Sermon: The (Dis)Comfort of Repentance

The (Dis)Comfort of Repentance

Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Lincoln, NE on December 14, 2025 for the third Sunday of Advent. More info at mtolivelincoln.org

Takeaways:

• The hardest words to say in the English language are often "I'm sorry"
• They're uncomfortable to say because we don't want to quit, we don't want it to look like we're worse than someone else, and we don't want to admit we're mortal and can make mistakes
• But the comfort of repentance, of saying I'm sorry, is that when we quit fighting to make up for our guilt, we see Jesus has conquered guilt for us; when we admit we're all sinners, we see God has shown grace to all equally; when we admit we're mortal, God turns us to his immortal unchanging faithfulness

Text: Isaiah 40:1-8

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her. Her warfare really is over. Her guilt is fully paid for. Yes, she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. 3A voice is calling out: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord. In the wasteland make a level highway for our God. 4Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be made low. The rugged ground will become level, and the rough places will become a plain. 5Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh together will see it. Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. 6A voice was saying, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry out?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like a wildflower in the countryside. 7Grass withers, flowers fade, when the breath of the Lord blows on them. Yes, the people are grass. 8Grass withers, flowers fade, but the Word of our God endures forever.

Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version (Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2019), Is 40:1–8.