Last night, Pastor Peter Ward of Faith Lutheran Church in Ottawa, IL continued our series, "This Is Most Certainly True." He talked about the Lord's Supper and what Scripture teaches us about this sacrament. It can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/PeterWardTheLord_sSupper

Yesterday, I delivered the third message of our series, "From Their Own Lips." We looked at the words of the religious leaders as was on trial before them, "We have heard it ourselves from his own lips." They clearly heard and understood the claims of Christ, that he is the Son of God. It can be heard and downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryWeHaveHeardIt

I accidentally dated our children's message wrong, but you can also hear it at http://www.archive.org/details/MollyBlobaumFeb23childrensmessage

Last night, as I was preaching out in Wheatland, Iowa, Pastor Chuck Sampson of Newark Lutheran Church was with us. He continued our series, "This Is Most Certainly True", with a message about Baptism. It can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/ChuckSampsonBaptism

Yesterday I delivered the second message of our series "From Their Own Lips." In it, we looked at the statement made by the wife of Pontius Pilate to her husband, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man." She was right that he was innocent. Not only was he innocent of any crime that would make him deserving of death, he was completely innocent; he was without sin. And it was his innocence that made him the only acceptable sacrifice for our sin. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryThatInnocentMan_0

Our children's message for this week can also be heard, at http://www.archive.org/details/MollyBlobaumFeb17childrensmessage

Last night, Pastor Dana Coyle of Freedom and St. Petrie Lutheran Churches in rural Ottawa, IL, continued our series of messages "This is Most Certainly True." He addressed the topic of sanctification, and what this means in the life of the believer. It can be heard and downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/DanaCoyleSanctification_0

This week I started a series of messages that will take us through the Sundays of Lent. This series is titled "From Their Own Lips." We'll be looking at statements made by those involved in Jesus' death and their significance.

The first statement was made by Caiaphas, the high priest. He said it was better that one man die than for the entire nation to perish. This message can be heard and downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryItsBetterThatOneManDie

This week's children's message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/MollyBlobaumFeb10childrensmessage

Last night, we started our Lenten services a day late due to a winter storm. On Wednesday nights, we'll be hearing a series called "This Is Most Certainly True: A Survey of the Lutheran Distinctives." Myself, along with five other AFLC pastors will present this series of seven messages.

The first, delivered by me last night, addresses the topic of justification and the assurance of salvation. What we find in Scripture is that we're saved through faith alone in Jesus, and we remain in the grace of God through faith alone. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryJustification

We live in a society where people of many different beliefs coexist, each claiming to be the source of truth. In a world like this, how are we to know that the Christian faith, that the teaching of the apostles, is true? In 2 Peter 1:16-21, Peter tells us we can trust their message because they were there and saw everything first hand, and because of the prophetic word. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryFactorFiction_0

Jesus offers us many wonderful blessings, yet many people refuse them because of the call placed on their life. When we look to Scripture we find that the Christian life is a life of sacrifice. When Jesus calls us, he calls us to leave behind all that we value, all that's important to us in this life, and to follow him. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryLeavingItAllBehind

Our children's message for this week is also available to hear or download. In it we hear that we've been called to carry the gospel to all who don't know Jesus. We're to do it right here and to the ends of the earth. You can find it at http://www.archive.org/details/MarkFagerstromJan27childrensmessage

We often say that children are a blessing, but our attitude shows otherwise. We view them, at best, as a choice and, at worst, as an inconvenience. But, according to Scripture, children are a blessing. And as such, they should not be refused. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryABlessingofGod

We also uploaded our children's message this week where Molly talked to the kids about different places they can pray. It can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/MollyBlobaumJan20childrensmessage

Here in our society, we've become very skeptical of the miraculous and of the power of God. Even though, in the Christian faith, we confess that God is all-powerful, we don't believe that God can work in our lives or in our world. We've been trained to trust only that which can be seen or proven scientifically. But in Daniel 3 we see a great example of faith in God's power and that he can, in fact, do anything. Because of this, we can confidently approach God with our needs, knowing that he has the ability to help. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryGodIsAble

The real world, for us, is a world of problems and pain. A perfect life, a life of ease, is the stuff of fairy tales. However, in Scripture we receive a great hope. In the end, the suffering of the people of God will be over. They will live in a perfect place, a place free of pain and suffering. This, then, will be the real world. This message can be heard or downloaded at: http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryTheRealWorld_0

Throughout the centuries, mankind has worshipped many different gods. And this isn't just a think of the past, it's true also today. However, as we see in Isaiah 45:20-25, there is only one true God and only he can save. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryOneGodWhoSaves

Somehow and in some point in time, the message of Christmas got changed. No longer is it a message of grace and love. Instead, it's a message of works and entitlement. But the true message of Christmas is a message of redemption. And because of this, this is what should be reflected in our celebration. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryBecauseofHisMercy

As we read about the birth of Jesus, we see that he was no ordinary child. He is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. If we really believe this, if we really believe in Jesus, if we really believe him to be the unique Son of God, then we must trust in him as our Savior and submit to him as our Lord. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryNoOrdinaryChild

When we look at the gospels, we see that Jesus made some great claims about himself. The apostles and the writers of the New Testament also made great claims about him. But is all of this true? In this message based on Matthew 11:2-15, we see that not only did Jesus make great claims, he backed them up. He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming Messiah and he also did what no ordinary man can do. This message can be heard at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryIsHetheOne

In addition to being a season of waiting, the season of Advent is also a season of preparation. In Matthew 3:1-12 we see that John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of the kingdom of heaven by calling them to repentance. In the same way, we prepare for our Christmas celebration and for the Lord's return. This message can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryASeasonofPreparation_0

We're now in the season of Advent. And one of the things we do at this time is anticipate the return of Christ. Jesus assures us that he will return, so we must be prepared for his coming; we must be expecting his coming. Without a heart of expectancy, we'll miss out on the Day of the Lord. To hear this message or to download it, click on this link, http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryASeasonofWaiting

The end times is a fascinating subject for so many people. They want to know when Jesus will return and what the end will be like. But as Jesus describes the end in Matthew 24, we see that his concern was for his people. He didn't want them to be led astray by false christs and false prophets who were to come. You can hear or download this message at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryWatchOut_3

During our Thanksgiving celebrations, we typically thank God for our material blessings. But, as we see in John 6, our greatest blessing isn't material or worldly; it's Jesus. He is our greatest reason for thanksgiving. This message is shorter than normal, since I encourage our people to share what God's been doing in their lives this past year during our Thanksgiving service. It can be heard or downloaded at http://www.archive.org/details/KentSperryOurGreatestReasonforThanksgiving