Sermon Audio 7/14/2019, 5th Sunday after Pentecost C

Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Luke 10:25-37

How do you think we talked about the Good Samaritan story in the context of current news about separated families, ICE raids, and concentration camps?

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Sermon Audio 1/6/2019, Epiphany of Our Lord

Hope Lutheran Church, Saint Paul

Epiphany of Our Lord

Matthew 2:1-15

The magi came to worship Jesus under the most unexpected circumstances. Their search for a true king, and the political backlash it inspired, had life-or-death consequences. What God experienced in Jesus during and after this time can have profound meaning for our faith. 

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Sermon Audio 6/17/2018, Fourth Sunday after Pentecost B

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year B

Mark 4:26-34 

The reign of God - or kingdom of God - grows out of the ruins of our efforts to build a world of human justice. Will we allow the reign of God to grow in us, transforming our lives to radical care for one another?

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Sermon Audio 6/3/2018 2nd Sunday after Pentecost B

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Second Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year B

Mark 2:23--3:6 

The religious authorities challenge Jesus for breaking the law on the Sabbath. What is the purpose of Sabbath? Who is it for?

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If you want to support this podcast and the ministry of Lutheran Church of the Savior, you can do so here, or text the amount you want to give to 269-331-2111 and follow the prompts on your phone. Thanks!

Sermon Audio 6/11/2017, Shared with Pastor Joshua Kibezi of African Christian Fellowship

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Holy Trinity Sunday, Lectionary Year A

Matthew 28:16-20 

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. Today's sermon is shared with Pastor Joshua Kibezi of African Christian Fellowship, the new church meeting in our building on Sunday afternoons. Pastor Joshua tells of his life in Democratic Republic of Congo, his time starting a church in a refugee camp in Malawi, his introduction to the United States in Minnesota, and finally his new life and ministry here in Kalamazoo. 

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Sermon Audio 5/28/2017, Seventh Sunday of Easter A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Seventh Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A

Acts 1:6-14 

Before Jesus ascended he left his disciples with a map to follow: Jerusalem, the surrounding region, and to the ends of the earth. He also promised them a guide: the Holy Spirit. As Lutheran Church of the Savior prepares for our big Pentecost celebration next weekend, how have Jesus' final words guided us?

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Sermon Audio 3/12/2017, Third Sunday of Lent A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Third Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A

Genesis 12:1-4a 

In today's first reading, God begins a  relationship with Abram and Sarai that will forever shape God's relationship with all of humanity. God's command to become an immigrant comes with some of the most important promises God has ever made.

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Sermon Audio 1/29/2016, 4th Sunday after Epiphany A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year A

Micah 6:1-8

Matthew 5:1-12 

Two of the most famous passages in the Bible tell us how we can worship God and follow Jesus. Justice, kindness, humility and blessing can shape our lives and our response to those around us.

This is one of those days when experiencing the entire liturgy really enhances the experience of the sermon. The prayers, music, and entire liturgy echoed and reinforced the message of the Beatitudes, Micah, and our reading from 1 Corinthians (1:18-31). Our hymn following the sermon was Let Streams of Living Justice (ELW 710), and I could not stop crying through the entire thing because the song so clearly explained the gospel message for today. Below is the text of that hymn, as an example of the rest of our liturgy today.

Sermon Audio 1/15/2017, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany A

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Second Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year A

Isaiah 49:1-7 

It is too light a thing, God says, that you should save yourselves. Instead, through you I will bring salvation to the ends of the earth. As we prepared for our annual congregational meeting following worship today, this powerful message to God's people in Isaiah has much to say about the year we experienced in 2016 and what 2017 will hold for Lutheran Church of the Savior. 

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Sermon Audio 11/23/2016, Thanksgiving C

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Thanksgiving, Lectionary Year C

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 

Our annual Thanksgiving Eve worship is an opportunity to reflect on what God has done for us and on how we live out our thanks to God. This lesson from Deuteronomy offers a ritual and a profession of faith to use when God's people give thanks for all God has done for us.

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Sermon Audio 10/16/2016, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost C

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Third Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Philippians 4:10-20 

Our stewardship season ends with a bang, as expected. Paul's letter to the Philippians, the most generous church in the Bible, is a fitting place to learn how we too can be generous. 

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Sermon Audio 10/9/2016, 21st Sunday after Pentecost C

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

21st Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

2 Kings 5:1-3, 5-15c

The third week of our stewardship season brings us the story of the prophet Elisha healing Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy. But it's an unexpected third character who best shows us how (not) to respond to what God has given us. 

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Sermon Audio 7/31/2016, Acts Sermon Series Week 9

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Acts Sermon Series 2016, Week Nine

Acts 19:1-7 

The Holy Spirit is active in our church and in our world, and it's ok if we admit that we don't always recognize the Spirit's work. But when we do see the Spirit moving among us, we have a chance to be a part of God's work.

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Sermon Audio 4/10/2016, Third Sunday of Easter C

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

Third Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year C

John 21:1-19 

"Follow me." With these words, Jesus invites Peter - and all of us - into new life. It may not be the life we expected. 

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Newsletter Article March 2016

March 2016 Newsletter Article

See how its branches

reach to us in welcome;

Hear what the Voice says,

“Come to me, ye weary!

Give me your sickness,

give me all your sorrow,

I will give blessing.”

-  Király Imre von Pécselyi; tr. Erik Routley, “There in God’s Garden,” ELW 342

Sermon Audio 2/10/2016 Ash Wednesday

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo [Link to https://www.facebook.com/LutheranChurchOfTheSavior]

Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58:1-12 

On fasting, sin, and the size of grocery stores nowadays. 

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February 2016 Newsletter Article: Welcoming Syrian Refugees

The life-blood of the world

is shed in mindless war;

and fam’lies desire a home

where conflicts cease.

With all the world we lift our hands

in hope to you, O God of peace.

-  Juan A. Espinosa; tr. Martin A. Seltz, “The People Walk,” ELW 706

Syria, the war-torn nation and its eight million refugees, have been all over the news in recent months. The plight of millions of families caught between warring factions, between a bomb and a gun, has captured hearts and news cycles.

Surprisingly – or maybe not, if we consider the power of the Holy Spirit – our lectionary readings have also featured Syria during that same time. My sermon on Christmas Eve, of all times, focused on the fact that Jesus grew up in the Roman province of Syria. (You can listen to it on the web.) When Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt on the run from Herod, they were literally Syrian refugees. In the Gospel lesson on a recent Sunday, Jesus himself references Naaman the Syrian, the foreign military leader whom the prophet Elisha had healed of leprosy. Jesus reminds the people of Nazareth, only 50 miles from the Syrian capital of Damascus, that sometimes God favors these Syrian “foreigners” over the people who know themselves to be God’s own.

In 2016, Lutheran Social Services of Michigan will be among the organizations resettling Syrian refugees in Kalamazoo. Though it has been decades since Lutheran Church of the Savior has helped settle a refugee family, it seems the time has come for us once again to engage in this vital Spirit-led work. We have many partners already engaged in this work, including the aforementioned LSSM, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), and local congregations and organizations.

On Tuesday February 16^th, the normal 1:00 pm meeting of the Kalamazoo Conference of ELCA clergy will modify our usual structure to welcome ecumenical partners and lay people to Lutheran Church of the Savior for an informational meeting on resettling Syrian refugees. Our special guests that day will be LSSM’s Chris Cavanaugh, director of refugee resettlement for western Michigan, and Rev. Nik Schillack, LSSM’s church relations director. You are welcome to attend this meeting, and to bring your friends.

Our Lent Wednesday education hour (6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, preceded by a light dinner and followed by Holden Evening Prayer) will focus on the refugee situation using Bible study and informational materials from LIRS. We may have the opportunity to welcome LSSM’s Rev. Schillack and other staff back for another information session on one of our Wednesday evenings, which should be especially valuable as many of us will be unable to attend the previous daytime meeting.

Then in March Kalamazoo will really get the ball rolling. On the evening of Sunday March 13^th Interfaith Peace and Justice will be hosting their annual interfaith worship service at First Congregational UCC downtown. The keynote speaker will be Dawud Walid, Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, talking about Islamophobia and the Syrian refugee crisis. Following the service, a reception will feature representatives of LSSM and Bethany Christian Services, two of the organizations bringing Syrian refugees to Kalamazoo in 2016. This is an excellent opportunity for us to learn more about refugees and our partners in the ministry of refugee resettlement.

Additionally, a group of area Christian clergy recently wrote a letter to the Mayor and City Commission encouraging Kalamazoo to formally resolve to be a welcoming community for immigrants and refugees. Watch for the letter in the Kalamazoo Gazette and on MLive.com. The Kalamazoo City Commission meeting on Monday March 7^th offers an opportunity for Kalamazoo to take this public step even beyond our religious communities.

Syrian refugees are coming to Kalamazoo, and we have the opportunity to use our resources for the gospel work of partnering to resettle families looking for a new beginning. In the coming months, we will have many opportunities to learn about the situation and how we can follow Jesus by becoming involved.

Thanks,

Pastor Andrew 

Sermon Audio 12/24/2015 Christmas Eve

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo 

Nativity of Our Lord I - Christmas Eve

Luke 2:1-20

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Peace is one of the central themes of Christmas, from the title Prince of Peace in Isaiah to the angel's declaration of peace on earth to the shepherds. So why does the story of Jesus' birth also include one of the least-peaceful names in our world today?