Palm Sunday 2026

March 30, 2026 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

The New Testament never uses priest for the office Jesus instituted. The only priesthood Jesus establishes is the collective, royal priesthood of all the baptized. St. Peter writes to the whole church: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” [1 Pt 2.9].

A church that has special, ordained “priests” denies the pure Gospel. That’s because in the NT, Jesus is the priest….

Thanksgiving 2025

November 27, 2025 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

When resources are scarce, anxiety is over food. Jesus asks, “Why do you worry about what you will eat?”

There’s no scarcity in America. But there’s still anxiety. And the anxiety still often connects to food. We eat our feelings. Or drink our feelings. Or find other ways to make ourselves numb – doomscrolling, binge watching, cyber shopping – something to distract us from our meaningless lives trapped on the conveyor belt, ending in a nursing home reeking of urine and loneliness.

“Do not be anxious about anything,” the Epistle for Thanksgiving says. How? Anxiety is our daily bread….

Cantate 2022

May 23, 2022 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

When we are angry, we are putting ourselves in the place of God the judge. The sin of anger puts our souls in danger. Jesus and John the Baptist would both say, “Repent.” James says, ‘Put away these sins, and receive with meekness, i.e., humility, the saving Word of absolution.” …

Funeral of Nicholas Corvelli

Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church

August 19, 2019 by Christopher Esget in Sermons

At any age, losing a father devastates. It’s disorienting. A father protects, provides, and guides. And Nick was all of that. Without your father, the world is not right. It stings.

This loss opens a flood of emotions: grief; guilt; anger. That’s natural. But experiencing the loss points us to the gift. A father is a gift; so is a husband, a grandfather, a friend. A father is a gift. So today is a day to give thanks.