Sermon Audio 10/6/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

20th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

World Communion Sunday

Luke 24:13-35

We switched to Luke's iconic story of the walk to Emmaus to talk about the pattern of worship we share with churches around the world and the presence of Jesus we share at our table each Sunday. I love this stuff, so I may have gotten a little extra-shouty in this one.

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October Newsletter Article

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

October 2013 Newsletter Article

Rejoice in God’s saints today and all days!

A world without saints forgets how to praise.

In loving, in living, they prove it is true:

their way of self-giving, Lord, leads us to you.

-          Fred Pratt Green, “Rejoice in God’s Saints,” ELW 418

Every year the transition from October to November gives us two important festivals to commemorate in our church. October 31^st is Reformation Day, our remembrance of Martin Luther inadvertently beginning the German Reformation by posting a series of 95 theses that questioned church practices of his time. We observe this festival each year on the last Sunday in October, this year the 27^th, generally by singing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” and reflecting how Jesus embodied a new covenant in which God justifies us by grace through faith. This year we will add to that celebration by honoring the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the surprisingly young denomination of which we are a part. I am excited to reflect on our place in the history of reforming churches on that Sunday, seeing how God works in new and unexpected ways to proclaim the gospel to the world.

November 1^st is All Saints Day, and we celebrate All Saints Sunday every year on the first Sunday in November. We recognize the great cloud of witnesses God has sent ahead of us to teach us the faith, from famous saints like Francis of Assisi and Martin Luther to our grandparents, former Sunday school teachers, and spouses. At Lutheran Church of the Savior each year on this Sunday we display our Tree of Life banner with doves to bear the names of our loved ones, saints who have gone before us. I greatly enjoy this tradition, and write in the names of saints far and wide who have led me to know God’s love and then have eternally returned to that love in death.

This year in addition to that tradition we plan to unveil and commission a new, permanent Recognition Tree to commemorate people in whose names memorials have been given to Lutheran Church of the Savior. Memorial gifts are financial donations made in honor of loved ones who have died, saints whose faith inspired us and whose contributions to the life of this congregation continue even after death.

The church is made of people, following Jesus and living out the gospel as God’s hands in the world. Our building and the stuff we have inside it, from the altar to the silverware to the bookshelves, are tools to help the church live out this mission. We use memorial gifts to purchase some of these tools. When I arrived here four years ago, we used memorial funds to purchase the laptop I’m typing on right now, because the church needed technology to fulfill our ministry. Memorial funds will buy new armless chairs for use by our worship musicians – do you know how hard it is to play guitar in a chair with arms?

Memorial funds will continue to fund this church’s mission through our new Memorials Subcommittee, forming now under the oversight of our Stewardship Committee and with the help of organizer Kay Landfair. This new group will create a book of tools the church needs to fulfill our mission, from computers to chairs to new albs (the white robes worship leaders wear) and so much more. In this way the legacy of beloved church members can live on in gifts that aid us in our mission of loving and serving God and one another. Each saint who has died and been memorialized in this way will have a leaf with their name on our new Recognition Tree.

In the 40-plus years of the life of this congregation, we have already received over 40 such memorials, so the names of those saints will be the first to adorn our new tree of life. On Sunday November 3^rd, we hope to invite families of those whose names will be the first on this tree, so we can thank them for the faithfulness of their loved ones.

Following this article is a list of the first set of names we will add to our tree. If you knew these people, or know their families, please invite their families to attend this worship service commemorating their loved ones at LCS, and please contact Phyllis in our office to let her know who you’ve talked with. We plan to hold our annual Harvest Bowl meal on this day as a way to provide hospitality to our guests, and we hope this celebration will begin our new Recognition Tree and Memorials Subcommittee in a spirit of thankfulness for all that God has done for us through the lives of these saints of the church.

Thanks,

Pastor Andrew

Sermon Audio 9/29/2013

19th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Luke 16:19-31

Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus seems pretty simple: poor Lazarus is rewarded in the afterlife, and the selfish rich man is punished. Each gets what he deserves. Is that how God's justice works? Does it tell us what happens to rich and poor after we die? I doubt it.

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Sermon Audio 9/22/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo MI

18th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Luke 16:1-13

Jesus' parable of the dishonest manager may be the most confusing of all Jesus' parables. What can we make of it? Well, I can talk about money, which I'm always happy to do in a sermon. However, I don't think money is where we can learn the most from this story. God calls us to be like the manager in unexpected ways, if we look at this story from a new perspective.

Sermon Audio 9/15/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo MI

17th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Exodus 32:7-14

God's mercy shines through this surprising and maybe-hilarious account of God losing an argument with Moses. God repents? Wait, that's totally backwards! But if God can repent and accept forgiveness, maybe we can too.

Sermon Audio 9/8/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

16th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Luke 14:25-33

Cranky Jesus has some harsh words today for those who would follow him, that is, for us. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.... So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." Yikes! Nobody said it would be easy to follow Jesus, but there is good news here that makes this a whole lot more manageable. Also, in this sermon I talk about my at-times-unhealthy dependence on fabulous shoes.

Sermon Audio 9/1/2013

Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo

15th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C

Luke 14:1, 7-14

In the Gospels we hear a lot about Jesus eating meals. In most cases, who he shared those meals with seems to have been more important than what they ate. What does this tell us about the meals we share, as a church and with others?