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 A Light in Our Darkness The longest night of the year has passed, but while the light is increasing, it remains so incremental it appears as though the darkness outside is triumphing. By the third day of January, the…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Don’t Wait for the Kingdom—See It As Advent begins, we look forward to the celebration of Jesus’ first coming to the world in the light of a text that promises his final coming. We, like the gospel writer, Luke,…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Not Ashamed In many congregations, Reformation Sunday is treated as a sort of “Lutheran heritage” day, a time for singing chorales and remembering the theological reforms of the sixteenth century that gave birth to Lutheranism. In other parishes, a…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The Most Challenging Spiritual Practice The writers of today’s readings express to God their fears about death and those who do evil. They rage against the cravings, coveting, envy, and selfish ambition that lead to disorder and war, within and around us. They describe one caught…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. At Rest among Strangers The world can be a dangerous place, and we all long for someone, some leader, who will watch over us and protect us from all harm. The prophet Jeremiah issues strong cautions to those who…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The Attraction of the Repellant Cross Two themes vie for attention in the readings: divine forgiveness (with attention paid to the human sinfulness that makes it necessary!) and the cross’s mysterious power. Jeremiah prophesies of God’s desire and ability…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Know God, Know Ourselves This is a Sunday packed with beautiful images, deep-seeded ideas, and a rich history. For life-long Lutherans, these things can provoke a sense of pride in our denomination, but Reformation Sunday is not “Lutheran Pride…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. There Must Be Another Way Peter may be the “rock” on which Christ will build the church (Matt. 16:18), but when Jesus reveals the suffering that will come first, Peter becomes a tempter and “stumbling block.” Assuming God must have…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Life in Christ Includes Praise and Lament Though we may prefer to think of God giving us lives of joy and ease, a full life in Christ also includes sorrow and grief. To the extent we are willing to…