Restoration and Renewal, Psalm 126, Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 7, 2019 ************************************************************ This morning we look at the final Lent sermon in our series on the Psalms. The Psalm prescribed for this morning is Psalm 126. It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London, but Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny. All […]
Confession and Absolution, Psalm 32, Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 31, 2019 ************************************************************ Every Lutheran Divine Worship Service has a time for corporate Confession and Absolution. We did it this morning; we did it last Sunday and the Sundays before that. We will do it next Sunday; and the Sundays after that, as well. It is […]
Revive Us Again, Psalm 85, Third Sunday in Lent, March 24, 2019 ************************************************************ The text for this morning is Psalm 85. Bible scholars tell us that this Psalm goes back to somewhere between 600 and 500 B.C. Israel had returned from 70 years of exile in Babylon, the area we now know as Iraq. When Israel […]
Who Can Show Us Any Good, Psalm 4, Second Sunday in Lent, March 17, 2019 ***************************************************************** Imagine this scene with me, you are gathered in a home, really the courtyard of a home, in the second century Roman Empire, somewhere in what is today Turkey, then called Asia Minor. The house is not likely a permanent […]
Comfort in Psalm 91, Psalm 91, First Sunday in Lent, March 10, 2019 ***************************************************************** The Gospel reading for the First Sunday in Lent always relates to the devil’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, which textually, immediately follows His Baptism. This year we heard Luke’s particular portrayal of that event. Perhaps it is with good reason […]
Our Exodus, Luke 9:28-36, The Transfiguration of Our Lord, March 3, 2019 ************************************************************ Transfiguration Sunday officially marks the end of the season of Epiphany. Next Sunday we journey down off the mountain and through the valley of Lent, from glory to suffering. But the glory of what is revealed today, on this mount, shines through the […]
Sold into Forgiveness, Genesis 45:3-15, Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, February 24, 2019 ***************************************************************You know the story; Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery, to a caravan headed for Egypt, where he was bought by Potiphar. After the fiasco with Potiphar’s wife, Joseph was imprisoned, and yet subsequently freed because he successfully interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams. Joseph […]
Gone Fishing, Luke 5:1-11, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, February 10, 2019 ************************************************************ Because today’s Gospel lesson includes a fishing story, I thought it would give me an opportunity to tell a fishing story of my own. The last time I went fishing, I really made a haul! I mean I was bringing in more fish […]
There Are Demons Among Us, Luke 4:31-44, Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, February 3, 2019 ************************************************************ I would like to adamantly deny any connection with the singing of the hymn, “Away from us!” the Demon Cried, right before I come to you with this morning’s sermon. If you were to go to Concordia Seminary in Saint Louis, […]
Sunday Again?, Luke 4:16-30, Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 27, 2019 ************************************************************ Another week, another church service. “Do I have to?” “What difference does it make anyway?” “It’s the same thing every Sunday.” Even if we never say it, that’s what our old sinful human nature thinks. It’s why we sometimes find ourselves dragging our […]