Less Grumbling, More Humbling Grumbling! The crowd around Jesus—the “in” crowd, that is—was grumbling. Grumbling because Jesus welcomed those who traditionally had been set apart: tax collectors and sinners. Who are those who cause us to grumble? Whose seemingly undeserved handout or unearned status change filled our hearts with resentment this week? Jesus speaks to…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Fertilized, Fruitful, and Free God’s word for us today is nutritious and wholesome, though hard to digest. The gospel reading seems oddly brutal alongside the abundance and comfort of the texts from Isaiah (“delight yourselves in rich food”) and…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Purpose and Perseverance This week’s gospel text from Luke presents another temptation for Jesus. The Pharisees approach Jesus with a warning about his safety, telling him to “get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31).…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. An Identity on Which We Can Rely In Luke’s gospel, the story of Jesus’ temptation comes immediately after his baptism and a lengthy listing of his ancestors. Both help confirm the identity of Jesus as the Messiah and the…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Lifting the Veil The transfiguration is frustrating for disciples—past and present—who long for an unmediated experience of God. Jesus’ glory is revealed, and then, just as suddenly, a cloud descends and the vision fades. And even though Paul contrasts…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Overview The promise and its fulfillment may not look at all alike, even though they are intimately connected. Paul speaks about seeds and plants as he tries to picture resurrection life. Joseph’s brothers never thought they would see him…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Overview A fundamental decision is placed before us this day: Will we choose the way of blessing or the way of woe? The death and resurrection of Jesus is the pivot on which the decision turns. To be in…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. God’s Imperfect People “Go in peace, share the good news.” Week after week Christians gather together, hear the word proclaimed, share a meal, and are sent out to bear the good news of God in Christ Jesus to a…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Presentation of Our Lord Forty days after the birth of Christ we mark the day Mary and Joseph presented him in the temple in accordance with Jewish law. There a prophetess named Anna began to speak of the redemption…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Living “Words with Friends” Playgrounds still resound with “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But those words ring hollow. As adults, and as children, we know only too well the power of…