).  That suggests that Luke interviewed Mary about all she had seen and heard.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     In fact, Luke had to record these things because the way our Lord entered the world was miraculous.  Mary did not understand it either.  Having heard that she would conceive and give birth to a son, Mary replied, “‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’  The angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:34-35).  The Lord revealed the mystery to Mary so that she could be certain about her inexplicable pregnancy.  St. Luke recorded this so that you can be certain too.  He recorded the mystery not so that you could understand it, but so that you would know it.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     For many, the incarnation of our Lord is offensive and worthy of mockery.  Many also dismiss the accounts of Jesus’ miracles and his teachings.  Unbelief despises everything about Jesus, even things that can be verified.  Some deny that Jesus ever existed.  But ancient historians who have no allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth, such as Josephus and Tacitus, acknowledge that he was a real man and that he was crucified.  St. Luke and all the apostles testify that Jesus’ crucifixion pays for the sins of all, but all who reject Jesus also reject the benefit of Jesus’ saving work and his deliverance from damnation. 

     The skeptic may have questions about Jesus, his teachings, and the entire Bible.  Such questions are not inherently evil; and chances are, you have some of those questions yourself.  Some of Jesus’ teachings are hard.  They may be hard to understand, or they may be hard to put into practice.  If you have questions about such things, you are not alone.  Anyone who is a skeptic craves certainty.  And even the faithful long for greater certainty.

     Beware.  The devil uses that skepticism to seduce you into unbelief.  He speaks through people who challenge you: “You know, if you can’t find a reasonable solution to the mysteries of God, they are not worth your time.  You are too smart to believe such nonsense.”  “You know, the people who challenge God’s word are asking really good questions.  The fact that you do not know how to answer those questions proves that there are no good answers to those questions.  You are a fool to keep on believing the Bible.”  Some of these challenges sound very compelling.  We expect that God’s will and God’s ways should match our own.  We think that everything about God should make sense to us.  We think that God should be like we are. 

     Repent.  It is a lie.  The Bible proves that God is not like us.  And God be praised for that!  We are not as powerful, wise, or merciful as our Lord us.  If we were, we would use our power and wisdom to exalt ourselves.  The Lord uses his power and wisdom for the benefit of sinners.  St. Luke records how God’s mercy is not merely a theory.  God’s mercy is real—displayed in a historical time in a historical place by a historical man, Jesus Christ.  Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.

     Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his apostles, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. … This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations” (Luke 24:44,46-47).  St. Luke recorded how Jesus fulfilled the promises of old.  He recorded how Jesus suffered and died to be the atoning sacrifice for sinners—for the penitent, the skeptic, and even the atheist.  Jesus has paid the price for all sinners and has taken away all sins.  He rose from the dead and “presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs” (Acts 1:3).  Those who were witnesses of all these things suffered torture, persecution, and death rather than deny it.  Jesus sent them into the world to preach about the death that pays for sins and the resurrection that opens heaven to all who believe.  And so that you would have this testimony made known to you, it was written down for your benefit.

     St. Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty.  He testified about a real Jesus who suffered real torment and died a real cursed death for sinners.  He overcame a real death with a real body to bestow real mercy and give real hope to sinners.  This is good.  For our Lord does not come to save theoretical sinners.  He comes for real sinners.  He grants a full pardon for all your sin.  He speaks tenderly to you when your heart is full of doubts.  He reveals his wisdom in the Scriptures to answer your questions about life and death, good and evil, wisdom and foolishness.  Not being able to trust anyone is a terrible way to live.  God be praised!  You don’t have to, not with God and his word.  St. Luke recorded the history so that you can have certainty of the facts, comfort for your spirit, and confidence on the Last Day.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Traveling with the Schroeders -- Iowa Trip in the Fall

Friday, October 16 happened to be a day on which the calendar was open.  When it was discovered that there was a Laura Ingalls Wilder museum in Burr Oak, Iowa and that their last tours for the season were this weekend, the Schroeders headed south to Iowa.

We toured the hotel in where the Ingalls family lived and at which they worked for about a year.  Since it was not that long of a tour, we journeyed toward the Mississippi River and went hiking at Effigy Mounds National Monument.  After that, we continued a little south to Pikes Peak State Park to enjoy the overlook there.  The walk to the overlook was much easier than the uphill bluff hike at Effigy Mounds.  Both had great views of the river valley though.

Once we left Pikes Peak State Park, we decided to walk through McGregor, Iowa.  Unfortunately, it seems most shops were not going to be open until Saturday.  After that, we returned to Marquette (home of the pink elephant wearing a top hat--see below) and crossed the river into Prairie du Chein, Wisconsin.  

After a late lunch/early supper, we drove the Wisconsin side of the river to La Crosse, came back to Minnesota, and then back up highway 61 to Lake City.  

Some photos.

Worship Notes: Stepping on Holy Ground

Some ceremonies in church are obvious.  We kneel at the altar to receive the body and blood of our Lord.  We may cross ourselves at various places in the service.  We stand to confess our faith according to the Creed for the day.

Some ceremonies are less obvious.  Worse, they may be misunderstood or cause confusion.

You may have noticed that the pastor does not begin the service at the altar, but rather near the communion railing.  If you've wondered why, the answer follows.

The ceremony of not approaching the altar has as its roots the practice of Israel's high priest on the Day of Atonement.  On that day, and only on that day, the high priest entered into Holy of Holies--the very presence of God.  The high priest was not allowed to enter the Holy of Holies without blood.  First, he filled the room with clouds of incense.  So, even when he entered God's presence, it was hidden to an extent by a cloud.  Then the high priest brought in the blood of a goat which was slain for his sin.  Once the high priest's sin was atoned for, he could stand in God's presence and make atonement for that nation with more blood.  Even though God had granted him access to his presence, the high priest could not stand on holy ground without his own sins being covered.

This is reflected in our Divine Service as the pastor begins away from the altar.  Along with the congregation, the pastor confesses his sin and sings the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy).  Then, in the stead and by the command of Jesus Christ, the pastor proclaims the absolution to the congregation.  Once sins have been absolved, the pastor makes his way to the holy ground at the altar as we join in the Christmas song of the angels, "Glory be to God on high!"  

It is a rather small ceremony, but one that accentuates the need for sinners to be forgiven to stand on holy ground.

Pastors' Conference -- Christ Our Rock Lutheran Church, Rochester, Minnesota

On Monday, October 12 and Tuesday, October 13, the pastors of the Red Wing Conference of the Minnesota District of the WELS met at Christ Our Rock Lutheran Church of Rochester, Minnesota.  Here are some photos of the church.