Sermons by Rev. Christopher Ramstad

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost — a squared cornerstone carved with a cross, set in a wall of rough fieldstones with a grapevine of dark grapes and autumn leaves climbing above it

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost — October 4, 2026

On the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, October 4, two vineyards were in the readings. Both asked the same question. What does God do when the people he planted and cared for give him nothing back? It was also LWML Sunday, so there was a lot of purple in the pews. LWML is short for the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. Each year we set aside the first Sunday in October to thank God for its work. From September through May we…
Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — two neighboring houses on an autumn street, with a rake leaning on the wooden fence between them, work gloves resting on a fence post, and three full leaf bags at the curb in front of the house next door

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost — September 27, 2026

On the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, September 27, the readings asked an ordinary question. Does the work I do actually matter? Paul asks it in a letter to the church at Philippi. Jesus asks it in a short story about two sons and a vineyard. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached on how Paul answers it. “I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” From September through May we worship twice on Sunday mornings, at 8:00 and 10:30. The Christian…
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost — Pastor Christopher Ramstad in a blue Hawaiian shirt, clerical collar and straw hat, standing at a painted crossroads signpost whose arrow boards read Parable Town, The Marketplace, Farmer Frank's Field, The Vineyard and Sower's Row beneath a board reading Workers Wanted, with a vineyard on the hill behind him

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost — September 20, 2026

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost fell on September 20. Out in the narthex (the lobby) before the 8:00 service, Pastor Christopher Ramstad asked a group of people whether anyone was looking for work. He said he needed laborers for the vineyard. Nobody volunteered. That question ran through the whole morning. From September through May we worship twice on Sunday mornings, at 8:00 and 10:30. The Christian Education Hour meets between them at 9:15. In June, July and August there is…
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost — a slate chalkboard covered edge to edge in chalk tally marks, wiped clean across the middle where the words FORGIVE SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN are written

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost — September 13, 2026

On the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost the hymn boards were blank on purpose. We held a hymn sing, and the congregation picked every hymn from the pew. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached Matthew 18 and the servant who was forgiven ten thousand talents, a parable he retitled on the spot as the parable of the merciful master. The children’s message asked everyone to count how many times they heard the word forgive. The sermon alone had forty-four.
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost — two wooden chairs turned to face each other in an empty parish hall, a plain cross on the wall behind them, with the words Gained Your Brother

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost — September 6, 2026

The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost fell on September 6, our first Sunday back on the fall schedule of 8:00 and 10:30. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached twenty verses of Matthew 18 and pulled one thread through all of it: humility. Am I my brother’s keeper? Cain asked it first, and Jesus answers it with a small child, a millstone, a lost sheep, and a set of plain instructions.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost — "What Shall I Render to the Lord," time and talent (Romans 11): a hammer, tape measure, handsaw, screwdriver, level and paintbrush laid in a row on a weathered workbench.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost — August 23, 2026

The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri: breakfast at 8:00, Divine Service Setting Four, and our Martin Luther School teachers installed for the new year. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached Romans 12 on what you can possibly give a God who already gave you everything.
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost — "The Crumbs Are Enough," the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15): crumbs scattered on the floor beneath a long wooden table in a dim room, with a dog resting in shadow.

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost — August 16, 2026

On the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, the people of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri came to one of the hardest things Jesus ever said out loud. A Canaanite woman asks for mercy and is called a dog — and answers, “Yes, Lord.” Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached the crumbs that turn out to be more than enough.
Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost — "Lord, Save Me" (Matthew 14): a painting of Jesus reaching down to lift Peter from moonlit stormy waves as the disciples watch from the boat.

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost — August 9, 2026

On the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, the people of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri sat with the hardest question a believer ever asks — why? Job asked it for thirty-seven chapters. Peter asked it as the water closed over him. Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached the answer that Scripture actually gives: we do not know, but God does, and His hand reaches down anyway.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — "More Than Enough," the feeding of the five thousand: five round loaves and two fish on cloth, ringed by empty woven baskets.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost — August 2, 2026

On the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Immanuel Lutheran Church in Joplin, Missouri heard about a Savior who wanted to get away and fed a hillside instead — Pastor Christopher Ramstad preached Matthew 14, and Mr. Jason Glaskey’s children’s message opened a Ziploc bag with five crackers and two goldfish.
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — "Treasures Old and New" (Matthew 13): a three-panel woodcut of a plowed field with a buried chest, a kneeling figure holding a pearl, and hands hauling in a net of fish.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost — July 26, 2026

On the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Pastor Christopher Ramstad returned from his first LCMS synodical convention in Phoenix and preached the three short parables of Matthew 13 — treasure, pearl, and net — alongside a children’s message on the one bond that cannot be broken.