Date: 23 August 2020
Sermon title: Are You Pharisee or Publican?
Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki
Text: Luke 18:9–14
Duration: 18min 23s
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Trinity 11
Trinity 11
Date: 1 September 2019
Sermon title: Humility in the Face of My Sin
Preacher: Pastor Tapani Simojoki
Text: Luke 18:9-14
Duration: 32m 4s
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Trinity 11
Date: 12 August 2018
Sermon title: Humble Thanksgiving for God’s Grace
Preacher: Pastor Tapani Simojoki
Text: Luke 18:9–14
Duration: 24min 9s
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Trinity 11
Date: 7 August 2016
Text: Luke 18:9–14
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Those of us who are familiar with the teachings of Jesus, and have been steeped in the Christian doctrine, know exactly what to think of this very familiar parable of Jesus. Our sympathy is with the tax collector, and we shake our heads in disbelief at the blind arrogance of the Pharisee. How can he be so blind to his own faults, and so oblivious to the mercy of God towards all sinners? How can he boast so blatantly of his spiritual achievements, and have so little concern for the salvation of his humble and penitent fellow-creature in the corner?
But before we settle down too comfortably, it might be worth asking how Jesus would tell the parable were he the one preaching this morning. Who is the Pharisee today, and who the tax collector? Is this a story told to comfort us, or to shake us out of our comfort zone?
So let’s remind ourselves who the Pharisees were. Far from the pantomime villains that we tend to think of, the Pharisees were the good people of their time. They were devout Jews who had dedicated their lives to the study of God’s word, and of applying God’s word to their lives. In the words of the New Testament letter of James, they strove to be more than just hearers of the word, and to be doers of the word as well.
Trinity 11
Date: 31 August 2014
Sermon title: Justified
Preacher: Pastor Tapani Simojoki
Text: Luke 18:10-14
Duration: 27min 21s
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Trinity 11
Date: 19 August 2012
Sermon title: Lord, Have Mercy
Preacher: Pastor Stephen van der Hoek (Gippsland Lutheran Parish, Australia)
Text: Luke 18:9–14
Duration: 13 min 58s
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Epiphany 2
Date: 17 January 2021 Sermon title: The Wedding at Cana: A Sign of Hope Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: John 2:1–11 Duration: 20min 20s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click...
Genesis 3, Part 2
Genesis 1–11 Genesis 3:8–13 Duration: 1h 37min 16s Right click here to download the recording.
Baptism of Our Lord
Date: 10 January 2021 Sermon title: Baptism: Where God and Man Meet Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: Matthew 3:13–17 Duration: 25min 36s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click...
Genesis 3, Part 1
Genesis 1–11 Genesis 3:1–7 Duration: 1h 36min 15s Right click here to download the recording.
Christmas 2
Date: 3 January 2021 Sermon title: The Victorious Life in Christ Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: Matthew 2:13–23 Duration: 25min 43s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click...
New Year’s Day
Date: 1 January 2021 Sermon title: No Other Name Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: Luke 2:21 Duration: 19min 4s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click here to download...
Christmas Day
Date: 25 December 2020 Sermon title: The Glory of the Only Son Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: John 1:1–14 Duration: 23min 7s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click here to...
Christmas Midnight
Date: 24 December 2020 Sermon title: What Shall Be the Sign? Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: Luke 2:1–20 Duration: 18min 46s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click here to...
Advent 4
Date: 20 December 2020 Sermon title: I am not the Christ Preacher: Rev. Tapani Simojoki Text: John 1:19–28 Duration: 23min 20s Service Bulletin (PDF) Right click here to...
Genesis 2, Part 3
Genesis 1–11 Appendix: Genesis 2 as the foundation of marriage Duration: 1h 38min 37s Right click here to download the recording.