Pastor David Balla
The most recent sermons of Pastor David Balla will appear here. He is the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Plainfield, IL.
Episodes
What if the rest you're longing for isn't something you have to earn by clearing your schedule?
In this sermon on the Third Commandment, Pastor David Balla asks what it really means to keep the Sabbath holy — not as a rule about a day off, but as an invitation into a rest only Jesus Christ can give. Many of us live as if everything depends on our own unceasing effort, and this message names that restlessness honestly before tu...
The Name Above Every Name | Exodus 20:7 | Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost | LCMS Sermon
What does it really mean to take God's name in vain — and why would a holy God ever hand sinners the right to call Him by name at all?
Most of us assume the Second Commandment is only about crude language, and quietly consider ourselves innocent. But Scripture reveals something deeper: God's name is His own personal gift, disclosed to Mos...
The Idol Factory | Romans 1:21–25 | Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19A) | LCMS Sermon
What does your heart turn to first when life feels unsafe — money, relationships, control, or reputation? In this sermon on Romans 1:21–25, Pastor David Balla opens a new preaching series through the Ten Commandments, asking a question every generation avoids: what has quietly replaced God at the center of your heart?
Sai...
The Shepherd Who Bears the Millstone | Matthew 18:1–20 | Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A) | LCMS Sermon
Who is truly the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven — and what happens when we lead one of Christ's little ones to stumble? In this sermon on Matthew 18:1-20 for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18A), Pastor David Balla explores Jesus' surprising answer: true greatness means becoming like a chil...
Get Behind Me: The Cross We Cannot Avoid — Matthew 16:21-28 — Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17) — LCMS Sermon
Have you ever wanted Jesus to be your Savior, but only on your own terms? In this sermon on Matthew 16:21-28, Pastor David Balla examines Peter's stunned reaction when Jesus announces His coming suffering, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem, a reaction that exposes the same instinct hiding in eve...
The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail | Matthew 16:13–20 | Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost | LCMS Sermon
Who do you say that Jesus is — and does your answer actually change anything when life feels uncertain?
In this sermon on Matthew 16:13–20, we travel with Jesus and His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, where He asks Peter the question every person must eventually answer for themselves. Peter's confession — "...
What do you do when you cry out to God and heaven seems silent?
In this sermon on Matthew 15:21–28, we meet a Canaanite mother pleading for her demon-oppressed daughter — met at first with silence, and then a hard word, from Jesus Himself. Her story confronts a truth every person must face: none of us are born with a natural claim on God's mercy. We come empty-handed, in need of grace, not because of birth, nationality, ...
What do you do when God doesn’t answer your “why” questions? In this LCMS sermon on Job 38:1–11, Pastor David Balla explores God’s powerful response to Job’s suffering and reveals how our deepest need is not an explanation, but the presence of Jesus Christ. When life brings grief, loss, illness, or unanswered questions, God calls us to trust His promises rather than our own understanding. This Ch...
What do you do when you're standing before a hungry crowd with nothing in your hands but five loaves and two fish?
In this sermon on Matthew 14:19–20, we look at how Jesus took what little the disciples had, blessed it, broke it, and gave it—and the crowd ate and was satisfied. But this miracle points to something greater than a full stomach. It points to the deeper hunger every person carries: a hunger for forgiveness, ...
What do the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price really teach? In this Christ-centered Lutheran sermon, Pastor David Balla proclaims the biblical distinction between Law and Gospel, revealing that these parables are not primarily about what we sacrifice for God, but about what Christ gave to redeem us. Jesus is the One who sold everything to purchase His treasured possession—His Church.
Drawing from Mat...
In this Lutheran sermon on the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43), we explore why the visible Church on earth is always a mixed field of wheat and weeds, and why Christ calls us to patience rather than premature judgment. Preached in the confessional, Law-and-Gospel tradition of C.F.W. Walther and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), this message unpacks the Eighth Sunday after Pent...
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