Click on the Title for Scripture readings
Category: Sermons
What is God’s?
Those in our text today who wish to test the Christ have pit earthly government against heavenly government. They begin their inquiry with a false presupposition. They do so knowingly, they willfully bend God’s teaching against the Christ. However, truth prevails – which is a surprise to none of us.
The Pharisees ally themselves with the followers of Herod hoping to catch Christ inciting the people against the government; a government which Christ has allowed to be established.
…For more, click on the title above.
Are you a work nearing completion?
Forgiveness doesn’t count
Forgiveness doesn’t count. Oh, don’t get me wrong! I don’t mean that it doesn’t matter or that it’s not important. By no means. No, forgiveness counts for a lot in that respect. In fact, it’s everything. We’d be lost without forgiveness.
But when I say, Forgiveness doesn’t count, I mean it in the way that Jesus teaches it, which is to say, forgiveness doesn’t keep score. Forgiveness doesn’t count. It doesn’t keep score or keep track of how many times it has to forgive. …For more, click on the title above.
Why Are the Saints Blessed?
Today is the day we celebrate All Saints Day, perhaps one of the most misunderstood “Festival” days in the church year.
But, with that said, with the help of the Holy Spirit we will look at what God has to say in regard to “life after death.” To begin with, however, let’s answer a couple of basic questions: what is All Saints Day, and why does the Lutheran Church celebrate it?…For more, click on the title above.
Celebrate Reformation by Preaching the Eternal Gospel
Today we commemorate the Reformation specifically through celebrating the preaching of the eternal Gospel. For this Gospel we give glory to God who comes to His people in the proper time. This coming of the Lord was long promised and long awaited by His people who had, until the arrival of the Christ, dwelt in a deep darkness. …For more, click on the title above.
Beautiful signs and wonders
This is a time of year, in the Church, when we hear again of the signs and wonders that Jesus did to reveal Himself as the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, of the Scriptures. Today, that has come into our ears with the Apostle and Evangelist John’s account of Jesus’ second miracle having come from the Judea into the Galilee.
With that in mind, we remember that today’s readings have, in this time, come to us very near to our celebration of the Festival of the Reformation, as well as the days that immediately follow it—the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. This is a time of year for us to hear a succession of proclamations concerning the powerful work of God…. For more, click on the title above.
Unpacking the meaning of a parable
Sometimes when you begin a sermon you need to explain what the text you are preaching on is NOT about before you can say what it is about and how it applies to the hearers. I hope this helps, because the parable of the wicked, nasty tenants is one of those texts.
This parable of Jesus is not about an unfruitful vineyard. It is not about a vineyard that bore the wrong kind of fruit. This parable is not about the people of God who at times do not bear the fruit that they should be bearing. And so, we should not simplistically say that we are just like the tenant workers in that vineyard because we sometimes don’t bear fruit for God….For more, click on the title above.
Are you welcome at the Feast?
Jesus said, “Many are invited but few are elected.”
Do you remember how Jesus explains the parable we just heard? Me neither. That is because this is one of those that Jesus doesn’t explain. He gives the parable and keeps on talking. Most of the time it’s not a big deal. This is one of those times it’s not a big deal – the explanation of the parable is pretty obvious when we consider it in light of the rest of the Scriptures….For more, click on the ttile above
St Luke, Evangelist
Click on the above title for the bulletin contain the Lectionary readings.