Pastor Lee preaches from John 12:22-28, and he opens with a statement we’ve all heard. “I’m worth more dead than I am alive.” Pastor Lee does something striking: he agrees with that statement. But he takes it deeper. He suggests that Jesus Himself struggled with this reality—knowing that in some sense, He was worth more to us dead than alive. The reality of His upcoming crucifixion on our behalf. It wasn’t something He welcomed; it was something He wrestled with. Pastor Lee central question of this message—really, the central question of the Christian life: What is the purpose of your life? What are you dying for? What are you living for?

Communion Sunday, March 3rd, 1991. The message from Pastor Lee is titled “What Makes You Mad.” Pastor Lee opens his sermon by reminding us something important: it’s not really worth getting angry over something small—like a penny, as he illustrates. God designed us with the emotion of anger. The issue is how we use it. Pastor Lee reminds us that anger can be reflective and positive, or it can be purely reactionary and destructive. The difference matters enormously.He draws from the Gospel lesson for that Sunday, which describes Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem—overturning tables, driving out the money changers. It’s one of the few times we see Jesus visibly angry. And Pastor Lee uses this scene to explore what righteous anger looks like.

Titled “Handling His Portfolio,” Pastor Lee uses Malachi 3:8-18 as the backdrop for a message on tithing. He invites us to view tithing not as a burden or obligation, but as an adventure—something that can bring real joy to the person who tithes. Pastor Lee helps us understand that everything already belongs to God. Everything we possess is part of His gift to us. Giving is the natural way for us to live. We are designed to give, because God is a giver. We’re created in His image. Generosity flows from our very nature when we’re aligned with God’s.

Pastor Lee asks a convicting question: “Whatever possessed you this past week?” Drawing from Mark 1:4-11 and Jesus’ baptism, he reminds us that we “go public” every day with whatever is inside us—whether it’s anger, fear, or the Holy Spirit. In a vulnerable and personal testimony, Pastor Lee shares his own journey of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and how it transformed his life. He challenges us not to be like the theatre usher who spent his whole career at the entrance but never experienced what was happening inside—urging us instead to fully embrace the power and boldness the Holy Spirit offers.

Pastor Lee’s final sermon in 1990. Pastor Lee outlines what he calls a “spiritual survival guide.” for avoiding a spiritual recession in the face of whatever trials we face. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you’ve noticed how uncannily similar the concerns of the mid-80s and 90s are to our own. The challenges they faced, the cultural struggles they wrestled with—they remarkably parallel to what we’re dealing with in the twenty-first century. The perpetual predicaments of life remain the same, whether it’s 1976, 1990, or 2026. But so do the answers to life’s struggles and our hope for the future. It’s found in having a relationship and faith in Jesus Christ.

It’s Sunday, December 9th, 1990, and we find Pastor Lee and the congregation right in the midst of the Advent season. The title of Pastor Lee’s sermon is “The Turning Point,” and he bases his message on the Old Testament lesson from that Sunday, found in Isaiah 40:1-11. Pastor Lee opens with a story about a recent trip to the dentist, and he uses it to create a surprisingly effective analogy for repentance. Pastor Lee masterfully connects unattended viruses and cavities in our mouths to unrepentant sin in our lives.

It’s November 4, 1990 and it is All Saints Sunday. The title of Pastor Leland Evenson’s sermon is, “Putting Faith, Love, and Hope to Work.” Pastor Lee emphasizes that the Apostle Paul continually reminded the early Christians of the fundamentals of their new faith: faith, love, and hope. Pastor Lee reminds us that in many areas of our lives, there are certain fundamentals that must be incorporated and practice. So, it is with the Christian faith. And those fundamentals are faith, love, and hope.

It’s Sunday, October 14th, 1990, at Vision of Glory Lutheran Church. Pastor Lee’s message titled “Qualified to Give.” Is a short but powerful message that opens with a rather startling announcement: Maybe we’re not qualified to be givers. Pastor Lee explains to us that God doesn’t always care what people give, but rather how people give.