The Word on Baker Street
On Baker Street, God’s love meets us where we are. Each week, sermons from Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bakersfield, California proclaim welcome without exception, hope without limit, and a faith that moves us toward mercy, justice, and love in action.
Episodes
19 episodes
Go Anyway
Easter morning does not begin with calm… it begins with fear, chaos, and an empty tomb. Pastor Dawn preaches from Matthew 28 — from the in-between place where fear and great joy live at the same time, and from what resurrection looks like when ...
God is With When Things Go Wrong
Jesus begins his ministry after a prophet is arrested—without retreat, without violence, without certainty. In this sermon on Matthew 4:12–23, we meet a Christ who shows up anyway, forming a community of faithful presence in the shadow of repre...
God is With Us Before We Are Ready
Before belief, before clarity, before action—there is staying. In this sermon on John 1:29–42, we meet a Christ who does not demand answers from the weary, but offers presence instead. Jesus’ first invitation is not a demand, but an open call: ...
Hope That Gets Its Feet Wet
Hope is not waiting for God to fix things—it’sstepping in. In Jesus’ baptism, we see a Savior who refuses distance, wading into dangerous waters with the condemned. This sermon on Matthew 3:13-17, calls the Church to a hope rooted in so...
Unshakable
Luke 21:5–19 isn’t about the end of the world; it’s about the end of illusion. The temple glows with power and permanence — until Jesus names its truth: all of this will fall. But beneath the rubble, something unshakable remains. This sermon ca...
Healing on the Other Side
Luke 17:11–19 is more than a healing story; it’s a border story. Ten outcasts cry for mercy, and Jesus crosses every line — between clean and unclean, insider and outsider — until grace stands where exclusion used to be. One turns back, a forei...
Faith that Follows Us
Luke 17:5–10 begins with a desperate plea: “Increase ourfaith!” But Jesus reminds us that faith isn’t something to grow—it’s something to live. Faith is trusting that Jesus keeps following us, even when we stumble. It’s taking the next small st...
The Gospel at the Gate
Luke 16:19–31 tells of a rich man feasting behind his gate while Lazarus starves outside. In death, the gate becomes a chasm too wide to cross. In this sermon, we face the danger of indifference and the gospel that calls us to crumble gates, wi...
It's About to Get Real
Luke 14:25–33 is one of Jesus’ hardest teachings: discipleship has a cost. But what if the cost isn’t about giving up everything we love — but about letting go of ego, advantage, and comfort so that real love can take root? This sermon explores...
A Place at the Table
Luke 14:1, 7–14 finds Jesus at a dinner party, watching guests scramble for the best seats. Instead of competing for honor, he calls us to humility, generosity, and hospitality that can’t be repaid. In this sermon, we hear the good news of God’...
Lifted
Luke 13:10–17 tells of a woman bent over for eighteen years, weighed down by pain and invisibility. She doesn’t even ask to be healed—but Jesus sees her, calls her forward, and sets her free. In this sermon, we hear the good news that Christ me...
Disturbing the Peace
Luke 12:49–56 is not the gentle Jesus we want on a pillow. Instead of comfort, he brings fire and truth that disrupt false peace. In this sermon, we face the signs of our times and hear Christ’s call to disturb the peace of complacency so that ...
Ready for Love
Luke 12:32–40 begins with, ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’ In this sermon, readiness is not about bracing for judgment but leaning toward joy—keeping our lamps lit, our hearts ope...
Rich Toward God
Luke 12:13–21 tells of a man who tears down his barns to build bigger ones—only to discover that life is more than what we store. In this sermon, we trade isolation for community, fear for connection, and hear Jesus’ call to be ‘rich toward God...
The Gift We Didn't Ask For
Luke 11:1–13 begins with the disciples asking, ‘Lord, teach us to pray.’ Jesus promises that those who ask will receive, those who knock will find the door open—but the gift is not always what we asked for. In this sermon, we wrestle with unans...
Never Theirs to Take
Luke 10:1–11 sends seventy disciples into the world with nothing but each other and a blessing of peace. Some will welcome them. Others will reject them. In this sermon, we face the sting of rejection and hear Jesus’ promise: your peace will re...
But First...
Luke 9:51–62 finds Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem—straight into rejection, suffering, and love that won’t back down. Along the road, would-be followers say, ‘I will… but first…’ In this sermon, we face our own ‘but firsts’ and discover...
Legion No More
Luke 8:26–39 tells of a man known only by his demons until Jesus crosses into the haunted places to find him. In this sermon, we witness the Savior who steps into our tombs, restores our name, and sends us back into the world as living proof th...
Do You See This Woman?
Luke 7:36–8:3 tells of a woman who shatters her alabaster jar at Jesus’ feet, pouring out her tears, truth, and love. In this sermon, we see how Jesus looks beyond labels and reputations, inviting us to break open our own truth and discover the...
