Sermons
"So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ." (Rom 10:17). While it's preferable to hear the sermon in person, those who could not attend, or would like to review the sermon again, can do so here.
February 18, 2026
JESU JUVA ASH WEDNESDAY Text: Joel 2:12-19; St. Matthew 6:16-21 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. “Behold, we journey up to Jerusalem” where they “kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to her.” For tonight, we begin our annual Lenten journey of penitence and mourning. We mourn for the guilt of original sin passed down through the generations from Adam and Eve. We mourn for our own guilt earned as a result of our sins, and we mourn especially for what our sins cost our GOD in His merciful act of redemption through His all atoning sacrifice on Calvary’s lonely mountain. It is for this reason, then, that this night, we take up our cross and follow the Man of Sorrows as He makes His journey to the Cross. You see, as sinners, we were under a curse from which we, on our own, had no hope of escape, “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” Therefore, on this night, nothing could be more appropriate than the ash upon your forehead in the shape of a cross as a symbol for your sin and your death, but also, your life. Those who have ashes placed on their foreheads remember first of all, the condemnation due to the stain of sin when GOD sent Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Yet, God did not exile Adam and Eve from paradise without hope; He sent them away with a promise. To the serpent GOD said, “I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” With these words GOD promised the coming One, the CHRIST, who would one day redeem them from sin and death. Just as GOD sent Adam and Eve into exile under the shadow of a promised redemption, so today, the ashes of this night fasten our eyes firmly on the Cross and resurrection of JESUS wherein we find GOD’s promise of redemption fulfilled, and our salvation complete. Remember then, that you are dust. “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return,” but by the grace of GOD through JESUS CHRIST, from that same dust you shall be joined together, body and soul, and rise again! Let us then, begin our Lenten journey with subdued joy, for Ash Wednesday is a portal, a door, that opens onto the season of Lent, and Lent is a window and its magnificent vista is nothing less than Easter. In this we rejoice, for our Lenten journey is not only one of penitence and mourning, but also one of glorious victory and exultation, for our destination is the Cross of JESUS and beyond to His empty tomb. By His innocent suffering and death on the Cross of Calvary we are saved, death conquered, and hell overcome. By His empty tomb and resurrection, our triumph in CHRIST is complete—no one is left to accuse us. Our sins are forgiven and we are free! So, it is, that we Christians are people who live in the eternal Day of the Resurrection; the Day in which, we await the final fulfillment of all things that we may finally rejoice in the Day of JESUS CHRIST. As we look forward to this coming Day when JESUS will return on the clouds of Heaven, we prepare for its climactic, annual celebration on Easter morning by way of Lent. This is a somber preparation because this preparation is a call to repentance, and repentance is the only preparation known by the Church. But this repentance does not wear a long face, nor does it make a great show of, or disfigure itself. For we are not in mourning as those who have no hope; we know the end of the story. Thus, we Christians look to the future with joy. During Lent, our joy may be subdued, but it is joy, nonetheless. We wait in quiet, yet excited, expectation of what will be on the Last Day when our joy will be set free from its restraint at the sound of the last trumpet and rise with shouts of gladness and songs of thanksgiving. For now, that joy is subdued and set free in short bursts on annual Easter mornings. Because this joy is restrained, its release can be very emotional and moving. Yet, Lent is not for creating warm emotions, not even religious emotions. Neither is Lent an attempt to impress GOD with how much we can do without or how bad we can make ourselves feel. Lent is about a rending of your heart, not your garments. It is a confession that GOD is right and you are wrong. It is about repentance and a reverent recognition of the grace, mercy, and love of our GOD who, for our sake, would take on our flesh to suffer and die in our place. Our subdued, yet excited joy and expectation know that soon we will find our rest in JESUS. It knows that we shall soon abide in that place where there is no sinful flesh to drag us down; no old Adam within us to be beaten back. It knows that in our place in JESUS only redeemed and sanctified, perfect, risen flesh, washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb, without sinful desires or aches and pains, without sickness and death, with souls that know no loneliness, disappointment, or depression, are to be found there. It is this expectation that gives us strength to lift our ashen heads, for behold, the Day comes when there will be no death, no mourning, no ashes, no sorrow. This then is the sum total of this day of ashes and season of Lent: Easter is coming. The way of sorrows that our LORD leads us down is not easy nor is it pleasant. Yet, by it, He has gained our salvation; death, hell, and sin have been overcome and the grave is left empty, once—for all. Now, let us come as the prophet Joel bids us: “with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning,” in repentance and quietness. For our GOD is “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness.” Your LORD is zealous for you and has taken pity on you. He has not allowed His SON to die in vain. He has accepted His sacrifice, and plucking you out of the dust, He speaks these words to you: “I forgive you all your sins.” IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. SOLI DEO GLORIA Rev. Raymond D. Parent II Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church Crestview, Florida 2/18/26 AD
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February 15, 2026
JESU JUVA QUINQUAGESIMA / ESTO MIHI Text: St. Luke 18:31-43 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. JESUS goes up to Jerusalem, His eyes firmly and resolutely set on His Cross of suffering and death. In Jerusalem “He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him.” JESUS is going up to Jerusalem to die. If that simple fact is all there is to the story, then the story of JESUS would be of little, if any, worth to anyone—especially when it comes to our salvation. Our LORD would be just one of many nameless Jews in the history of the world who suffered at the hands of the faceless, and in most cases, nameless oppressors and murderers, who appear in the long dark tale that is the history of mankind. Perhaps the best we could derive from such a story are a few moral imperatives about self-sacrifice for the sake of our neighbors, our friends and loved ones; that we should love one another, storing up real treasures and not worry over things we cannot change or have no power over; that we should do unto others what we would have done to us. In fact, the story of JESUS’ life would not be much different than any other morality story such as an Aesop’s Fable or the sayings of Confucius, and the like. Yet, that is not the complete story of the life, mission, and sacrifice of our LORD. You see, JESUS was not simply going up to Jerusalem to fulfill some imaginary self-defined destiny conceived by a sick mind with a God complex, whose sole purpose was to commit suicide by crucifixion. No! He was bound for Jerusalem to accomplish all things written of Him by the prophets. He was going to Jerusalem to fulfill His FATHER’s will. He was going up to Jerusalem to die for the purpose of saving you and me. That, dear ones, is the purpose of CHRIST’s sacrifice and the very purpose of His incarnation. Everything we do as Christians flows from this one great fact: JESUS died for us, to save us from sin, Satan, and the grave. All things that are written by the prophets concerning our salvation have been accomplished in this one great transcendent act. With this act, the FATHER’s will has been fulfilled, His terrible wrath appeased, and “It is finished,” “It is finished,” and the Foundation for the House of God, the Temple not made by human hands but made alive in divine human flesh, is now complete. With this act, our God and Savior has come as our own High Priest to be the Sin Offering and Sacrifice of Mercy for His creation. This is the message of the Gospel. This is the very center of Christian faith and is, therefore, the message of our redemption. If one gets this wrong then everything else in one’s life and worship is tainted by error. For from the misunderstanding of this one great truth springs all doubt, all fear, all heresy, all false worship, and unbelief. A wrong understanding of this Gospel causes man to strive to achieve salvation by his own works, to acquire the forgiveness of his sins by his own merit and build a ladder to heaven through his own self-righteousness. Yet, does your heart not tell you that such effort is nothing more than fig leaves and foolishness? The Word of GOD tells us that our own efforts are worthless, that we owe much more than we could ever hope to repay. Holy Scripture is quite clear that we are spiritually bankrupt before GOD, and even if we could repay our debt of sin, ultimately the price of sin is still death. For through the Apostle, Saint Paul, GOD tells us, “the wages of sin is death,” and for “him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt.” So it is, that in the end, when we have done all that is commanded of us, all we can say is, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” Therefore, the plea of the blind man in our Gospel text is indeed, the plea of the Church; his prayer is our prayer, and so it must be. For there is no prayer that pleases our GOD more than when His children turn to Him, seeking from Him His free grace and favor, and thus, His mercy, and His love. Such a prayer is GOD-pleasing, because such a prayer asks our LORD to do exactly what He took on our flesh and died upon the Cross to do—to save us, to give us His mercy. For this reason, our LORD JESUS sets His face toward Jerusalem. He looks to the city that murders the prophets and stones those sent to her. He goes to fulfill all things that even the blind shall see and the deaf shall be made to hear. He goes up to the City of Peace in order to give peace to all those who will believe. For to fulfill all things means to pay your debt of sin, “not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious Blood and with His innocent suffering and death.” (Luther’s explanation to the Second Article of the Apostle’s Creed, The Small Catechism) JESUS goes up to Jerusalem to die, to contend with Satan in combat stupendous, to wrench free from His hideous grasp those who are slaves to sin and all unrighteousness. JESUS goes to appease the wrath of His FATHER that He may declare the guilty innocent and release them from their chains in which they are bound, to shine the Light of Truth and Hope into the dark recesses of their misery. Consequently, we must see ourselves as blind men. We must see that on our own we have no way out of the darkness and despair. We must recognize and confess that we are powerless to save ourselves. Then, and only then, can we receive what our LORD JESUS so urgently desires for us. Only when we enter the courtroom as condemned criminals with no hope of redemption or escape from eternal punishment, can the hope of redemption be born. Only those who plead guilty before GOD can receive and enjoy His mercy. For this is what it means to be justified. It means to be declared innocent when all the evidence weighs against you. It means to be set free when you should be condemned to death. So, heeding our LORD’s words, we walk upon the road to Jerusalem with our SAVIOR and there, enter the City of Peace for our peace. For there, JESUS will be mocked. There, GOD will be treated with contempt. He will be betrayed by the very people He came to save. The soldiers of Pilate will beat Him nearly to death. There, JESUS will be nailed to the Cross of sorrow and disgrace, deserted by His friends, mourned by His Mother, hated and spat upon by the very people He came to save. JESUS will be blasphemed. The Roman soldiers will offer Him sour wine on that Cross and say, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” The religious authorities will mock Him saying, “If You are the SON of God, come down from the cross.” But CHRIST will not save Himself and come down from the Cross, for what His enemies meant for evil, CHRIST means for good—your good and mine. Thus, was JESUS counted among thieves and murderers, with the most wicked of men, and endured the most shameful, painful, and evil of deaths. For you see, for you to be set free, our LORD had to be bound. When you were given life, He was given your death. When you were declared innocent, He was declared guilty in your place. This is what it means when JESUS tells His disciples “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the SON of Man will be accomplished.” For the sole concern of the SON of Man is to do the will of the One who sent Him—His FATHER, and our FATHER, in Heaven. The will of our FATHER, and therefore, the will of His SON, JESUS, is that you be saved, and in saving you, all things written by the prophets must be accomplished. Not one thing can be left undone. For the way of the Cross of JESUS is the way of GOD’s grace and our salvation. Therefore, if you would know the grace of GOD and the love of GOD, then stand at the foot of the Cross with Saint Mary, the Mother of GOD, and with Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint John, the Apostle whom JESUS loved. To know the grace and love of GOD, look up into the bloody, disfigured face of your SAVIOR, CHRIST JESUS, and know the lengths to which your GOD has gone to save you. Though now we see but dimly, though now our vision is not yet complete, nor is it as clear as it will be, we can be assured of this; our hope has been fulfilled. This is not some distant, vague wish, but a confident and fervent knowledge of a promise fulfilled—a promise fulfilled by our LORD and our GOD. Our LORD JESUS was crucified and He did die, but He did not stay dead. The grave could not hold Him, for with His death He conquered death, and we who are Baptized into His Name forever share in His victory over the grave. Now we wait for His call to join Him in the Heavenly Jerusalem; there to be given the gift of eternal life and peace. Until that sacred Day our GOD has provided us with the gifts of His true Body and Blood in the blessed Sacrament of the Altar to strengthen us in times of fear and doubt, to strengthen our weak hands and make firm our feeble knees and our weak faith. Thus strengthened, with eyes no longer blind, and with ears unstopped that they can hear, we shall leap like deer, and our sin-parched tongues shall be released to sing with the angels, and archangels, and all the saints of Heaven. Behold, JESUS has gone up to Jerusalem for you. There, He has declared His love for you. There, His mercy has been poured out that your cup overflow. The day is coming that you too, will go up to the heavenly Jerusalem and all things concerning GOD’s promises for you will be made complete; there your eyes will be completely opened, for all things concerning JESUS, the SON of Man and the SON of GOD have been accomplished for you. All things have been accomplished so that JESUS can say to you, “You are forgiven you all your sins.” IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. SOLI DEO GLORIA Rev. Raymond D. Parent II Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church Crestview, Florida 2/15/26 AD
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February 1, 2026
JESU JUVA SEPTUAGESIMA -Text: St. Matthew 20:1-16 In the Name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY SPIRIT. Amen. Perhaps the most fundamental thing one learns from the Holy Gospel is that forgiveness of our sins, Heaven, and eternal life, cannot be either earned or bought by mankind at any price. Such is impossible. The price for our salvation has already been paid by our LORD JESUS CHRIST who bought our freedom not with gold or silver, but with His own precious Blood. We have only to believe. Still, this is not license. It is true that as Christians, as children of GOD, we live in the freedom of the Gospel, and therefore, freedom from the law, but we do not live as we please. To live as we please without regard to who we are in CHRIST would be pure hypocrisy. It is for this reason we confess, “It is also taught among us that we cannot obtain forgiveness of sin and righteousness before GOD by our own merits, works, or satisfactions, but that we receive forgiveness of sin and become righteous before GOD by grace, for CHRIST’s sake, through faith, when we believe that CHRIST suffered for us and that for His sake our sin is forgiven and righteousness and eternal life are given to us. For GOD will regard and reckon this faith as righteousness, as Paul says in Romans 3:21–26 and 4:5.” (AC IV: Justification). In addition, we also confess, “It is also taught among us that such faith should produce good fruits and good works and that we must do all such good works as GOD has commanded, but we should do them for GOD’s sake and not place our trust in them as if thereby to merit favor before GOD. For we receive forgiveness of sin and righteousness through faith in CHRIST, as CHRIST Himself says, ‘So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, “We are unworthy servants”’ (St. Luke 17:10). The Fathers also teach thus, for Ambrose says, ‘It is ordained of GOD that whoever believes in CHRIST shall be saved, and he shall have forgiveness of sins, not through works but through faith alone, without merit.’” (AC VI: New Obedience). Therefore, whether we have done our best in this life or have only performed what is our duty to do as children of GOD, we remain unworthy servants. Yet, even our duty we cannot do, for it is our duty to fear, love, and trust in GOD above all things and love our neighbor as ourselves; things of which we continually fall far short. If one simply adheres to Christianity for the sake of reward and not for the sake of CHRIST JESUS who saved us, then he or she is surely no Christian. For one is a Christian who loves and serves our LORD GOD believing our reward is to possess and be possessed by our loving SAVIOR. Therefore, I pray you will not be disappointed, but in the Kingdom of Heaven there will be no salary or contract arbitration. No unions, no union stewards, no union bosses, no board of directors, or owners with which to deal, no contracts to approve or sign. Nor is the Kingdom of Heaven a democracy where the wishes, desires, and demands of the majority rule the day. Neither is it some kind of socialist utopia where all things are necessarily equal. GOD never promised equality; He did, however, promise salvation. Therefore, who are we to judge GOD and His will? Who are we to begrudge the benefits our neighbor received from our gracious God lest we become like Satan who, in his jealousy, hates mankind for the love shown to us by our FATHER in Heaven. Satan has received His reward. So, also, shall those who do likewise. You see, the Kingdom of Heaven is now, and always has been, a theocracy, that is, it is governed solely by the will of GOD. Therefore, what GOD says goes. There, GOD’s will is done. GOD sets the rules and no amount of arbitration will change He who is unchangeable, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will not negotiate nor will He compromise. You may think that unfair. I would agree. It is eminently unfair, but not for the reasons you may believe. You see, GOD is not like you and me. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways and thoughts are far above all human understanding. Does the clay undertake to understand the potter? Does a worm consider his Creator? Does a lifeless stone meditate on He who made the seas and dry land and placed the sun and stars in the heavens? No, and far less can we poor sinners comprehend the mind, or heart, or will of GOD. For our GOD, who alone is GOD, does the unexpected. He is merciful to those who deserve no mercy. He loves the unlovable and those who hate Him. He declares the unclean, clean, and the sinner righteous. He gives His Kingdom to any who desire it. This He does, not because we earn it, nor for the reason that we deserve it—not because there is any merit or worthiness on our part at all. He gives to us citizenship in His Kingdom because He is moved by His mercy and compassion for our desperate need. So, it is not fair; it is divine grace and divine grace alone! For what does our GOD owe you? What have you done that merits His grace and compassion? Do you somehow mistakenly believe, as did the pharisee in the temple, that you have acquired GOD’s favor based on your piety and service to GOD and His Church? Repent! Take heed lest you fall, for your labors in the vineyard are no more than your duty to GOD and your neighbor, and those who believe otherwise are here warned, “The last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.” Therefore, know this, you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven by the grace of GOD alone—or you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all. That, my friends, is the bottom line. You cannot earn GOD’s grace. Your wages, that is your salvation, are a free gift of GOD. I cannot emphasize this truth enough, it is completely a matter of grace; it is that simple! Still, your tendency is to desire some amount of credit for your salvation. You mistakenly believe that it is your faith that saves you, and because you believe more than your neighbor, you deserve more than your neighbor. But in this, you are wrong. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. GOD does not declare the sinner righteous because his faith is so fine and morally excellent, but only because one’s faith believes in the promise of JESUS’ all-sufficient sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. For this reason, St. Paul does not write, “By faith you have been saved” but “By grace you have been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of GOD.” Did you hear that? Listen closely! Your faith is the gift of GOD. You cannot by your own works or merit add one jot or tiddle to GOD’s gift. It can be no other, unless it becomes your own work. If it is your own work it becomes your own righteousness, but your own righteousness avails you nothing, for your own righteousness is nothing but sinful, filthy rags before GOD, leaving you as an unclean thing. To make faith your work is nothing less than bringing CHRIST JESUS down from His Cross and despising His sacrifice. Without the Cross of JESUS CHRIST, you have nothing. That is not to say that faith avails one nothing; of course, it avails one much. One is saved through faith, but one must never forget from whom faith comes and to whom true faith looks. For Satan and his demons have faith of a sort. They confess who JESUS is, and surely, they know exactly what He has done. Yet, theirs is nothing more than an intellectual knowledge, an acknowledgment of undeniable fact. They no more worship the GOD of Heaven and Earth, or look to Him for every blessing, than does a rock. They do not believe, nor would they or could they ever confess and accept unconditionally, or otherwise, that JESUS CHRIST is our Righteousness. Never would they look to the Cross of CHRIST for their salvation. But the Cross of JESUS is the guarantee of GOD’s grace and love. It is GOD’s assurance that He has given to men far more than they deserve or could even desire, and far more than they could pay for the forgiveness of their sins. For there, on the Cross of Calvary, JESUS received what you deserve. There, JESUS received the wages that were rightfully yours to receive. It was there the unblemished Lamb was roasted by the fiery, blistering, wrath of GOD’s justice for your sin; and death passed over you. Death has passed over you because the very same Blood of that Lamb shed on that Cross has been painted on the doorposts and lintels of your heart through preaching, through Baptism, and the Holy Eucharist, creating faith where there was none and nurturing and strengthening that faith until CHRIST returns to pay out His wages to all believers. So it is, that in the Kingdom of Heaven GOD gives to you not as your labors deserve, but as His love desires. And His love desires to give you salvation and eternal life with Him in His Kingdom. To accomplish this, there is nothing He will not sacrifice. Therefore, instead of giving you the death your transgressions of the Law demand, He gives you His only-begotten Son. This is a Gift you have no right to demand or expect. It is a free Gift of God’s boundless grace and love. With this Gift you receive, as the Prophet Isaiah tells us, “from the LORD’s hand Double for all [your] sins.” Therefore, “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion [you] shall rejoice in [your] portion. Therefore in [your] land [you] shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be [yours].” This is the chief meaning that our LORD teaches us in today’s Gospel—that our GOD rewards sinners by grace alone, and gives to us poor miserable sinners more than we deserve. We deserve eternal death and instead, He gives to us forgiveness of sin, salvation, and eternal life; and all this He gives to us out of pure, fatherly, and divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness on our part at all. Dearly beloved, the Kingdom of Heaven is not about what you deserve or merit; it is a Kingdom of GOD’s Grace. It is a Kingdom of GOD’s immeasurable love for you, and even now you have a part in this grace and mercy. For here, at this very altar, is the sign of His love, His true Body and Blood, given and shed for you, with and under the elements of bread and wine. With this wonderful gift He calls you to the head of the line. You were last, but GOD’s grace has made you first. It is not a reward for your work; it is grace. It is the way of GOD and the way of His righteousness. So, come and receive what you did not earn, but what He died to give you—Himself. Yes, come, eat and drink, and hear your LORD JESUS say, “I forgive you all your sins.” IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AMEN. SOLI DEO GLORIA Rev. Raymond D. Parent II Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church Crestview, Florida 2/1/26 AD