From the Pulpit

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Pentecost 5 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 28, 2026
Jer. 28:5-9, Rom. 7:1-13, Matt. 10:34-42

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            There are certain magic moments in life when your legal status changes.  Being born is a big event in life, but it is also a legal event recorded at the courthouse with a birth certificate.  On your 18th birthday you become a legal adult.  You can vote, you can sign contracts, you can borrow money, you no longer are legally obligated to obey your parents, and your parents are no longer obligated to care for you.  I suggest you voluntarily submit to their authority.  Getting married is a magic moment.  After I perform a wedding, acting as an agent for the State of Ohio, I submit paperwork to legally bind the marriage which is then recorded at the courthouse with a marriage certificate.   

            Another magic moment is death.  Your legal status changes at death.  I joke with grooms before their wedding that marriage is not forever, it is only until you die.  One day you will take your last breath, but you will not be legally dead until the doctor signs a death certificate which will be filed at the courthouse.  Upon death your last will and testament goes into legal effect and revocable trusts become irrevocable.  Death changes things.

            It may come as a surprise, but you have already died, and many of you here today have that death certificate with your name on it.  This certificate, however, is not filed at the courthouse.  This certificate is not signed by a doctor – it is signed by a pastor.  I signed some of your certificates myself.  This death certificate is also known as your baptismal certificate.  As we read in Romans 6:3–4 (ESV) 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  In baptism you died with Christ and were raised to walk with Christ. 

            Because of the original sin you inherited from Great-Grandpa Adam you were born spiritually blind, dead and an enemy of God. By nature, sin was your master.  By nature, you were a slave to your desires. Desires can lead to eternal death. As we learn in James 1:15 (ESV) 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” 

            You were born a slave to desire and sin, but you have died to sin and desire.  Romans 7:4 (ESV) 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”  In baptism you died with Christ and have been raised with Christ.  You have died to the condemnation of the law of God, but you have not rejected the law of God. 

            There are so many people in this world who have rejected the law of God and instead, obey their desires.  Following your desires is exaltation of yourself.  Following your desires is declaring that you are your own god.  Those who live without the law of God will say, “No one can tell me what I can do with my body.”  Or, “My body, my choice.” Even if it means another body must die.  It is a life led pursuing autonomy.  “Auto” is Greek for “self”, “nomos: for “law”.  Autonomy is being your own ruler.  It is crowning yourself king of you.  It is a life unconstrained by anything beyond your own body and its deceitful desires.  It is a life lived apart from the law; apart from God, apart from salvation.

            Those who reject the law of God are offended by the law of God. We hear this in our Gospel reading today about how people will react to followers of Jesus.  Matthew 10:34–35 (ESV) 34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”  The devil, the world and your own sinful nature hate God’s law and want to silence it.

            The law of God is hated because it is powerful and convicting.  When the Holy Spirit works in you to hear the law of God and apply it to yourself, there comes a devastating realization.  The law convicts you because you know you cannot keep the law of God.  The enlightenment of the Spirit reveals sin in your thoughts, words and deeds and brings you to contrition and repentance.  The Holy Spirit uses the law to bring sadness over your sin and a desire to turn from sin.

There is a natural reflex to think you can take care of your sin problem.  You desperately want to believe that you can conquer sin in yourself through hard effort, sincere repentance, diligence, and self-control.  You want to believe you can do enough good works to balance out against your sin.  You want to believe that you can do it, but the law shows you that it is not true.  The law condemns you.  The law shows you that you are a slave to sin and cannot free yourself.  The law shows your helplessness.  Alone, you would be lost forever.  Romans 6:23a (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death”. Alone… autonomous… you are condemned… but Jesus does not leave you alone.  Romans 6:23 (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  The law of God shows your need for a savior.  But the law can no longer condemn you.  You have died to the condemnation of the Law. 

            In baptism you … Romans 7:4 (ESV) 4 … have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”

            The law condemns you, but you are dead to the law. You are dead to sin.  You have died with Christ and have been raised with Him to bear fruit for God.  Praise be to God!  Jesus has cancelled the law’s condemnation of you.  The law has nothing to say to you regarding your sin.  Jesus has freed you as we read in…Colossians 2:14 (ESV) 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”  Jesus took the record of your sins and nailed it to the cross where the listing of your sins disappears in the blood of Jesus.  You are free from the condemnation of the law.  You have died to sin.  You have died to the law.  You have your own death certificate from the day of your baptism. 

            You are no longer a slave to sin.  You are no longer a slave to your desires.  So what does that mean for you?  How then should you live?  Can you do whatever you want?

            There is a great danger that the devil and your lurking, old, sinful nature hear that you died to the law and they want to convince you that now you are free to return to slavery to sin and desire since the law no longer condemns.  This is known as antinomianism.  Nomos, again, is Greek for law. Anti is Greek for against.  Antinomians believe that Christians are free to disobey obey moral law. 

            Paul addresses this in Romans 6:1–2 (ESV) 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 

            You have died to sin.  You are a new creation in Christ.  The Holy Spirit dwells in you.  You are a servant of God in the renewal of the spirit. 

            So, can you do whatever you want?  Yes.  You can do whatever you want as a servant of God made holy by the blood of Jesus.  As a redeemed servant of Jesus, what do you want to do?  Indulge your sinful desires?  Get drunk? Hook up with a stranger?  Surf the dark side of the web?  Lie to your parents?  Cheat?  Steal? Hate?  What do you want to do as a holy, righteous, innocent child of God? As a holy, righteous, innocent child of God you want to love God and love your neighbor.  Not in order to be saved, but because you already are saved. 

            You are saved in the blood of Jesus.  Jesus gives you His gift of forgiveness and eternal life in the water and Word of Holy Baptism.  He continues to pour out forgiveness in His Word of absolution and in His Body and Blood in Holy Communion to strengthen you for the journey. You have the gift of eternal life with Jesus, even while you still live in this life with the devil prowling, the world trying to influence you, and your own sinful nature tempting you to sin, and return to autonomy.  

            Life as a Christian is not easy.  It is a daily struggle.  Your natural, sinful nature keeps wanting to take control and so you constantly battle sinful thoughts and desires.  This struggle reminds you that you are, by nature, sinful and unclean, and it brings you to contrition and repentance.  Your mind is a battlefield, but you fight the battle knowing that the war is won.  You fight knowing you have died to sin and the condemnation of the Law.  You are already forgiven.  Jesus has chosen you.

            When temptation comes to call, tell that temptation, “I am dead to you.”  When the devil entices you to give in to your selfish desires tell him, “I am dead to you too.”  When the devil throws God’s law in your face to try to get you to despair, tell him, “I am baptized!  I am dead to the condemnation of the law.  I have died with Christ and I am raised with Christ.”

            How should you live?  Obey God.  Not out of fear of punishment because you have died to the condemnation of the law. Obey God.  Not out of hope for reward because you have already received the reward.  Obey God. Obey out of love for God and love for your neighbor. 

It was a magic moment in your life when you came through the waters of baptism. God declares you to be justified in the blood of Jesus even though you still struggle with sin and temptation.  This is called forensic justification.  It is a legal justification.  In baptism, your legal status before God changed.  You are declared not guilty.  Your slavery to sin and desires is over.  Your slavery to trying to earn your salvation through the law is over.  You belong to Jesus.  Amen. 

The Calling of St. Matthew, by Vittore Carpaccio, 1502.

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Pentecost 2 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
June 7, 2026
Hosea 5:15-6:6, Psalm 119:65-72, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            Where do you stand?  Are you one of us? Or are you one of them?  Are you one of the good people, or one of those other people?

            A Pharisee at Jesus’ time knows where he stands. He can declare with confidence, “I am doing it.  I am good enough.  I am smart enough.  I am worthy. I am righteous.  I am so much better than these lowlifes that surround me.” Jesus points this out in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.  Luke 18:9–14 (ESV) 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  The Pharisee believes he is righteous and this is a spiritual stumbling block. 

            In our Gospel reading today, the Pharisees are concerned that Jesus is reclining at table with tax collectors and sinners. Now, perhaps they believe Jesus should, instead, be eating with them.  He is the cool new teacher in town and they are the leading citizens.  They are, after all, the good people.  But Jesus is not eating with them.  Jesus is breaking bread with lowlife sinners. 

            This all happened so fast.  Just this morning, Matthew was sitting at his tax booth working on behalf of the Roman oppressors.  Everyone in Capernaum knows Matthew, and knows he is an awful person. Respectable people shun Matthew.  He is a sellout.  He is an outcast.  This morning everyone knew that Matthew is no good… and now Matthew is sitting and eating with the prophet from Nazareth.  .

            Matthew and the others do not deserve to be with Jesus.  They have done nothing to show their repentance.  Matthew has not done any act of contrition.  He has not performed a period of isolation and fasting. He has not made a formal apology. He has not written 100 times on the slate, “I will not collect taxes for the Romans.”  It all happened so fast. 

Becoming a Pharisee takes a long time.  A man has to master the Torah, strictly follow the traditions of the elders and take a vow of ritual purity.  With Matthew, Jesus just walked by the tax booth, said to Matthew, “Follow me,” and Matthew left the tax booth and followed Jesus.  And now, this Matthew, who just this morning was a shunned, awful, lowlife, scum-of-the-earth sinner, is breaking bread with Jesus, as if he were an equal.

Being God in flesh, Jesus performs instant miracles. He heals the sick, and restores the crippled, and drives out demons, and it happens right away.  And, now we see that it is not only physical healing, also spiritual restoration.  Jesus, the spiritual physician, calls those sick in spirit to follow Him.  Those who recognize their spiritual sickness are welcome to table fellowship with Jesus.

            Jesus’ initial teaching after His baptism is simple, Matthew 4:17 (ESV) 17 … “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  This is a simple message, but the Pharisees do not believe it is for them. They do not believe what St. Paul later teaches, Romans 3:23 (ESV) 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”  Or, how Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:3 (ESV) 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The Pharisees believe they are righteous and, tragically this separates them from the source of salvation.  They believe that by going through their ritual washings and ceremonies they have earned righteousness.  Jesus teaches them…Matthew 9:13 (ESV) 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

            The Pharisees are scandalized by this meal with Jesus because the tax collectors and sinners have forgotten where they stand. They have forgotten their rightful place as outcasts in life.  From another of Jesus’ parables we learn that Pharisees use formal dinners to display their social status shown by where they sit at the meal.  Luke 14:7–11 (ESV) 7 Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, 9 and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  The Pharisees are all about exalting themselves above others.  Jesus exalts the humble.

            The sin of the Pharisees seems obvious, and obvious sins should be easy to avoid… and yet this is a sin nearly all of us struggle with.  It is certainly tempting to fall into the Pharisees’ error of labeling people and looking down on others.  It is so much a part of our sinful human nature to try to elevate ourselves by pointing out others’ weaknesses.  And so, we talk trash about family members, coworkers, classmates, fellow church members, fellow pastors, people in the community, people in the news.  This may be why shows like Jerry Springer and Maury Povich and Dr. Phil and Steve Wilkos have been so popular.  We like to see how messed up other folks are and think, “At least I am not like them.”  It is so tempting to try to show that you are better than others by talking badly about them, but by doing this you fall into the sin of the Pharisee praying at the temple, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men.”

            It is a grave spiritual danger to look down on others as the really bad sinners and believe that you are better than them. The Pharisees believe they are better than the others and this puts them in great spiritual jeopardy because they do not see their need for forgiveness.  The spiritually sick tax collectors and sinners eating with Jesus heeded Jesus’ call… they understand their need… and Jesus exalts them and eats with them. 

With Jesus we are all equal.  We are all sinners needing forgiveness.  We all need to repent.  Everyone needs Jesus’ forgiveness, acceptance and restoration.  Jesus is scandalous because He is radically inclusive.  He does not see the good people and the bad people.  He calls all to repent and follow Him.

            Now, some supposedly “Christian” teachers use this account of Jesus eating with sinners as a proof that Jesus does not condemn sin.  This twisted teaching originates with the lies of the devil in the Garden of Eden. “Did God really say?”  Jesus eating with sinners is not Jesus endorsing sin. Jesus is calling people out of sin and into fellowship with Him.  He is calling sinners to repent and follow Him.  To follow Jesus is transformational.  Matthew’s life is changed forever by following Jesus.  As a follower of Jesus you cannot celebrate sin. 

You are a follower of Jesus and this transforms your life and brings you struggles.  You will struggle with sin.  You will battle temptation.  You will find yourself looking down on others and thinking you are better than them.  You will, over and over, fail to act like the holy saint of God that you are. 

Following Jesus means ongoing, repeated repentance.  Each day remember (make the sign of the cross) that you are a baptized child of God made holy and pure, and each day turn again from sin and strive to live out your holiness by delighting in God’s will and walking in His ways.

            Jesus’ call is radically inclusive — it is a call to all sinners.  His call is also radically exclusive.  This is not a call for sinners to find their own way; it is a call for sinners to follow Jesus and Jesus only.  It is a call to know that Jesus is the only way to eternal life with the Father. 

            Jesus’ meal is offensive to the Pharisees because it is an event where sinners are transformed and converted.  Jesus is offering mercy, forgiveness, purity and holiness to those whom the Pharisees deem to be unworthy and undeserving.  And indeed, the tax collectors and sinners are unworthy and do not deserve forgiveness.  Just as the Pharisees are unworthy and do not deserve forgiveness. Just as I am unworthy and do not deserve forgiveness.  Just as you are unworthy and do not deserve forgiveness.  Being in fellowship with Jesus begins by recognizing that you cannot do it.  You are not good enough, you are not smart enough, you are not worthy.  That is why we begin worship the way we do. 

            Beginning our worship service with the confession of sins is not good for your self-esteem.  Admitting that you are, by nature, sinful and unclean, and that you have sinned in your thoughts, in your words and in your deeds, and that you deserve to be struck down by God and cast into the lake of fire, does not help your ego. It is not good for your self-esteem, but it does allow you to speak the truth about yourself and remember where you stand.  You are a sinner who needs Jesus, and Jesus has called you into fellowship and declared you to be His own treasure.  Your value is not being better than others… your value is that Jesus has forgiven your sins and declared you holy. 

Like Matthew, you heed Jesus’ call to follow Him.  Humbly following Jesus is radically counter-cultural and is a daily challenge of swimming against the currents of culture. Remember, you are not alone on your journey.  You are part of this family of sinners needing Jesus.  This is a family of sinners which welcomes and embraces anyone heeding Jesus call to repent and follow Him.  Each week you come to this family gathering to admit again that you are a helpless sinner… to repent of your sins… to learn about the will of God from the Word of God… and to come to table fellowship with Jesus in unity with other sinners from every walk of life to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood for the forgiveness of your sins.  You are unworthy.  You do not deserve forgiveness.  Jesus gives it to you anyway.  You know where you stand.  You are not one of the good people.  You are sinner… who repents… and follows Jesus.  You are exalted by Jesus to be one with Him.  Amen. 

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Pentecost 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 24, 2026
Numbers 11:24-30, Acts 2:1-21, John 7:37-39

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            When you think of the Holy Spirit, what symbols come to mind?  How do we represent the Spirit in Church art; in our windows and banners?  On banners and paraments and in our front window and side windows the spirit is represented as a dove because… Matthew 3:16–17 (ESV) 16 … when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

            On banners and the Pentecost window, the Spirit is represented by a flame.  This comes from our reading today from Acts.  Acts 2:1–3 (ESV) 1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.”  The Spirit is manifested as a dove and as a flame, and as wind. 

            The word “spirit” in Hebrew and Greek both mean wind or air or breath.  Jesus breathes on His disciples and says, John 20:22 (ESV) 22 … “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  The Spirit arrives on Pentecost with the sound like a mighty rushing wind.  The Holy Spirit is represented by a dove and a flame and wind, although it is hard to make a picture of wind. 

            There is another description of the Spirit that does not come so readily to mind which we find in our Gospel reading today.  John 7:37–39 (ESV) 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” The Spirit is Living Water flowing from Jesus. 

            In John 7, Jesus is at the feast.  This feast is the one everyone wants to be at so it is sometimes just called, The Feast. It is the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths.  It is a seven day festival remembering the Israelites 40 year exodus in the wilderness.  Families construct temporary huts to eat in and sleep in for seven days to remember their ancestors’ time in tents in the desert. 

            Each morning of the feast the priests go the pool of Siloam and bring back golden pitchers of water which they carry through the water gate to the temple and then pour the water out onto the altar to remember the waters of creation, and God providing water when Moses struck the rock in the desert, and also looking forward to the fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel.  Ezekiel 47:1 (ESV)  1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.”

            Jesus comes from Galilee in the middle of the feast and teaches in the temple each day.  Some are fascinated by Jesus’ teaching… some want to kill him… the Pharisees send officers to arrest Jesus, but they are also captivated by His teaching.  When they return without Jesus… John 7:46 (ESV) 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 

            On the last day of the feast, likely as they are pouring out the water on the altar or after they finished…John 7:37 (ESV) 37 …Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

            Jesus has been boldly teaching at the Temple since the middle of the feast, but now, on the last day, Jesus shows great audacity.  The priests have been pouring out water to remember the waters of creation, water from the rock in the wilderness, and Ezekiel’s prophecy of water flowing from the temple. Jesus stands up and claims that He is the fulfillment of all of this.  Jesus was there at creation.  Jesus is the rock flowing with water.  Jesus is the temple gushing with water.  Jesus is the source of living water.  He continues, John 7:38 (ESV) 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”  This verse begs a question.  Out of whose heart will flow rivers of living water? From the believer in Jesus?  Or from Jesus Himself?  The ESV leaves it a bit ambiguous.  Some translations are specific, The NRSV says, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’ 

     This passage has likely been mistranslated going all the way back to Origin of Alexandria, a Church father in the early 3rd Century.  Origin translates that the living water flows from the belly of the believer. The earlier translations are more like the New English Translation.  (NET) “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and  38 let the one who believes in me drink.  Just as the scripture says, ‘From within himwill flow rivers of living water.”  Meaning, from within Jesus.  This follows better with Jesus saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” The dispute hinges on the placement of a period.  However, the original Greek manuscripts do not have punctuation, so Origin was relying on a later manuscript that added the period.  Not to go against a church father, but I believe that the living water flows from Jesus.

            Jesus stands up and announces that He is the source of Living Water; “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Earlier, in John 4, Jesus talks to the woman at the well.  John 4:10–14 (ESV) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”… “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

On the cross, after Jesus gives up His spirit, a Roman soldier spears Jesus and from His side flows water and blood. 

In John’s Revelation He writes, “Revelation 22:1–2 (ESV) 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

            On the high day of the feast, Jesus declares He is the source of living water and then John tells us what this living water is.  John 7:39 (ESV) 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

            The Holy Spirit cannot be given until after Jesus is glorified by His suffering and death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead.  The Spirit testifies that Jesus paid the price for all your sins.  He cannot do that until Jesus paid the price for all your sins.  On that Pentecost, after the disciples receive the Holy Spirit by wind and flame, they are preaching and the people are convicted of having killed Jesus… Acts 2:37–39 (ESV) 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”  Three thousand that day are born again… born from above by water and the spirit and receive forgiveness of their sins.  In baptism you receive forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit; the Living Water of God welling up in you to eternal life.

            You live in a dry, dusty, sinful world intent on ignoring God’s law altogether, or trying to appease God by their own good works.  You are different.  You have the Holy Spirit and so when you are confronted by God’s law you realize that the world’s ways cannot work, and you are left thirsting for righteousness.  As hard as you try, you cannot free yourself from sin.  In a sermon on John 7 Martin Luther says that the one who thirsts is the one brought into despair by the Law.  To drink from Christ, that is from the Gospel, “satisfies the thirst, makes us cheerful, and revives and consoles the conscience.”[1]

Jesus proclaims, (NET) “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and  38 let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, ‘From within himwill flow rivers of living water.”  Amen. 

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[1] Weinrich, William, John 7:2-12:50 Concordia Commentary Series, pg. 57

By Raphael – Royal Collection of the United Kingdom, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1718078

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Easter 6 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 10, 2026
Acts 17:16-31, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14:15-21

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            It can be intimidating to talk about your faith with an outsider; an unbeliever.  There is a fear that you will say the wrong thing or misquote the Bible or get trapped by something the other person says.

            In today’s reading from Acts we see St. Paul give us a masterclass in preaching to unbelievers.  Athens is a place that is all about various philosophies, and gods and goddesses.  Paul is in Athens teaching in the Synagogue and in the marketplace and is engaging with Epicureans who seek pleasure, and Stoics who seek virtue.  Others hear Paul and are put off by his teaching, Acts 17:18 (ESV) 18 … some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.” 

            In Athens there are laws about teaching foreign divinities and Paul is in a legal gray area.  Some seize him and bring him to the Areopagus where there is a legal counsel that wants to hear what Paul is preaching.  Paul is brilliant.  He brings up their altar to an unknown God and then teaches them about the true God.  Acts 17:23–25 (ESV) 23 … What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”  Basically, the real God doesn’t need you.  You need God.  God created all people from one man and God is close to each of us.  Acts 17:28 (ESV) 28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ …”  Paul then quotes a Greek poet named Aratus who wrote a poem about Zeus.  Acts 17:28 (ESV) ; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.”  Paul pulls a reference from Greek religious poetry and applies it to the true God. 

            Paul continues by showing a glaring flaw with the Greek gods and goddesses…Acts 17:29 (ESV) 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.”  God is the creator, you cannot make god.  After proclaiming the true God, Paul warns of the coming judgment of Christ who was raised from the dead.  Acts 17:30-31 (ESV)30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 

            Some mocked Paul for teaching about the resurrection of Jesus, others want to hear him again and some follow him and believe, including a member of the Areopagus legal counsel.

            Ohhhh, to be as articulate and wise as Paul.  To be able to engage unbelievers by using their own ideas to show the true God.  This would be a great tool for us in today’s world where so many live in unbelief and ignorance of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Oh, to be able to know cultural references well enough to be able to use them to proclaim the truth of salvation in Jesus.  Paul is an amazing preacher and teacher.

            It can be intimidating to think that when you engage with outsiders that you will be nowhere near as clever and wise as Paul…and that’s okay.  You are not St. Paul.  God did not appear to you on the road to Damascus and make you an apostle and send you to preach to the Gentiles.  But you are called to give testimony. What you are called to do we find today in our Epistle reading from 1 Peter. 

            Peter is writing to Christian exiles spread out in Asia Minor who are suffering persecution from the local citizens and the Romans.  Peter is encouraging them to remain faithful despite suffering… knowing that they blessed in Christ for eternity.  1 Peter 3:13 (ESV) 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?”  It is discouraging to suffer — it can be even more troubling to suffer for doing good.  Peter continues… 1 Peter 3:14–15 (ESV) 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…”  

            Despite persecution… despite suffering… don’t fear…don’t be troubled…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.  And more than that — be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.  So if the people harrassing you wonder why you don’t break down and just give up the faith, be ready to tell them.

            If those who are against you for believing in Jesus ask you, “why don’t you just give in?  Why don’t you give up on your silly Jesus?”  What would you say?  What is your defense for the hope that is in you?  This can be daunting because you can start to think that you need to be clever and articulate like Paul in Athens, but that is not what you are called to do.  You are called to simply defend your hope even under persecution.  Why do you have hope? 

            You have hope because, Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  You have hope, because you are baptized.  Your reason for hope can be summarized in six words.  Christ is risen!  I am baptized.  Repeat after me, “Christ is risen!  I am baptized!”  “Christ is risen!  I am baptized!”  These six words give the reason for the hope that is in you.  Because Christ rose from the dead it means He conquered sin, death and the devil.  In your baptism, Jesus’ victory is credited to you.  In Christ, you have conquered sin, death and the devil.  Christ is risen!  I am baptized! 

            Jesus conquered sin…1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…”  On the cross Jesus paid the price for the sins of the world and gives that gift to you. 

            Jesus conquered death — by rising from the dead. He died, was buried, but He did not stay dead.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed, alleluia!  We have extensive eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ resurrection.  Matthew, Mark, John, and Peter were there and saw the resurrected Lord and wrote down their testimony.  Luke recorded the testimony of others who also were there.  

If Jesus does not return first, you will one day die and your body will be buried, and you too will not stay dead.  Because Christ rose from the dead, you will rise from the dead.  On that day, body and soul reunited, you will go to live in the Heavenly City of New Jerusalem forever with Jesus.  Romans 6:5 (ESV) 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”

Jesus has conquered the devil.  The devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  The devil is more powerful than you, but you do not fight the devil alone, you have Jesus, and Jesus has defeated the devil and has proclaimed his victory.

            In our reading today from 1 Peter we have this somewhat cryptic passage that is one of the main sources of the line in the Apostles’ Creed, “He descended into hell.”  Peter writes…1 Peter 3:18–20 (ESV) 18 …being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.”

            The line, “He descended into hell,” can be confusing. The way it is placed in the creed it kind of sounds like Jesus went to hell to suffer for three days, but that is not what happened.  Jesus went to hell to proclaim victory – Jesus defeated the devil.  As we read in… Colossians 2:15 (ESV) 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them…” 

            In baptism and through the Word of God you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you.  With the Holy Spirit in you the devil cannot take control of you, he cannot possess you; he can only try to tempt you to sin.  James 4:7 (ESV) 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

            What is the reason for the hope that you have?  Christ is risen!  I am baptized!  Jesus defeated sin, death and the devil for you.

            There is a temptation to use your salvation in Jesus as a kind of way to boast about yourself or to use it as almost a club against others. But that is not how you tell of the hope that you have.  Instead…1 Peter 3:15–16 (ESV) 15 … do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” 

            In this world of evil, you will stand out for doing good.  You may suffer for doing good. Peter teaches… 1 Peter 3:17 (ESV) 17 … it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

            Be prepared to be unloved by the world.  Do good anyway.  Speak with gentleness and respect and be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have.  Remember the six words of hope.  Christ is risen!  I am baptized!  Amen. 

Stanisław Wyspiański, Motherhood, 1905, National Museum in Krakow, Kraków, Poland. Detail.

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Easter 5 2026 Confirmation Sunday
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
May 3, 2026
Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60,  1 Peter 2:2-10, John 14:1-14

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

            Think back to when you were little.  What is your earliest memory?  How old are you?  What are you doing?  I remember when I was three years old or so at preschool and the teacher is reading the book Stone Soup and the whole class is working together to make a pot of soup — not exactly sure why that stuck with me.  Now go back two or three years earlier until you are two weeks old.  What are you thinking then?  What are you doing?  What do you most desire?  You do not remember being two weeks old, but you can figure out what it is that you most desired.  You want mom to hold you tight and feed you.  You want to nurse.  You want milk.  A clean diaper and a burped belly and a nap are all good, but the thing you want the most is milk.

            St. Peter writes in his first letter …1 Peter 2:2 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation,”

            Like a newborn craves milk, crave pure spiritual milk.  So what is it?  What is the pure, spiritual milk?  To find out, we back up just a little in Peter’s letter to Christian exiles scattered throughout modern day Turkey.  1 Peter 1:23 (ESV) 23 … you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

            What is the pure spiritual milk?  It is the living and abiding word of God.  It is the Good News of forgiveness of sins through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

In baptism you were born again of water and the Word of God. You were born from above through water and the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit came into you through the Word of God and now dwells in you making your body His temple.  You are forgiven and declared holy and pure and are given eternal life through the Word of God. 

            Our confirmands today will declare for themselves what was spoken for them at their baptism.  They will renounce — they will reject — the devil and all his works and all his ways.  They will declare belief in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the words of the Apostles’ Creed.  I will ask them, “What is the Word of God?”  The confirmands will declare they believe the prophetic and apostolic scriptures; the Old Testament and New Testament, are the inspired Word of God, and the teachings of Luther’s Small Catechism drawn from the Word of God are faithful and true. And then I will ask questions regarding their intentions with the pure spiritual milk; the living and abiding Word of God.

            I will ask, “Do you intend to hear the Word of God and receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully?”  Basically, do you intend to keep coming to church?

            “Do you intend to live according to the Word of God, and in faith, word and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, even to death?”  Are you like the wise man in Matthew 7?  Matthew 7:24 (ESV) 24 “[Jesus said] Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

            The Word of God is pure spiritual milk.  The Word of God delivers to you forgiveness of sins and eternal life won for you by Jesus. You have been born again through imperishable seed; the living and abiding Word of God. 

Our confirmands today will publicly declare that the Word of God is more important to them than anything in this world. This is radically counter to the ways of our society.  The world wants you to idolize money and fame and power and your own body.  The world wants you to live for yourself because you only live once.  The temptation of this life is to think that your body and your stuff are most important. But you know…stuff is temporary and will degrade and be destroyed.  What about your body?  What do we learn on Ash Wednesday?  Dust you are and to dust you shall return.  Your physical body is fleeting as we learn in… 1 Peter 1:24–25 (ESV) 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

            Your flesh is fleeting but the Word of the Lord remains forever.  God’s promise to you in your baptism is for this life and for after this life, it is a promise for eternity.  Abide in the Word of God.  Cling to Word.  Newborns need milk.  You need the Word of God.

            As a follower of Jesus continually recommit to remaining in God’s Word.  The devil desperately wants to separate you from God’s Word so your faith will starve.  Fight back.  Establish a habit of daily Bible reading so you are constantly fed by the pure spiritual milk. Learn the Word of God so well you can easily spot a false teacher.  Get started. Start small if needed.  Read a chapter in the morning with coffee, or before bed, or together at the dinner table, or listen to the Word while you are on the bus, or in the car, or out for a walk.  Drink pure spiritual milk each day.  If you work up to three chapters a day you will read the entire Bible each year. Find what works for you to form an ongoing habit of being in the Word.  If helpful, I have various Bible reading plans available at both entrances to give you some alternative ways of working your way through the Holy Scriptures. Pick a way and daily remain in the Word for the Word of God is pure spiritual milk. 

            If a newborn could talk, what would she say after nursing before falling asleep?  Perhaps, simply, “Thanks be to God!”  How do you respond each Sunday when you hear the Word of God read? “Thanks be to God. Praise to you, O Christ.” 

            Peter goes on to instruct how to live together as those born again for eternity through the living and abiding Word of God.  1 Peter 2:1 (ESV) 1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.”  The devil is always trying to tear Christians apart with false teaching and jealousy and discord.  As baptized, redeemed children of God craving spiritual milk and building up the spiritual house you reject all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy and all slander and instead you live together in love and humble service — forgiving one another abundantly as Christ forgives you.  As the followers of Jesus…1 Peter 2:4–5 (ESV) 4 …you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

            As followers of Jesus, born again by imperishable seed, you are living stones.  You are the living stones of the Church, the Body of Christ on earth.  You are a holy priesthood.  As a holy priest of God, you sacrifice selfish living for yourself in order to live for God.  You reject the ways of the devil and the world and your own sinful desires because you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.  You know the Word of God is your source of salvation.  As newborns need milk, you need the Word of God so you come to worship each week to hear God’s Word and receive Holy Communion. 

            A question for the confirmands, and everyone else here.  For how long will you come to worship to hear the Word of God and receive Holy Communion? For how long?  For how long will you crave the pure spiritual milk?  For how long will you need the Word of God?

You are in it for the long run.  You will need pure spiritual milk until the day we wheel you down the aisle one last time covered by the white pall. 

Newborns need milk, you need the Word of God — so you come each week to confess your sins and hear that your sins are forgiven.  You come to drink the pure spiritual milk of God’s Word and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.  Nothing is more important.  As Peter tells Jesus in John 6:68 (ESV) 68 … “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,…”

            Babies need milk. You need pure spiritual milk; the living and abiding Word of God.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.   

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Easter 3 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 19, 2026
Psalm 116:1-14, Acts 2:14, 36-41, 1 Peter 1:17-25, Luke 24:13-35

Sermons online: 
Text:               pastorjud.org   
Audio:             pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:            bit.ly/pastorjud

            Have you ever found yourself going along with others and doing the wrong thing because everyone around you is doing the wrong thing? I have a number of examples from my own life, but I better not share since I’m not sure about the statute of limitations. 

            There is an equation about boys doing stupid things. One boy = one brain.  Two boys = half a brain.  Three boys = no brain at all.  What happens then with a mob?  A mob completely loses its mind. 

            On that fateful Friday morning the crowd of people assembled outside of the Governor’s palace were likely, at first, minding their own business, but then they got caught up doing what mobs do.  The Jewish leaders got the crowd all stirred up demanding that Jesus of Nazareth be crucified.  The crowd shouted for the release of the criminal Barabbas and for Jesus to be executed, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  The mob was not placated by seeing Jesus whipped and abused but cried all the louder, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!” Having found nothing in him deserving death, the governor wanted to release Jesus but the crowd insisted on His death.  The governor then washed his hands before the crowd and said, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves,” to which the crowd cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children!”

            Fast forward 50 days.  The crowd is back together in Jerusalem but everything is different.  It is Pentecost, the Feast of Weeks, a harvest festival 50 days after the Passover. People are in town from all over the Mediterranean; many likely came for the Passover and stayed on for Pentecost. The whole city is abuzz.  There have been lots of rumors flying around about Jesus of Nazareth.  Folks are saying that He rose from the dead and many people claim they have seen the risen Jesus.  It is said that Jesus ascended into heaven ten days ago and now the followers of Jesus have suddenly gained the ability to speak in many different languages.

            The people in the crowd start to ask themselves, “What did we do?  How could we have cried out for Jesus’ blood?”  One of Jesus’ disciples, a man named Peter, addresses the crowd and lets them know what happened.  Acts 2:32 (ESV) 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”  Jesus was raised from the dead and has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father and now God has poured out the Holy Spirit on these disciples of Jesus with a great wind and tongues of fire. 

            Peter tells the crowd, Acts 2:36 (ESV)  36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

            Jesus is Lord and Christ.  Pilate wanted to release Him, but the crowd insisted on Jesus’ death.  They insisted that His blood to be on them, and on their children.  What have they done?  They crucified the Lord.  They are guilty of the blood of the Christ.

            The crowd has gone from the blind fervor of a blood-thirsty mob, to having a deepening pit in their stomachs over the unfolding reality of what they have done, to now experiencing full-fledged terror and panic because of their sin.

            They have not offended an earthly ruler; they have offended the creator of the earth.  They have crucified God in flesh.  “Brothers, what shall we do?”

            The crowd has no hope.  To whom do you turn when you have crucified the Lord?  Judas felt the burden of this guilt and he despaired and hung himself. What do you do when you have committed such a terrible sin?  “Brothers, what shall we do?”

            “Repent and be baptized.”  Acts 2:38-39 (ESV) 38 …. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

            From the depths of despair Peter gives the people living hope.  Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. And this is for all people.  This is not just for men, not just for women, not just for Jews. 

As the crowd cried out for Jesus’ blood to be on them — and their children — the promise of salvation is for them — and their children and for all who are far off.  There is no maximum age limit.  There is no minimum age limit.  No geographical limit.  The promise is for everyone.

            What an amazing promise to this guilty crowd.  They have Jesus’ blood on their hands.  You can look at them and think, wow!  They are terrible sinners…they put Jesus on the cross…but then the awful truth dawns.  You too are guilty of Jesus’ blood.  Your sins also put Jesus on the cross; He is suffering and dying for you. As you look at the cross there is the horrible knowledge that you too are guilty of the blood of Jesus and there is nothing you can do to fix it.  This is powerful guilt and the devil knows it. 

When you find yourself mired in guilt, the devil gets up in your ear and whispers in an almost audible way, “This time it is just too much.  You say you’re a Christian but look at what you think about.  Look at what you do.  God cannot forgive you.  You are too far gone.  Your sin is too bad.”  Under attack by the devil you cry out, “What shall I do?

            Repent and be baptized.  Repent and remember that in your baptism Jesus made a promise to you that you belong to Him.  In Christ you have forgiveness and eternal life.  In Jesus you have been freed from the guilt of your sins and set apart from the multitude of unbelievers to live in the Kingdom of God. 

            When the devil accuses you of being a sinner you tell the devil, “You’re right. It is true.  I am a sinner.  But Jesus paid for my sins.  I am baptized.  Jesus made a promise to me and He doesn’t break His promises.  So, be gone devil!  I belong to Jesus.”  Alone, the enormity of your sin would be overwhelming, but you are not alone.  In Christ you have been set free. 

            You are set free by Jesus.  Set free by baptism, set free by confession and absolution, set free by the Lord’s Supper. Your sins are forgiven.  Those who cried out for Jesus to be crucified found forgiveness in Jesus and 3,000 were baptized that day.  You, whose sin put Jesus on the cross, today receive forgiveness from the risen Lord Jesus.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

            The message of salvation is simple and straightforward.  Peter does not sugar-coat some message about how the people need to dream big dreams or have their best life now or just try harder to please God.  Peter confronts the people with their sin and points them to Jesus for forgiveness.  Peter bears witness to Jesus and exhorts the people to beware of the ways of the world, Acts 2:40 ESV …Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

            The ways of the world then were opposed to God’s way.  The ways of the world now are opposed to God’s way. Faithful believers and faithful churches are set apart from this crooked generation.  Faithful believers and faithful churches will find themselves pushed more and more to the margins where we will be ridiculed and censured by the so-called intellectuals who embrace and promote this crooked generation.  You will feel great pressure to conform your life to the ways of the world and adopt the world’s ways as your ways.  But as a baptized child of God you no longer belong to the world, you belong to Jesus.  You are transformed by the Word of God.  As a follower of Jesus you live your life inside the boundaries of God’s law.  You know God’s law does not crush your freedom to do whatever you want, but rather God’s law enables you to live in the freedom to do what is right.  To love God and love your neighbor.

            You have heard the message that Peter preached that first Pentecost.  Acts 2:38-39 (ESV) 38 …. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

            This is the message that brought you to faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the message we preach to strengthen each other in this life.  This is the message we bring to a world that struggles with sin.  This is the message we bring to a world that needs forgiveness.  The promise of forgiveness in Jesus is for you and for your children and for all who are far off.  You belong to Jesus.  Amen. 

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Resurrection of our Lord 2026
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 5, 2026
Acts 10:34-433, Colossians 3:1-4, Matthew 28:1-10

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                         bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:    bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

First thing Sunday morning, following the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary head to Jesus’ tomb.  We learn from the Gospels of Mark and Luke that the women are bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body and are worried about who is going to roll back the stone for them. What are they expecting to find?  They are expecting to find Jesus’ dead body in the grave, sealed with a stone, and guarded by soldiers.  They expect to find dead Jesus despite the fact that Jesus told His followers many times… Matthew 16:21 (ESV) 21 … that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 

Jesus told them He would rise, but the reality of the world is so powerful that it can snuff out hope.  Dead is dead.  The two Marys expect to find dead Jesus and are hoping the guards or someone will help them roll back the stone so they can properly complete the rushed burial preparation that happened on Friday.  They expect dead, decaying Jesus.  What they encounter is so beyond expectations.  Matthew 28:2–4 (ESV) 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.”

            An angel of the Lord, shining with God’s glory, descends and rolls back the stone with such power and might it makes the earth shake. The guards faint with fear.  God’s messenger delivers the greatest message of all time.  Matthew 28:5–6 (ESV) 5 … “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen…”  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  As the Marys depart the tomb, Jesus greets them and they take hold of His feet and worship Him.

            Matthew 28:6 (ESV) 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” He is risen, as He said.  The angel tells the women, you should have known He would rise from the dead.  You should have expected to find Jesus alive.  You should have expected the unexpected.

            Mary Magdalen and the other Mary should have come to the tomb expecting the stone to be rolled away and Jesus to be there to greet them.  And it certainly was not just the women whose hope was smothered by the realities of the world.  The disciples should know, for certain, that Jesus would rise from the dead and they should be waiting for Him on Sunday morning.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus should know that Jesus would rise, but as they prepare Him for burial they act like He is going to decompose and stink like any other dead body as they wrap Him with myrrh and aloes.  All of these people know that Jesus does the unexpected, but the realities of the world extinguish their trust in Jesus’ Words. It is far too easy to fall into friendship with the world and trust the ways of the world.  The Lord’s brother James warns…James 4:4 (ESV) 4 …Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

            This happens over and over with Jesus and His disciples.  The disciples do not expect the unexpected when 5,000 people are hungry and there are just five loaves and two fish, or when they see Jesus walking on the water and think it is a ghost, or when Jesus is asleep in the boat during a storm and they become afraid that they will die, or when Jesus is being bothered by little children who have no power or influence, or when a man is possessed by a legion of demons, or when a man born blind comes to Jesus for healing, or when Lazarus has been dead in the grave for four days.  It is too easy to think that the reality of the world is too much for Jesus.  So when they do not believe that Jesus will rise from the dead it is one more time that the realities of the world have quenched their trust in the Lord.

            You live on the other side of all these events.  You know for certain that Jesus rose from the dead, you have the eyewitness accounts.  You know Jesus can do the unexpected — and yet, the powerful realities of the world can still dampen your faith in Jesus’ promises. 

            When you stand by the grave of a loved one, the reality of the world tells you that this is the end, that they are gone forever. But Jesus promises the unexpected. Those who die in Christ will rise from the dead to eternal life.  Because Christ has risen from the dead, you will rise from the dead.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

            Life as a follower of Jesus is a life of the unexpected. You know Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead to forgive the sins of the world.  You know Jesus offers forgiveness to all people, but this is so unexpected the world rejects it.

            Through the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, you know that you are, by nature, sinful and unclean, and that you cannot do anything to save yourself.  You know it has all been done by Jesus.  But the world tells you that you get what you deserve.  You get what you earn.  If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.  There is a great temptation to reject Jesus’ undeserved grace and to think that you have to do something to add to what Jesus has done. The world wants you to believe that you have to repent well enough.  You need to pray enough.  You need to read the Bible enough.  You need to give enough.  You need to do enough good works to deserve forgiveness. 

            The world wants you to ask, “how can Jesus possibly forgive people who are honest-to-goodness real sinners like tax collectors and prostitutes, and the prodigal son.”  The world thinks Jesus should only forgive those who deserve it.  That is what the world expects.  But Jesus does the unexpected.  Not only does Jesus forgive real sinners, but there is great joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. 

            The way Jesus delivers forgiveness in baptism, in His Word, and in the Lord’s Supper seems like foolishness to the world.  It does not make sense.  How can water do such great things?  How can a bit of bread and a sip of wine accomplish anything?  How can words change anything?  The world says that things have to make sense; that is what we expect.  But Jesus does the unexpected.  Jesus delivers forgiveness directly to you in your baptism, in the words of absolution, in His Body and Blood at His altar.  Your sins are forgiven in unexpected ways.  Unexpectedly, your real sins are really forgiven.

            You have been forgiven.  You have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the Kingdom of Heaven.  You have been declared to be a holy, righteous, pure child of God because Jesus has given His righteousness.  Jesus has conquered sin and death for you.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 

It does not makes sense, but even while you still struggle with sin and temptation from the devil, the world and your own sinful nature, you are, right now, a saint of God.  You are, at the same time, a sinner and a saint. 

As God’s saint you are called to live in unexpected ways.  You love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. You turn the other cheek.  You know that freedom is not found in doing whatever you want and indulging your every selfish desire.  As a saint of God you know that freedom is found in following God’s commands and loving and serving others. 

You live in joyful thankfulness for all the Lord has done for you in good times and hard times.  You are generous in helping those in need.  You loan money at no interest without expecting repayment.  You love and serve others as Jesus loves and serves you.

            As a holy, righteous child of God you live in unexpected ways.  You give up your right to get even with others and instead forgive them, because Jesus gave up His right to get even with you and instead forgives you.  You do the unexpected.  You give up your lazy Sunday mornings in order to gather together with your brothers and sisters in Christ to hear the Good News and receive forgiveness from Jesus.  Each Sunday you humble yourself before God by getting on your knees and pleading guilty of sinning in thought, word and deed, by what you have done and by what you have not done that you should have done.  In generous thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for you, you give a first-fruits sacrificial offering to the Lord to continue to spread the Good News of Jesus here and around the world.  You come to the altar of the Lord with people from all walks of life to kneel together in complete unity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ. You love the unlovable and forgive those who do not deserve it.  You are a part of the body of Christ unified in one Lord, one faith, one baptism.  You are one body together: young and old, rich and poor, workers and bosses, male and female.  There are no worldly distinctions; you are one in Christ.

            Expect that Jesus will do what the world does not expect.  Live your life in ways unexpected by the world because Jesus did the unexpected for you – He rose from the dead.  Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! Amen.

Gustave Doré – Christ on the Cross

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Daniel English 
April 3, 2026
Sermon – Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 19:17-30; John 18:1-19:42;

The Sign of the Cross

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This is it. This is what Christianity is all about. “[Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed… [H]e poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”[1] These words were written by the Prophet Isaiah approximately 700 years before the birth of Christ.[2] This is the event for which God’s people were waiting. This is the central event of all history, of all eternity.

Tonight we remember the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ponder the cross. The cross is the ultimate symbol of Christianity. As I began, I spoke the Name of the Triune God, and some of you made the sign of the cross. On Ash Wednesday, you received an ashen cross upon your forehead. Before Pastor Jud reads from the Holy Gospel, he makes the sign of the cross on his lips and his heart. When we bring our young children to the rail during the Sacrament of the Altar, they receive the sign of the cross on their foreheads to remind them of their baptism —the day when they received the sign of the cross on their foreheads and their hearts to mark them as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. At the beginning of the Divine Service, we pro-cess behind a depiction of Jesus on the cross, and we end services with a benediction accompanied by the sign of the cross. More than a few of you probably wear a cross around your neck. The cross is everywhere. Even in traditions that have done away with almost every other kind of Christian symbol, sculpture, or artwork, they will still have the cross. The ubiquity of this symbol isn’t new. Of course it began with the crucifixion, but by the second century Christians are recorded as wearing out their foreheads with the sign of the cross, making it “at every forward step and movement, at every going in and out… in all the ordinary actions of daily life.”[3] We often sing in the beautiful hymn, Abide with Me, “Hold thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;”[4] The cross is ours, and nobody can take it from us… but when was the last time you really beheld the cross of Christ? Good Friday —the most somber holy-day of the year— forces us to remember that the cross is where Christ’s body was hung to die, and it is only by Christ’s body being there that the cross has any power at all.

Whenwe behold the cross of Christ, we see the gory death of our Lord. And by His death we are shown the seriousness of our sin. — Therefore, the cross is a sign of repentance and holy fear. — In the cross of Christ, we also see the Father’s great love for us. “God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”[5] — So the cross is also a sign of hope and love. — The cross of Christ is where Jesus’ side is pierced, and out come the blood and the water. The cross is where Jesus gives His Body and sheds His Blood for our eating and drinking, and the water that flows from His riven side is the Water of Life, the very source of our baptismal waters. — The cross is, finally, a sign of forgiveness and salvation.

Repentance and Holy Fear

The Crucifixion is gruesome and it’s bloody. Even before the Crucifixion, Jesus is beaten by Caiaphas and his council. After being turned over to the Roman authorities, Jesus’ beating continues. A crown of thorns is pressed into His head, and Jesus is scourged with a metal-tipped whip. Now, the six hour long crucifixion is just beginning. Isaiah prophetically describes Jesus during His Crucifixion, “his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”[6] Jesus’ physical damage is so severe that He is hardly recognizable. This torture is paired with the climax of His spiritual agony as Jesus is forsaken by the Father. This is not the way you would expect any man to be treated, much less the Son of God. As the Psalmist prophesies, Jesus is treated like a worm, not a man.[7] On the cross, Jesus becomes and is treated as the worst of all sinners. Luther writes, “And all the prophets saw this, that Christ was to become the greatest thief, murderer, adulterer, robber, desecrator, blasphemer … [that] there has ever been anywhere in the world. He is not acting in His own Person now. Now He is not the Son of God, born of the Virgin. But He is a sinner, who has and bears the sin of Paul, the former blasphemer, persecutor, and assaulter; of Peter, who denied Christ; of David, who was an adulterer and a murderer, and who caused the Gentiles to blaspheme the name of the Lord (Rom. 2:24). In short, He has and bears all the sins of all men in His body – not [because] he has committed them but [because, out of love,] He took these sins, committed by us, upon His own body, in order to make satisfaction for them with His own blood.”[8] On the cross, Jesus bears the sin that so easily entangles you. We see the wrath of the Father poured out on Christ as He bears the punishment we justly deserve. “What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners’ gain; / Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain. / Lo, here I fall my Savior! ‘Tis I deserve Thy place; / Look on me with Thy favor, And grant to me Thy grace.”[9]

Hope and Love.

All for sinners’ gain… It’s in the “why” of Christ’s Crucifixion that something so gory and so awful becomes something so gracious and wonderful. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. Jesus Christ suffered the punishment for your sin so you wouldn’t have to. Jesus Christ died to save you… He died to reconcile you to the Father and to make Himself your brother, so that you would become a co-heir with Him of Eternal Life. “For the human mind the death of Christ on the cross naturally [seems] to be utmost confusion and wretchedness, not the glorious salvation event it really [is]. But a Christian knows better in spite of tears, sorrow, pain, and death.”[10] By the Holy Spirit’s work through your Baptism, through the Word, and through the sustaining Holy Supper… you know better. You know that Christ’s death on the cross is your eternal life. “God the Father, driven by His loving will, sends [Jesus] His Word through which He creates the world. [We are] not simply ejected from creation… God’s Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, the first missionary, through whom God the Father is reconciled to [us].”[11] And we to Him.

Forgiveness and Salvation

Now, with eyes of faith we behold the Crucifixion with awe and wonder. The Crucifixion is even… beautiful. The dispensation of this beautiful exchange from the cross is what Christianity is all about. Our sin in exchange for Christ’s righteousness, the punishment we deserve in exchange for a full pardon, the death of our mortal flesh in exchange for everlasting life. Having heard of these things, do you want them? Is this an exchange you desire to be made? My brothers and sisters in Christ, they are yours by faith… and faith is a gift from the cross. After Jesus died, a soldier “pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.”[12] From the cross, Jesus, the Lamb of God, gives His Body for you to eat. From the cross, Jesus sheds His Blood for you to drink. And in the eating and drinking you receive strengthened faith and the forgiveness of sins. From the cross, Jesus pours out the baptismal waters so that you can be washed. And in the washing you receive faith and the righteousness of Christ. Jesus does all this so that you can hear the Word of God and believe it. Doesn’t it make sense now why we lift high the cross and hold it before us everywhere we go? Upon waking, before eating, while praying. The cross is the emblem of your salvation!

Suffering for a Time

The cross is also the emblem of your suffering. You, Christians, are partakers of the cross, joined to Christ by His very Body and Blood. Through your baptism you are bonded to the death of Jesus, but your baptism also binds you to His resurrection, “[f]or if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing.”[13] “[G]rief, torment, and pain will continue [in this life]. Spiritual trials, struggles of conscience, sorrow, and anguish must also occur. The heart must be smitten by terror; the old man must be destroyed. Struggles with unbelief, indignation against God, [and] even despair plague the Christian because [w]e often cannot see the will of God and His counsel in time of suffering.”[14] Behold… our cross.

“Luther’s advice is clear: Be still; let God rule. Thank God that He has given you the word and the promise. …fix [your] eyes and… [your] mind on the word alone, on baptism, on the Lord’s Supper, … on absolution.”[15] On His cross.

And so we look to the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray: “Be Thou my consolation, [O Lord,] My shield, when I must die; / Remind me of Thy passion When my last hour draws nigh. / Mine eyes shall then behold Thee, Upon Thy cross shall dwell, / My heart by faith enfold Thee. Who dieth thus dies well.”[16]

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

And now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting, until He returns in glory. Amen.

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[1] Isaiah 53:5, 12b

[2] Edward A. Engelbrecht, ed., Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 1: Introduction and Old Testament (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2014), 715.

[3] Tertullian, “The Chaplet, or De Corona,” in Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3, ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885), Chap. 3, ccel.org.

[4] “Abide with Me,” in Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 878, st. 6.

[5] 1 John 4:9b

[6] Isaiah 52:14b

[7] Psalm 22:6

[8] Martin Luther, Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4, vol. 26 of Luther’s Works, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1963), 277.

[9] “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” in Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), Hymn 449, st. 1.

[10] Heino O. Kadai, “Luther’s Theology of the Cross,” in Concordia Theological Quarterly Vol 63, no. 3 (July 1999): 193.

[11] Klaus Detlev Schulz, Mission from the Cross: The Lutheran Theology of Mission (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 93 (emphasis mine).

[12] John 19:34b

[13] Romans 6:5-6a

[14]  Heino O. Kadai, “Luther’s Theology of the Cross,” in Concordia Theological Quarterly Vol 63, no. 3 (July 1999): 194.

[15] Kadai, “Luther’s Theology of the Cross”: 194.

[16] “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” st. 4.