Sermons
Listen, watch or read sermons from Manchester Lutheran Church, and explore them through the Christian year.
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Why does my life matter?
Why does my life matter? God is in a good mood with you. You don’t see that when you look at yourself. You don’t see that when you look at your life. You don’t even see that when you look at your faith. Because, God’s good mood doesn’t depend on those things. It’s objective. It…
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Don’t I deserve better than to suffer like this?
Don’t I deserve better than to suffer like this? That question doesn’t need explaining. Don’t I deserve better than to suffer like this? Now, the problem isn’t that the issue of suffering is complicated… …it’s that suffering is such an emotional, difficult, raw issue for all of us here today, and watching online later. I…
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Having no strategy, credibility, networks, money, or numbers—is our church dead?
Having no strategy, credibility, networks, money, or numbers—is our church dead? All of us want to feel secure and sure about things. So we naturally rest our trust in things we can see. When it comes to churches, our natural instincts are to trust in …a detailed strategy …credibility borrowed from somewhere else …a network…
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Why are Lutherans controversial—even at Christmas?
Why are Lutherans controversial — _even_ at Christmas? “Doctrine divides.”“It’s all a matter of interpretation”“Can’t you just focus on Jesus?” These are the criticisms you hear whenever you make clear statements about God. From the beginning of the Reformation, this was the problem people had with Luther. Not that he was unclear — but that…
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Aren’t I too important to need Christmas?
Aren’t I too important to need Christmas? At Christmas and New Year we often think about our lives:“What impact have I had?”“Am I useful?”“Am I a success or a failure?” We compare ourselves to others. We replay missed chances. We measure our worth. In other words: you put yourself at the centre of your own…
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How does Christmas actually fix anything?
How does Christmas actually fix anything? We sing about peace on earth, but most of us look around and think: “Nothing’s changed.” I regularly get this challenge from my Atheist friends: Pete, you say Jesus has saved the world: but I don’t see it. And someone from church said to me this week: If it’s…
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Why does Christmas kill the idea of “Christian Britain”?
Why does Christmas kill the idea of “Christian Britain”? So many people set their hope on this world. And especially in the structures that shape this world… …government and politics. If only we had… The right policies. The right taxes. The right people. If only we could achieve… The right solution. The right deal. The…
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Have I ruined my life for good?
Have I ruined my life for good? We all carry the weight of regrets. Choices we wish we could undo. Seasons we wasted. Words we can’t take back. Welcome to the book of Isaiah, a prophecy written to people like you and me. Back in chapter 1 he laid out this problem, for God’s people…
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Should I forgive when they’re not really sorry?
Should I forgive when they’re not really sorry? In Jesus’ day, the rabbis tried to quantify righteousness: ‘Forgive three times,’ they said — ‘after that they don’t deserve it.’ We no longer count sins the way the rabbis did — but we still keep score. We measure sincerity. We analyse tone. We watch for signs…
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How can God’s law—so often felt as a burden—become for the Christian a source of joy, peace, and blessing?
Martin Luther said about Psalm 119: “This is a psalm one can read one’s whole life – and still not finish.” The psalm contains such deep wisdom for life that an entire life of contemplation does not exhaust its treasures. But Luther’s words also apply on a more concrete, literal level, at least almost: Psalm…
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Why go to church if God already loves you?
Why go to church if God already loves you? If God is already in a good mood with you: why bother coming? In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus gives five great speeches. The previous one, ch 18, was about life in God’s community: …the church …the people gathered around His Word. But, by ch 21, we see…
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Is God angry with me?
Is God Angry With Me? The Catholic Church, the Reformed, and most evangelicals say: “Yes, but here’s what you can do to calm him down.” Luther said: “No.” And this difference is at the heart of the Reformation. Paul wrote the book of Romans so that everyone in the Roman church would agree about what…