8. Festivals and Occasions

"Request with Thanksgiving!" (Sermon on Philippians 4:4-9) | November 26, 2025

Thanksgiving and contentment go hand-in-hand. If you’re thankful for what you have, there’s a high likelihood that you’re content. And likewise, if you’re content with what you have, you’re probably thankful for it.

But I think it can be tempting to equate contentment and thanksgiving with never desiring something more, but in truth, it’s a bit more nuanced than that. Certainly a lack of gratitude and seeking after more! more! more! is a problem. But can you be thankful for what you have, content even, and still desire something beyond it?

"Welcome to the New Jerusalem!" (Sermon on Revelation 21:1-6) | November 2, 2025

I’ve been spending a good amount of time the last week or so looking over maps for the East Coast to get familiar with the lay of the land before Alex and I head out for a long weekend trip there the end of the week. One thing that stands out as you look at a map of that area, or really in a lot of places in the United States, is how often the “New” prefix is added to the front of place names. New York, New Hampshire, New England, New Mexico. All of these exist because people were going from their home to a new place, and they had the goal to make the new place like their home, but better. It’ll be like York—but new and better. The region will be like England, but new and better.

"The LORD Reforms Us" (Sermon on Jeremiah 31:31-34) | October 26, 2025

When do you need reform? Activist groups may call for reform in some area of leadership or government when they sense that the plans and actions of those in charge are not in line with the leadership’s stated goals—or the desires of the people involved. You may sense a need for reform in your own life when bad habits start pushing out good habits, and you find yourself not dedicated to your priorities and values like you want to be. Reform may be called for when a group’s actions or policies reflect a different era. These ways of doing things may have made sense in the past, but perhaps that reasoning no longer applies today.

"Let Us Tend the Tree of Faith" (Sermon on Luke 13:6-9) | December 29, 2024

I was listening to a year-in-review podcast last week, and one of the hosts of the show made a joke at one point along the lines of, “It’s good to know that once January 1 comes, once the clock ticks over to midnight and it’s 2025, all the world’s problems will disappear.” Truly, January 1, 2025 will not really be different than December 31, or December 29, or…

It’s one of the reasons I have no qualms about observing the New Year transition in worship today rather than two days from now. It’s not really that big of a deal. The opportunities for reflection and forward-thinking are not limited to one 24-hour period. It’s one of the reasons I really don’t like New Year’s Resolutions because, if you’ve identified something you want to do or a change you want to make, why not start it on December 29th or November 17th or whatever rather than waiting for this arbitrary point in the future.

"Stand Confidently in God's Grace" (Sermon on Daniel 3:16-28) | October 27, 2024

Our First Reading this morning takes us back thousands of years in history, but it might take you far back in your personal history as well. The Three Men in the Fiery Furnace is an account that is in almost every children’s Bible and Sunday School curriculum. Despite the grim possibility of three young men being burned alive in a furnace, it is often referred to encourage both young and old to stand confidently, to follow in the pattern of these young men and their trust in God’s promises. This morning, as we observe this Reformation festival, let’s join them in standing confidently in God’s grace, his undeserved love for us.

Gloria Dei is a  member congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.