Hope Lutheran Chuch

10/11/2026

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t think of yourself highly—rejoice in your Savior abundantly. You cannot provide a life well-lived enough to enter heaven. The only option you have is to depend on Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness, the results of His life and death in our place. And Jesus gives that mercy and forgiveness freely to all. You have the certainty of eternal life not because of you, but because of your Savior. You will be seated at that eternal feast in the right clothes because you will be (and are) clothed in your Savior.
Because of His unending and undeserved love for you, your eternal King has called you to the wedding banquet. You did not deserve it or earn it, but He freely provides all that you need. You will be safe and protected with Him forever because He has forgiven you. Thanks be to God! Amen.
So, may the Peace of GOD, which surpasses all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, until that Day of Everlasting Life! Amen!

Excerpt from Pastor Kramer's sermon on Oct. 11, 2026

10/10/2026

Love in Christ Is Strong and Living - LSB 706

1. Love in Christ is strong and living,
Binding faithful hearts as one;
Love in Christ is true and giving.
May His will in us be done.

2 Love is patient and forbearing,
Clothed in Christ’s humility,
Gentle, selfless, kind, and caring,
Reaching out in charity.

3 Love in Christ abides forever,
Fainting not when ills attend;
Love, forgiving and forgiven,
Shall endure until life’s end.

One of the hymns for Oct. 11, 2026

10/08/2026

Clothed in the Righteousness of Christ, We Partake of His Wedding Feast

By His cross and resurrection, the Lord has swallowed up death forever, and by His Gospel He “will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth” (Isaiah 25:8). Therefore, “let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (Isaiah 25:9). On the mountain of the Lord of hosts — in His Church on earth, as in the kingdom of heaven — He has made “for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine” (Isaiah 25:6). It is the royal “wedding feast” of the Son of God, “and everything is ready” (Matthew 22:1, 4). Thus, His servants are sent into the highways and byways to invite and gather as many as they find, “both good and bad,” to fill the wedding hall with guests (Matthew 22:8–10). In Holy Baptism, He clothes them all in the “wedding garment” of His own perfect righteousness (Matthew 22:11). Therefore, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God,” and “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4–6).

Isaiah 25:6–9
Philippians 4:4–13
Matthew 22:1–14

October 11, 2026

10/06/2026

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, this is Good News! We are so blessed by the grace, love and patience of GOD. And it’s good news that we don’t have to understand God’s patience to benefit from it. Your forgiveness doesn’t require you to explain why God’s course of action was right. You benefit from Jesus’ work because He gives it to you. Unlike in the parable, God’s Son died but then rose triumphantly. The love of God conquered every sin so we will not meet a wretched end. Instead, we will be with our loving, patient God in the perfection of heaven forever.

So, spend some time this week letting God’s patient, forgiving love hit you anew. Let it be fresh and amazing again, no matter how many times you’ve heard it. And then let your life bear the fruit of thanksgiving. Let your life praise God for His patience — not by excusing sin, but by prioritizing His will, knowing He has given you everything, even eternal life, for the sake of Jesus your Savior. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Excerpt of Pastor Kramer's sermon on Oct. 4, 2026

10/06/2026

Christ Is Our Cornerstone

1 Christ is our cornerstone,
On Him alone we build;
With His true saints alone
The courts of heav'n are filled.
On His great love
Our hopes we place
Of present grace
And joys above.

2 Here may we gain from heav'n
The grace which we implore,
And may that grace, once giv'n,
Be with us evermore
Until that day
When all the blest
To endless rest
Are called away.

3 Oh, then, with hymns of praise
These hallowed courts shall ring;
Our voices we will raise
The Three in One to sing
And thus proclaim
In joyful song,
Both loud and long,
That glorious name.

Hymn as a part of worship on Oct. 4. Wonderful words!

10/01/2026

The True Vine Redeems the Vineyard of the LORD of Hosts

“The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel” (Isaiah 5:7), which He planted “on a very fertile hill” (Isaiah 5:1). He did everything for His vineyard, not only clearing it of stones and planting it with “choice vines,” but also building the “watchtower” of His prophets and hewing out the “wine vat” of His priesthood in its midst (Isaiah 5:2). But when “he looked for it to yield grapes,” there were only “wild grapes” of bloodshed and unrighteousness (Isaiah 5:2, 7). The Lord Jesus likewise described the unfaithfulness of those who were called to care for His vineyard (Matthew 21:33–35). But in this He also describes His cross and Passion (Matthew 21:38–39), by which He has redeemed the vineyard for Himself. He is the true Vine, planted by death into the ground, and in His resurrection He brings forth “the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41). Among those good grapes of the true Vine is the apostle Paul. Once a zealous persecutor of the Church, he “suffered the loss of all things” in order to “gain Christ and be found in him,” to “know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:8–10).

NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Proper 22
October 4, 2026

Isaiah 5:1–7
Philippians 3:4b–14
Matthew 21:33–46

09/29/2026

Our Father in Heaven Protects His Children by Giving His Holy Angels Charge Over Them

We live in “a time of trouble” (Daniel 12:1), in the midst of great tribulation. Satan and his wicked angels have been thrown out of heaven and have come down to earth “in great wrath,” with woeful “temptations to sin” and with constant accusations (Revelation 12:8–12; Matthew 18:7). Even so, we are encouraged by the presence and protection of St. Michael and the holy angels, whom God sends to help us in the strife (Daniel 10:11–13). By “the authority of his Christ,” His holy angels guard and keep us in body and soul. These heavenly servants of God preserve His human messengers on earth, the ministers of “the blood of the Lamb,” against all the power of the enemy, for by “the word of their testimony,” the Church is saved and the devil is defeated (Revelation 12:10–11; Luke 10:18–19). By their preaching and Baptism of repentance, the old Adam and the old evil foe are “drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). As God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, so are His people delivered and raised from the dust of the earth through the forgiveness of their sins (Daniel 12:1–3).

ST. MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS
(29 September 2026)

Daniel 10:10–14; 12:1–3
Revelation 12:7–12
Matthew 18:1–11 or Luke 10:17–20

09/29/2026

Excerpt of sermon:
My friends: I didn't die on the cross for your sins, and you didn’t either. Jesus Christ did. None of us has the authority or the power to even conquer a simple head cold, and we certainly don't have the authority or power over sin, death, and the grave that our Lord and Savior so clearly demonstrated throughout His earthly ministry, reaching its fulfillment in His own glorious resurrection to new life on that blessed Easter morning; a resurrection that means new life for each and every believer in Christ.
So finally, I'll leave you with Jesus' own words for His bride, the Church: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me [by my Father]. Go now and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name [the authority] of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them [by My same authority] to obey all I have commanded you." Well, I think you’d agree that's pretty clear. That's pretty authoritative. My friends: Let this be our prayer, our vision, and our mission from this point forward.

Pastor Tom Kramer
Sept. 27, 2026

09/27/2026

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

One of the hymns related to the Scriptures for Sept. 27.

1 Holy God, we praise Thy name;
Lord of all, we bow before Thee.
All on earth Thy scepter claim,
All in heav'n above adore Thee.
Infinite Thy vast domain;
Everlasting is Thy reign.

2 Hark! The glad celestial hymn
Angel choirs above are raising;
Cherubim and seraphim,
In unceasing chorus praising,
Fill the heav'ns with sweet accord:
Holy, holy, holy Lord!

3 Lo! the apostles' holy train
Joins Thy sacred name to hallow;
Prophets swell the glad refrain,
And the white-robed martyrs follow,
And from morn to set of sun
Through the Church the song goes on.

4 Thou art King of Glory, Christ;
Son of God, yet born of Mary.
For us sinners sacrificed,
As to death a Tributary,
First to break the bars of death,
Thou hast opened heav'n to faith.

5 Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit: three we name Thee,
Though in essence only one,
Undivided God we claim Thee,
And, adoring, bend the knee
While we own the mystery.

09/23/2026