Sermon Audio 9/21/2014, 16th Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

15th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 20:1-16

Jesus' parable of the generous landowner is a wonderfully unexpected look at God's grace. The laborers are right to point out that the landowner's generosity exceeds the bounds of fairness, which is why this is such a great story for us as we embark on our annual stewardship drive. Stewardship is the process of figuring out how to respond to God's generosity, figuring out what to do with all God has given us. I love stewardship because this process draws us deeper into our faith and shows us how to live out our new lives in Christ.

As always, listen here or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by searching "Tengwall."

Sermon Audio 9/14/2014, Holy Cross Sunday

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

1 Corinthians 1:18-24

The cross is the central symbol of Christianity. Even before Jesus, the cross was a powerful symbol, and its meaning has changed over time. My son recognized the cross before he was 18 months old, but he understood it to mean something very different than I do. What does the cross mean to us today as we try to follow Jesus together?

As always, listen here or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. 

Sermon Audio 9/7/2014, 13th Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Matthew 18:15-20

As we kicked off our program year with Sunday School, "God's Work. Our Hands." Sunday and more, today's Gospel lesson challenged us to be honest about the challenges and conflict that come with being an active community with diverse goals. How does Jesus instruct us to manage conflict? How have we managed conflict in our congregation, and how can we do it better? For starters, I am proud to introduce my favorite communication and conflict management model, the Role Renegotiation Model (believe me, it's so much better than the name), and its practical partner, the Pinches and Praises box. Because Jesus is with us, we can be bold to trust one another with our honest concerns.

As always, listen here or listen/subscribe on iTunes by searching "Tengwall." 

Sermon Audio 8/31/2014, 12th Sunday after Pentecost A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Romans 12:9-21

Today's lesson from Romans offers my favorite instruction in the Bible: love one another. This simple, profound, difficult instruction is only one of about 29 ways Paul instructs Christians to act toward others, each as obviously good and near-impossible as the next. How can we do the things God wants us to do? 

As always, listen here or listen/subscribe on iTunes by searching "Tengwall."