Who is your Shepherd?

The Good Shepherd by Daniel Bonnell

This can be a dangerous thing to do in a sermon—especially right at the beginning—but I’m going to ask you to close your eyes and visualize this scene: A shepherd is standing on a hillside surrounded by his flock. They are laying or grazing on green grass and in the distance is a shimmering lake….the water as still as a mirror, reflecting the bright light of the sky. …For more, click on the title above.

Can these bones live?

The Doubting Thomas by Carl Bloch

Ezekiel is brought to a massive bone heap—dry bones scattered from one end to the other of the valley. Lest we forget, they were people once. They lived and breathed, they laughed and loved and played, they fought and died.
Now all that is left of them are these bones – dry and brittle. Not yet turned to dust, but well on the way. And the big question put to the prophet by the Lord: “Can these bones live?” …For more, click on the title above.

Let Jesus into your life

Sea of Galilee by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

As a young boy one of the great thrills of my life was going fishing with my dad. For awhile we lived on the shore of Lake St. Claire in Michigan, and we could go fishing a lot. Every year, when my dad’s vacation time came around, we would pack up the car and hook up the boat and head for the cold waters of northern Minnesota. …For more, click on the title above.

He is risen indeed!

Resurrection Morning by Sadao Watanabe

Christ is Risen! (He is risen indeed. Alleluia!)
Imagine standing in the darkness just before dawn. The air is still, the world is quiet, and the horizon is only a faint outline. Then, slowly, the first light breaks through—and everything changes. This is something that happens all over this beautiful world, but somehow, in the grandeur of the shadow of the mountains, this seems especially vibrant.
That’s what Easter morning is like. The darkness of Good Friday gives way to the light of resurrection. The silence of the tomb is shattered by the angel’s announcement: “He is not here, for He has risen.” …For more, click on the title above.

If only…

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Jesus has been tried and wrongly convicted—but convicted none the less—and of the most unacceptable, offensive crime. Not for the murder of a child, not for molestation, or rape, nor for any number of outlandish, despicable crimes that we can only imagine—but for blasphemy—the denial of God Himself or the claim to be God or to be God’s Son, and for that, he must die….For more, click on the title above.

What kind of Jesus do you want?

Les Rameaux by Corinne Vonaesch

If nobody has told you or if you missed all the signs: Today is Palm Sunday.
I remember the Palm Sundays of my youth. I used to sing in the little kid’s choir. My brother sang in the older kids’ choir. He wasn’t that much older than me. (I said 2 years; he insisted it was 27 months.) I think, even back then, they knew it would be best to keep us separated. My mom sang in the adult choir. My dad sang in the pew….For more, click on the title above.

Rejoice because Jesus died for you

Crucifixion, St. John of the Cross c. 1550

Jesus has been tried and wrongly convicted—but convicted none the less—and of the most unacceptable, offensive crime. Not for the murder of a child, not for molestation, or rape, nor for any number of outlandish, despicable crimes that we can only imagine—but for blasphemy—the denial of God Himself or the claim to be God or to be God’s Son, and for that, he must die. …For more, click on the title above.

The Way of the Cross

Crucifixion, St. John of the Cross c. 1550

Today/Tonight we begin a journey, a five-week trip that will take us along a street now called Via Dolorosa, Latin for “Sorrowful Way.” It is also called by another Latin name, “Via Crucis” which translates to “Way of (the) Cross.”
Pastor Morehouse, Vicar Decker, and I will be your guides as we journey through the crowds that lined that street almost 2,000 years ago. We will discover the identity of some of those who were there. For more, click on the title above.

The Sower and the seed

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Our text for this morning from the Gospel of St. Luke is commonly called the Parable of the Sower. This is actually a parable about four different kinds of dirt, or soil. The emphasis is not on the sower at all—although we will have a thing or two to say about him—but the focus is on the different kinds of soil into which the sower’s seed falls. To put it another way, this is not a parable about the preacher, it’s about the hearers….For more, click on the title above.