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…
God Comes First God is, the theologians say, transcendent—beyond us, always exceeding our easy grasp. Recognizing God’s awesome transcendence brings a reevaluation of other values. The God of vertigo-inspiring infinitude is also the God who know the hairs of our head. Trusting this God, fear is defanged and faith becomes a sort of courage. We…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Who Is Jesus? Jesus’ true identity seems to remain a mystery for most of the disciples. Jesus can teach, preach, heal, cast out demons, challenge authority and more, but still they do not comprehend. You might say it is a case of mistaken identity as…
Good News All Over Again The desire to privatize the free love of God for all creation seems stamped on the human soul. While Lutherans learn early on in their faith formation about the abuses of the church through the sale of indulgences in the sixteenth century, the scriptures for Reformation Day remind us that…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. God Be Merciful We may expect the religious insider to be blessed, the moral person to be right with God. But as is so often the case, Jesus’ parable for today sweeps away conventional expectations. Jesus surprises the disciples…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The Reality of Division Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls on his hearers to turn their hearts away from greed and instead to generosity, to turn away from anxious self-preservation and instead to faithful self-giving. But such practice…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Sixth Sunday after Epiphany 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.…