Martin Luther's Sermons

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Page last modified: Sunday, March 25, 2007
The following sermons of Martin Luther are taken from The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI), 1983. This 8 volume set was itself a reprint of John Nicholas Lenker translation of Luther's Church Postil. Lenker's edition originally appeared in 1905 - as "The Precious and Sacred Writings of Martin Luther," volumes 1-14, published by Lutherans in all Lands. These sermons were scanned and edited by The Rev. Dr. Richard Bucher and are in the public domain.




Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent, Luke 21:25-36 -- The Signs of Christ's Second Coming

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent, Matthew 11:2-10 -- a marvelous sermon with a great section on the distinction between Law and Gospel.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, John 1:19-28 -- John the Baptist's confession and the true preacher.

Sermon for the First Sunday in Advent, Romans 13:11-14 -- An Exhortation to Good Works

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent, Romans 15:4-13 -- An Exhortation to Bear with the Weak; A marvelous sermon!

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Advent, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 - A sermon on the Office of the Ministry

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Advent, Philippians 4:4-7 - A sermon on Christian living; "on how to let God be everything to us"; with sections on true Christian freedom, rejoicing, and prayer.

Sermon for the Principal Christmas Service, John 1:1-14 -- Christ's Titles of Honor and His Attributes

Sermon for the Early Christmas Day Service, Luke 2:15-20 -- A great sermon on the power and fruit of the Word of God

Sermon for Christmas Day, Luke 2:1-14 -- One of Luther's most famous sermons.

Sermon for Christmas Eve, Titus 2:11-14 -- Luther at his best

Second Sermon for Christmas Day, Titus 3:4-8 -- Vintage Luther. Excellent statements on grace, faith, good works, and Baptism

Sermon for the Sunday after Christmas, Luke 2:33-40 -- On Simeon and Anna

Sermon for the Sunday after Christmas, Galatians 4:1-7 -- The People of Law and Grace; a great sermon that presents the true understanding of justification by faith and the function of the Law; Of interest to the JDDJ debate is this quote: "Note, Paul everywhere teaches justification, not by works, but solely by faith; and not as a process, but instantaneous. The testament includes in itself everything--justification, salvation, the inheritance and great blessing. Through faith it is instantaneously enjoyed, not in part, but all" (par. 37).

Sermon for the Epiphany, Matthew 2:1-12 -- On the visit of the Magi

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, John 2:1-11 -- The Wedding at Cana

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 8:1-13 -- An excellent sermon on the faith of the leper and the centurion, the nature of personal faith, and alien faith. Part 3 ofthis sermon is Luther's first statement about whether little children (including infants) who are baptized have their own faith.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 8:23-27 -- The Calming of the Sea; Faith & Unbelief

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Matthew 13:24-30 -- The Parable of the Tares

Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday, Matthew 20:1-16 -- The Parable of the Householder Who Hired the Laborers

Sermon for Sexagesima Sunday, Luke 8:4-15 -- The Parable of the Sower

Sermon for Quinquagesima Sunday, Luke 18:31-43 -- Only confidence in Christ's Suffering and Death (not our own) atones for our sins; the Faith and Love of the Blind Man

Sermon for the First Sunday after Epiphany, Romans 12:1-6 -- The Fruits of Faith

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany, Romans 12:6-16 -- Gifts and Works of Christ's Members

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, Romans 12:16-21 - Christian Revenge

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Romans 13:8-10 -- Christian Love and the Command to Love

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Colossians 3:12-17 - "The Glorious Adornment of Christians;" Good sermon on Christian living

Sermon for the Third Sunday before Lent, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 10:1-5 -- "This lesson is a part of the long four-chapter instruction Paul gives the Corinthians. Therein he teaches them how to deal with those weak in the faith, and warns rash, presumptuous Christians to take heed lest they fall, however they may stand at the present. He presents a forcible simile in the running of the race, or the strife for the prize. Many run without obtaining the object of their pursuit. But we should not vainly run."

Sermon for the Second Sunday before Lent, 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9 -- Paul's Glory in his Labor and Suffering

Sermon for the Sunday before Lent, 1 Corinthians 13 -- An important sermon of Luther. His papal opponents had rejected the Biblical gospel that we are justified by faith alone, in part on the grounds of 1 Co. 13:2 ("If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.") and 1 Co. 13:13 ("And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."). His opponents stated that "faith alone" does not justify, but rather that "faith formed by love," justifies. In other words, they claimed that love must be added to faith if faith is to justify and save. In this sermon, Luther responds to this false teaching of his opponents (see especially par. 6-13, 34-35), as well as beautifully describes what Christian love is.

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent, Matthew 4:1-11 -- The Fast and Temptation of Christ

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, Matthew 15:21-28 -- The Faith of the Syrophonecian Woman

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent, Luke 11:14-23 -- Christ's Defense Against Those Who Slandered Him

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, John 6:1-15 -- The Feeding of the 5000

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, John 8:46-59 -- Christ's Defense Against His Enemies

Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 -- An Entreaty to Live as Christians; a warning against neglecting the grace of God; the marks of Christian living.

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7 -- Exhortation to Holiness

Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent, Ephesians 5:1-9 -- Exhortation to be Imitators of God

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday in Lent, Hebrews 9:11-15 -- Christ Our Great High Priest

A Sermon for Palm Sunday; Philippians 2:5-11 -- From Luther's Epistle Postil. Another good Palm Sunday sermon is the sermon for the First Sunday in Advent above. Still another Palm Sunday sermon is the one on Luke 19:41-48 for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity below.

A Sermon on Confession and the Lord's Supper -- This sermon, first preached during Holy Week of 1524, went through eight editions. It is a priceless sermon.

A Good Friday Sermon on How to Contemplate Christ's Holy Sufferings -- This was not only one of Luther's most popular published sermons, but one of his most popular writings during the formative years of the Reformation. Read it and you'll understand why.

A Sermon on Christ's Resurrection; Mark 16:1-8 -- a completely different Easter sermon than the one below.

A Sermon on the Fruit and Power of Christ's Resurrection; Mark 16:1-8 -- A sermon for Easter Sunday

A Beautiful Sermon on the Reception of the Holy Sacrament -- This sermon was published along with the above two Easter sermons in 1525.

Sermon for Easter Monday, Luke 24:13-35 -- "the special purpose of this Gospel is to show us how weak in faith the disciples were, and how Christ in his kingdom manifests himself to such persons of weak faith, and how he deals with them."

Sermon for Easter Tuesday, Luke 24:36-47 -- One of Luther's best sermons. Edifying for all Christians; but especially should be read by all Pastors.

Sermon for Easter Sunday, 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 -- Exhortation to Walk as Christians

Sermon for Easter Monday, Acts 10:34-43 -- The Blessings of Christ's Resurrection

Sermon for Easter Tuesday, Acts 13:26-39 -- The Word and the Resurrection


Sermon for Easter Wednesday, Colossians 3:1-7 -- Exhortation to Truly Good Works; "By no means are we simply to assent to the words of the doctrine [Christ's resurrection]. Christ does not design that we be able merely to accept and speak intelligently of it, but that its influence be manifest in our lives." (Luther)

Sermon for the Sunday after Easter, John 20:19-31 -- A marvelous Easter sermon, different from the one below, which stresses the fruits of faith (peace and joy) and the office of the keys.

Sermon for the Sunday after Easter, John 20:19-31 -- A vintage Reformation sermon on the righteousness that avails before God and the distinction between Law and Gospel, faith and love.

Sermon for the Sunday after Easter, John 20:19-31 -- Thomas is Delivered From His Unbelief

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter, John 10:11-16 -- A Sermon on the Good Shepherd

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter, John 10:11-16; 2nd Sermon

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter, John 10:11-16; 3rd Sermon

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter, John 16:16-23

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter, John 16:16-23; 2nd Sermon

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter, John 16:16-23; 3rd Sermon

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, John 16:5-15 -- The Work of the Holy Spirit

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, John 16:5-15; 2nd Sermon

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, John 16:5-15; 3rd Sermon

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Easter, John 16:23-30 -- A marvelous sermon on truly Christian prayer

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Easter, John 16:23-30; 2nd Sermon -- A short sermon on the Five Requirements of True Prayer

Sermon for the Sunday after Easter, 1 John 5:4-12 -- Victorious Faith; a fine sermon on true faith: its fruits, evidence, source, and certainty. There is also an excellent section on baptism.

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Easter, 1 Peter 2:20-25 -- Patience Under Tribulation; an excellent sermon on suffering: Christ's atoning suffering, and our suffering.


Sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter, 1 Peter 2:11-20 -- Our Christian Duties; A masterful sermon in which Luther puts forth the Biblical teaching that Christians are citizens of two kingdoms simultaneously: the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of Christ. On the basis of the text he demonstrates how Christians are to relate to the world.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, James 1:16-21 -- "Two things there are which part men from the Gospel: one is angry impatience, and the other evil lust. Of these James speaks in this epistle." (Luther)

Sermon for the Day of Christ's Ascension, Mark 16:14-20 -- A wonderful sermon in which Luther shows the importance and meaning of the Gospel, faith, good works, baptism, the mission of the church, and Christ's ascension.

Sermon for the Day of Christ's Ascension, Mark 16:14-20; 2nd Sermon -- Another fine sermon on the importance of believing Christ's resurrection and the Marcan Great Commission.

Sermon for the Day of Christ's Ascension, Mark 16:14-20; 3rd Sermon -- A long sermon by the mature Luther that all mission minded Lutherans should read. Paragraphs 33-54 deal with the sufficiency of faith and whether good works are also needed to be saved.

Sermon for the Sunday after Christ's Ascension, John 15:26-16:4 -- Christ's Sermon of Comfort and Warning

Sermon for the Sunday after Christ's Ascension, John 15:26-16:4; 2nd Sermon -- The Difference Between the True and False Church

Sermon for the Sunday after Christ's Ascension, 1 Peter 4:7-11 -- Exhortation to Christian Living

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, John 14:23-31 -- The Office of the Holy Spirit

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, John 14:23-31; 2nd Sermon -- "In no other way can the heart love or have any love; it must be assured that it was first loved."


Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, Acts 2:1-13 -- The Gift of the Holy Spirit

Sermon for Pentecost Monday, John 3:16-21 -- Christ, Our Mediator and Savior

Sermon for Pentecost Tuesday, John 10:1-11 -- "This Gospel treats of the office of the ministry, how it is constituted, what it accomplishes and how it is misused. It is indeed very necessary to know these things, for the office of preaching is second to none in Christendom" (Luther).

Sermon for Pentecost Wednesday, John 6:44-51 -- "This Gospel text teaches exclusively of the Christian faith, and awakens that faith in us . . . Man may forever do as he will, he can never enter heaven unless God takes the first step with his Word, which offers him divine grace and enlightens his heart so as to get upon the right way" (Luther).

Sermon for Trinity Sunday, John 3:1-15 -- A Sermon on the Trinity and the new birth.

Sermon for Trinity Sunday, Romans 11:33-36 -- The Holy Trinity

Sermon for the First Sunday after Trinity, Luke 16:19-31 -- The Rich Man & Lazarus

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Trinity, Luke 14:16-24 -- The Great Supper

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity, Luke 15:1-10 -- Parable of the Lost Sheep

Second Sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity, Luke 15:1-10 -- Parable of the Lost Sheep: A marvelously comforting sermon that Luther first preached to the Elector of Saxony in 1533.

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 6:36-42 -- Be Merciful as Your Heavenly Father is Merciful

Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After Trinity, Luke 5:1-11 -- Faith in God for Temporal and Spiritual Blessings

Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 5:20-26 -- The Fifth Commandment Explained

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity, Mark 8:1-9 -- The Feeding of the 4000

Sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 7:15-23 -- Christ's Warning of False Prophets

Sermon for the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 16:1-9 -- The Parable of the Unjust Steward

Sermon for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 19:41-48 -- The Prophesy of the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Cleansing of the Temple. An extremely popular sermon which Luther preached soon after the Peasant's Revolt of 1525 had been ruthlessly crushed. In it Luther warns the German nation of coming disaster, unless they recognize the time of their visitation through the Gospel.

Sermon for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity, Luke 18:9-14 -- The Pharisee and the Publican

Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Mark 7:31-37 -- The Healing of the Deaf-Mute Man. Luther emphasizes that no one can believe for someone else, but they can help a person to have a faith of their own by prayer and good works (bringing the person to Christ).

Sermon for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 10:23-37 -- The Two Greatest Commandments and the Good Samaritan. A beautiful Law-Gospel interpretation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Luther's presentation of Christ as the Good Samaritan and the Church as the Inn is amazingly comforting for those struggling with their sin.

Sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 17:11-19 -- The Ten Lepers.

Sermon for the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 6:24-34 -- God and Mammon. Do Not Be Anxious.

Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 7:11-17 -- The Raising of the Widow's Son at Nain. Luther: "This is said on today's Gospel, in which we see how God helps and saves us, moved by pure grace and lovingkindness, without any merit or worthiness whatever on our part, yea, before we seek or request help from him. God grant that we may believe this!"

Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 14:1-11 -- Christ Heals the Man with Dropsy on the Sabbath and Teaches About Humility -- The sermon contains a good section on the proper interpretation of human and divine law.

Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:34-46 -- The Two Greatest Commandments; and how Christ is David's son and David's Lord. Another fine Law - Gospel sermon.

Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:1-8 -- The Kingdom of Christ Consists in the Forgiveness of Sins. One of Luther's best.

Second Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:1-8 -- A truly wonderful sermon on the forgiveness of sins, that is, the righteousness which is through faith in Christ. Luther delivered this sermon at the Marburg Colloquy on Oct. 3, 1529. A rightly famous sermon.

Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:1-14 -- Parable of the King Who Made a Marriage Feast for His Son. A beautiful sermon in which Luther stresses the Church's spiritual marriage with Christ; that through baptism and faith all that is His (his life, righteousness, sinlessness, etc.) becomes ours and all that is ours (sin, death, impurity) becomes his.

Sermon for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, John 4:46-54 -- The Nobleman's Son Healed. How faith grows and is exercised.

Sermon for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 18:23-35 -- The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Sermon for the Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:15-22 -- Is it Lawful to Give Tribute to Caesar?

Sermon for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 9:18-26 -- The Woman with the Flow of Blood & Jairus's Daughter. Read this sermon! In it Luther beautifully explains what the Gospel, Christ, and the Christian are. It is a Reformation classic!

Sermon for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 24:15-28 -- The End of the Jewish Kingdom, the Abomination Desolation, and the End of the World

Sermon for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 25:31-42 - Judgement Day