what is this week in the Easter season? Cantate Sunday. Cantate is Latin for sing; so that makes this Singing Sunday. This name is based on the incipit of the Introit (which we learned about in Bible class a few weeks ago) for this Sunday which comes from Psalm 98, “Oh sing to the Lord a new song.”…For more, click on the title above.
Category: Sermons
United in the promise of their Resurrection inheritance
The sermon for this celebration of Ryan and Jessica’s one-flesh union in Christ is drawn from the inspired readings chosen for today. Those have been entering our ears through the Lord’s Service. In addition, from our mouths, by means of the hymns Ryan and Jessica chose for us to sing this day, we have also been proclaiming God’s Good News to one another. From and out of all of that which is in the Lord’s Service to us today, we are now led into hearing this joyful day’s central theme text:
No longer (do) they remain two, but one flesh. That which the God has yoked together, man must not separate. …For more, click on the title above.
St. Mark, Evangelist
Today we give thanks for the faith and ministry of Saint Mark the Evangelist. Saint Mark was presumably a world-traveling evangelist in addition to the author of the second and shortest Gospel. It is well attested that he served as the Bishop of Alexandria for some time and spread the Gospel to Egypt. It is also well attested that he suffered martyrdom in the eighth year of Emperor Nero’s reign. Commonly depicted as a lion, Mark is mentioned in two verses of the Bible, both of them found in the book of Acts. He is called “Mark surnamed John” and his mother’s house in Jerusalem was a place where the disciples would frequently gather for prayer. ..For more, click on the title above.
Truly special people in the eyes of the Lord
Today’s ancient order of readings points you, the believer, to the sure and certain hope that the central message of Holy Scripture declares. This is another Sunday, among the 52 each year, that is God’s gift to you. This day is especially for you who are numbered among the people continually confessing Christ-crucified for the forgiveness of all your sins….For more, click on the title above.
The beautiful Shepherd calls His people
The beautiful shepherd of the soul
What is the traditional nickname for this Sunday of the Church Year?
Yes, it is, “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we are seen before God as sheep who have strayed—sinners all—and yet have been led back to the courtyard of the Faith by none other than Jesus Himself. That is the heart of today’s message, founded upon the eternal reality that the Beautiful Shepherd, Jesus, once laid down His life for us, then was raised from the dead, for us, for you!…For more, click on the title above.
The binding and loosening keys
Water, blood and Spirit
It’s often in the smallest detail that the most remarkable revelations are to be found. Ezekiel beheld a valley of dry bones. Ezekiel had served as a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem. He had seen the destruction of that Temple, God’s dwelling place, and he was now living in exile in a land far away. And he must have been wondering: “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” …For more, click on the title above.
For you
Haven’t we been here before? It sounds so familiar.
Every year, for those of us who follow the One Year Lectionary, on the Fifth Sunday after Trinity, we hear the account of a miraculous catch of fish. Remember? …For more, click on the title above.
The stranger on the road to Emmaus
The Gospel Reading takes us back to that first Easter Sunday. The early morning events are now over. Most of Jesus’ disciples are back in Jerusalem in a house with the doors locked in fear of the Jews.
The afternoon sun is approaching the horizon as two disciples are walking on the dirt road out of Jerusalem. …For more, click on the title above.