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.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Monday, September 16, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
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?
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?
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Sermon Audio 8/18/2013
Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo
13th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Luke 12:49-56
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held our biennial (becoming triennial) Churchwide Assembly last week, in which 1000 voting members from all over the country came together in Pittsburgh, PA to do the work of the church. Today I provided a summary of the work we did at CWA (as it is known to insiders), including electing a new Presiding Bishop, approving a new Social Statement on Criminal Justice, resolutions on various public issues, and an effort to increase the church's commitment to youth and young adults. The Gospel lesson for today is a frightening one, Jesus bringing fire and division instead of the oft-expected hugs and kumbayas. It's still the Good News for us, if you know what to listen for.
Below the sermon audio I'll include a summary and links to the major work done at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, much of which I described in this sermon.
13th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Luke 12:49-56
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America held our biennial (becoming triennial) Churchwide Assembly last week, in which 1000 voting members from all over the country came together in Pittsburgh, PA to do the work of the church. Today I provided a summary of the work we did at CWA (as it is known to insiders), including electing a new Presiding Bishop, approving a new Social Statement on Criminal Justice, resolutions on various public issues, and an effort to increase the church's commitment to youth and young adults. The Gospel lesson for today is a frightening one, Jesus bringing fire and division instead of the oft-expected hugs and kumbayas. It's still the Good News for us, if you know what to listen for.
Below the sermon audio I'll include a summary and links to the major work done at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, much of which I described in this sermon.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Sermon Audio 8/11/2013
Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo
12th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Genesis 15:1-6
At our annual outdoor worship service, we talked about how God called Abram outside to count the stars, so that Abram would believe and understand God's promise. How much does it matter where we hear God's word for us? And will you be watching the Perseid meteor shower tonight?
12th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Genesis 15:1-6
At our annual outdoor worship service, we talked about how God called Abram outside to count the stars, so that Abram would believe and understand God's promise. How much does it matter where we hear God's word for us? And will you be watching the Perseid meteor shower tonight?
Sermon Audio 7/28/2013
Lutheran Church of the Savior, Kalamazoo
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Genesis 18:20-32
This one is up a bit late, as I went on vacation after worship that day for over a week. I don't remember what this sermon was about. Something about Abraham arguing with God's decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, which is a funnier scene than you might expect when the context is the height of God's judge-y / smite-y phase. Anyway, I recall that people liked this sermon, for whatever that's worth.
Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year C
Genesis 18:20-32
This one is up a bit late, as I went on vacation after worship that day for over a week. I don't remember what this sermon was about. Something about Abraham arguing with God's decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, which is a funnier scene than you might expect when the context is the height of God's judge-y / smite-y phase. Anyway, I recall that people liked this sermon, for whatever that's worth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)