These are sermons preached at Wicker Park Lutheran Church in Chicago, IL. WPLC is a diverse, ELCA Christian community in Chicago focused on expansive theology. Sunday service at 10 a.m. www.wickerparklutheran.org
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WPLC Podcasts
Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth December 28, 2025 Today’s Gospel would be an incredibly hard text to hear at any time of the year, but reading it just a few days after Christmas? It’s especially jarring! On Christmas Eve we read about a baby boy lying in the manger, about the angels and the shepherds, and Mary treasuring each mom…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church December 24, 2025 Rev. Jason S. Glombicki It doesn’t really feel like Christmas tonight. After all, it’s unseasonably warm and the snow has melted. And maybe that’s exactly why the Christmas story sounds different this year. Every year we hear this same story. But every year, something different catches my attention. Som…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth December 21, 2025 We’re still in the season of Advent, but today we get a birth story! And let me tell you, every time I read Matthew’s birth story, I get really grateful for the Gospel of Luke. Because if this is Jesus’ birth story, where are the shepherds in the field? Where are the angels that a…
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In last week’s gospel, we met John the Baptist. We heard him calling people to turn toward God’s way of justice and renewal. And, John was, in many ways, the first-century equivalent of a hype person—the person sent ahead to stir anticipation and build excitement. And, after all that hype, John asks an unimaginable question. From prison, he asked J…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth December 7, 2025 Here at Wicker Park we celebrate a seven week Advent season, and let me tell you—I love that we celebrate it for many reasons, not least of which is that I started playing Christmas music really early and justified it to everyone in my life by saying “it’s Advent! I’m allowed to!” …
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki November 23, 2025 Today is the third Sunday of Advent and we gather days before Thanksgiving. Some of us are excited for the week ahead. Some are dreading difficult conversations at the table. Some are grieving someone who will not be there this year. Some are tired from the news, the world, or th…
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If you’re anything like me, hearing this passage may make you feel confused and stressed out. It may make you feel confused because the question the Sadducees ask Jesus feels like the longest, most convoluted, “what if” scenario they could have possibly come up with. And it may make you feel stressed because it seems like Jesus responds to their qu…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth November 2, 2025 In his poem Ulysses, Alfred Tennyson wrote “I’m a part of all that I’ve met.” That has always been one of my favorite lines of poetry and it’s one that grabs hold of me with extra strength each year as we celebrate All Saints Sunday. This is one of the heaviest days in our church c…
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In today's gospel, Jesus told a parable about a widow and an unjust judge. The judge had power but neither feared God nor respected people. The widow, by contrast, had no standing, no wealth, and no influence—only her voice. Yet she kept coming, again and again, to demand justice until the judge finally gave in—not because he was good or compassion…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Rev. Jason S. Glombicki October 12, 2025 In today’s gospel, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when he entered a village on the border between Samaria and Galilee. That short phrase—“on the border”—is easy to miss, but it says a lot. This story didn’t happen in a temple or a city or a seat of power; it happened in-between…
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Wicker Park Lutheran Church Vicar Sarah Freyermuth October 5, 2025 Today, as I look out at all the joy and noise and happy chaos of this service, all I can think is “I wish we had animals in our service every week!” Now if you suggested to most pastors that every week should have a bring-your-pet to worship service, they’d probably laugh you out of…
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