The Gottesdienst Crowd

This is a recording of the sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity from George Stoeckhardt’s book Grace Upon Grace: Gospel Sermons for the Church Year, reprinted by Steadfast Press. 

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In this Gottescast, The Gottesdienst Crowd wades into biographical sketches of some key American Lutheran liturgical reformers. The first liturgical reformer is Luther D. Reed. Mark Braden (Gottesdienst Editor, the author of the recurring column "Taking Pains," and pastor of Zion Lutheran, Detroit, MI) takes us through this man's life and work. 

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Two pastors thinking out loud about the upcoming Gospel reading. This episode is devoted to the Gospel reading for The Third Sunday after Trinity, Luke 15:1–32.

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This is a recording of the sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity from George Stoeckhardt’s book Grace Upon Grace: Gospel Sermons for the Church Year, reprinted by Steadfast Press. 

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In this episode, we confront a growing trend in contemporary Christianity: the desire to have Christ without His Church. Many today seek a personal faith disconnected from any visible communion, doctrine, or shared life with the Body of Christ. But is such a divorce possible—or faithful?

We begin by exploring modern attempts to follow Jesus while distancing from the Church, examining the roots of this spiritual individualism and the dangers it poses. Then we turn to the Lutheran Confessions, where Luther clearly affirms that the Church is not only a human community but an article of faith: “I believe that there is on earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints...” (SA III.XII.1–2; Large Catechism, Creed, III). The Church is where Christ is present with His Word and Sacraments.

Finally, we present a better way forward—a way rooted in love for both the Bridegroom and His Bride. To love Christ is to love His Church. To receive Him is to receive His gifts in the fellowship of believers. Join us as we seek a faithful and joyful reintegration of personal faith with the life of the Church, where Christ is truly known and received.

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Two pastors thinking out loud about the upcoming Gospel reading. This episode is devoted to the Gospel reading for St. Peter & St. Paul, Apostles, Matthew 16:13–19.

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This is a recording of the sermon for the Second Sunday after Trinity from George Stoeckhardt’s book Grace Upon Grace: Gospel Sermons for the Church Year, reprinted by Steadfast Press. 

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The Augsburg Interim was a tumultuous time in the history of the Lutheran Church. With outside pressure and from within to compromise and capitulate, the time was tumultuous but also revelatory and clarifying. In this first episode, Karl Hess begins to take us through how the Lutheran Church in America is experiencing it’s own Interim. 

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Two pastors thinking out loud about the upcoming Gospel reading. This episode is devoted to the Gospel reading for the First Sunday after Trinity, Luke 16:19–31.

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This is a recording of the sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity from George Stoeckhardt’s book Grace Upon Grace: Gospel Sermons for the Church Year, reprinted by Steadfast Press. 

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