Parish Blog

A sermon for the Day of Pentecost, by Fr. Dan Suelzle

The power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost turned a group of uneducated disciples into courageous preachers who proclaimed the mighty works of God in Christ. Just as the Spirit transformed Peter from a man who denied Christ into a bold witness of the resurrection, God continues to perform his works wherever His Word is proclaimed. This divine power is not a vague energy we tap into for a quick boost; rather, it is a concrete, life-giving force that meets us in our absolute helplessness. Like a physician administering CPR, the Holy Spirit raises us from spiritual death to life through the Gospel, initiating a saving faith that we could never achieve on our own strength or reason.

As baptized believers navigating a broken world, we continually need the Spirit’s ongoing work as our helper, comforter, and teacher. In the midst of our daily struggles against sin, temptation, and a culture that rejects the truth, the Holy Spirit actively silences the devil’s accusations by pointing us back to the cross and unburdening our consciences through forgiveness. He does not deliver this teaching through isolated, individual experiences, but through the tangible gifts of Word and Sacrament within the gathering of the Church. By anchoring us to Christ’s truth, the Holy Spirit grants us a divine, lasting peace, ensuring that the same miraculous work that began at Pentecost continues to sustain and keep us in the one true faith today.

Listen to the sermon audio below.

A sermon for Exaudi, by Fr. Josh Leigeber

In this year’s Exaudi homily, the focus centered on the Church’s calling in the time between Christ’s Ascension and His return. Christ has poured out His Holy Spirit and sent His Church into the world to bear witness to the Gospel — not with a message of our own invention, but with the apostolic testimony handed down in Holy Scripture.

The sermon emphasized that faithful Christian witness will often meet opposition because the Gospel confronts sin and proclaims salvation through Christ crucified. Yet Christians are called to respond not with bitterness, but with love, humility, and patient endurance, remembering that apart from God’s mercy we too would remain in unbelief.

Drawing on Saint Peter’s words that “love covers a multitude of sins,” the homily encouraged believers to use the gifts God has entrusted to them — both individually and as the Church together — in service to the Gospel and the salvation of their neighbors.

As All Saints enters its annual Time of Inquiry and prepares for Pentecost, the congregation is reminded that the Holy Spirit continues to work through the Church’s witness while we await Christ’s glorious return.

Listen to the sermon audio below.

A sermon for Rogate, by Fr. Josh Leigeber

On Rogate Sunday, we heard again Christ’s invitation to pray with confidence to the Father in His Name. But the Gospel also reminds us that prayer does not sustain faith by itself. The disciples scattered when their faith failed — and it was the risen Christ who restored them through His Word, forgiveness, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Christian prayer flows from faith created and sustained by the Means of Grace. God speaks first; faith answers in prayer.

This sermon reflects on the relationship between the Word of God, the gift of faith, and the life of prayer that flows from hearing and receiving Christ’s gifts.

“Prayer doesn’t sustain faith; it flows out of it.”

Listen to the sermon audio below.