Category: Sermons

Presentation of Our Lord

Presentation at the temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti

The church treasures the past because it is only in looking at the past that she views her future.
As the church moves forward she always does so facing backward. Not face- first, but back-first, she marches onward toward the Omega, the final goal of her existence.
We don’t do this because we liked it better in the years gone by, nor because we long for the “good old days,” nor, because we are afraid of the future.
Because with God as our Protector we need not fear any adversary.

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Please place upon us innocent blood

Jonah and the Whale by Polly Castor

“O YHWH! Do not let us perish for this man’s life,
and do not place upon us innocent blood, for You, O YHWH, as it has pleased You, You have done

Think about that prayer. It, in part, reveals what would happen in time, when One would be cast into the depths of death for you. t declares how helpless you are to do, say, or offer anything that could take the Holy God’s wrath from your unholy self. Today’s Words foreshadowed that which God, in the Person of the Son, would offer to Himself to buy you back from sin, death, and hell. They ask God to not account sinners guilty of the blood of the Innocent Man. …For more, click on the title above.

Ordinary and mundane

The Healing of Naaman by G. Freman (Freeman), engraved in copper by J. Kip, from Blome's History of the Bible, 1701

Whether or not a person knows it, the one true God of heaven and earth is their God. Whether or not a person fully understands God’s dominion, the almighty God of creation has eternal authority over all things. Whether or not a person accepts the salvation bought back for them, our Redeemer has already paid the price to deliver all men from being thrown into the outer darkness, the place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth….For more, click on the title above.

In that day, God beautifully began to fulfill His prophecies

A Marriage Feast at Cana by Jyoti Sahi

Hear again the Promise of the Lord to His Church as we continue to remember the appearances of our Lord in our human flesh, as God says:
“In that Day, I will cause to raise up the fallen booth of David, and I will repair the breaches in it, and its ruins I will cause to raise up, and I will rebuild it as in days of old…

From that, we are being called to cling to God’s promises, even when He doesn’t seem to give answers. Why? Because, as today’s texts show, He is always faithful to His Word. …For more, click on the title above.

Temple To Temple

Jesus in the Temple by Heinrich Hoffmann

The temple Sanctuary was made Holy by the very presence of God. It was the House of God where He resided on earth to be present and dwell with His people.

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Jesus, the Father’s Chosen One, in whom He delights

Baptism of Jesus by Sadao Watanabe

Today’s Gospel reading certainly lays the groundwork for pastors answering the plea to see or hear Jesus. When we ponder the Lord’s Words that frame the Epiphany weeks, His appearance should become clearer to us. We begin that by considering how the Sundays of this season of growth and new life began today. We heard the Voice from Heaven say something like this:
This One remains My Son, the Beloved, in Whom I (am) well pleased. …For more, click on the title above

He received her into His eternal presence

I am The Way, The Truth, The Life by J.&R. Lamb Studios

She (June) whom God, through His Word and Sacraments, empowered throughout her mortal life to stand firm in the Faith, has begun to receive the inheritance Jesus died to grant her.

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The Tale of Two Kings

Three Wise Men and The Star by Diane McClary

As we journey tonight to see the King of the Jews through this narrative, we can focus on who Christ is.

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