John 8:31-36, Romans 3:19-25 We come together this weekend to commemorate the festival day of Reformation – the day we lift up those persons and events that led to the split of the Roman Catholic Church some 500 years ago. For us Lutherans; our dear Dr. Luther and his nailing of his 95 theses being … More A Reformation of Self
Matthew 22:15-22 In our Gospel for this weekend, Jesus is approached by his Jewish opponents, the Pharisees, who question him on his beliefs on paying taxes. “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you … More Faithful Allegiance
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost 11 October 2020 (Isaiah 25:1-9 Psalm 23 Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14) “Much more than simply showing up!” I hear the beautiful banquet story from Isaiah depicting God as a king who longs to share a feast of love; and then I hear this poetry of the lavish table echoed in the … More “Much more than simply showing up!”
Matthew 21:33-46 So Jesus says; “…the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation which produces its fruit…” To a nation which produces its fruit… As I sat down on Monday morning to begin working on my sermon for today, my phone lit up with a notification that we … More Lives Worthy of the Kingdom
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 27 September 2020 (Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32 Psalm 25:1-9 Philippians 2:1-13 Matthew 21:23-32) “Un-ordinary in Today’s World!” Today’s sermon will be more conversational than you have gotten used to these past six months. If we were sitting with each other, I’d want us to be sitting in a circle talking about the video … More “Un-ordinary in Today’s World!”
Matthew 20: 1-16 If you Google “most valuable companies of 2020” you discover website after website offering lists of public corporations in order by market capitalization. For those of us, like myself, who aren’t financial capitalists and had to do an additional search to figure out what market capitalization even means… essentially, in order by … More The Equality of Grace
Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost 13 September 2020 Sermon by Deacon Marsha Roscoe (Matthew 18:21-35) Today’s gospel lesson is one of the most difficult teachings in the New Testament. Forgiveness touches the rawest part of our lives – our hearts — the hurts, the pains, the grudges, the resentments… truthfully, the areas in our life where we … More Extravagant Forgiveness
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost 6 September 2020 (Ezekiel 33:7-11 Psalm 119 Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20) “A Theology of Caring!” Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horse and all the King’s men, Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again. One of the first nursery rhymes most of us ever … More “A Theology of Caring!”
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost 30 August 2020 (Jeremiah 15:15-21 Psalm 26 Romans 12:9-21 Matthew 16:21-28) “Be Genuine…Rejoice…Be Patient…Persevere!” “Let your love be genuine!” These are the words of St. Paul to the church at Rome, written before he even met them! “Rejoice in hope! Be patient in suffering! Persevere in prayer!” That’s my sermon for … More “Be Genuine…Rejoice…Be Patient…Persevere!”
Matthew 16:13-20, Romans 12:1-8 One of the more interesting things about the history of the Christian Church, is how it grew so rapidly in the early years following Jesus’ life. Historian, Rodney Stark, author of The Rise of Christianity and long-time professor of Comparative Religion at the University of Washington, points out, that if we … More Be Church
