The Work of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:1–21; John 7:37–39, The Day of Pentecost, May 31, 2020 ************************************************************ Today is the birthday of the Church. God’s people should celebrate this day in much the same way we celebrate anniversaries and birthdays as individuals and institutions. Yet the festival of Pentecost is something of a forgotten stepchild […]

Living Trust, 1 Peter 4:12-19; 5:6-11, Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2020 ************************************************************************* For the past six weeks we have been reading Peter’s amazing letter to the persecuted folk of Asia Minor. This morning, in the second verse of our reading, Peter once more says that suffering is a participation in the sufferings of Christ […]

Living Witness, 1 Peter 3:13–22, Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2020 ************************************************************************* It may seem as if our Easter celebration was months ago, but the season of Easter is still chugging along. Most of the world has forgotten about any Easter glow, particularly this season of Corona. Easter for many of our neighbors, even many […]

Living Holy, 1st Peter 2:2-10, Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 10, 2020 ************************************************************************* This morning I would like to tell you about a guy I know who was considered to be a church planter. Yet it seems like no matter what He did, He never was very well-liked. In fact, he was told that to his […]

Living in Suffering, 1st Peter 2:19-25, Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2020 ************************************************************************* This morning, we continue with our reading of 1st Peter, on this Fourth Sunday of Easter, where Peter admonishes his readers to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good […]

Living Fear, 1 Peter 1:17–25, Third Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2020 *************************************************************************Last week we began a six week reading of 1st Peter. (You can go back and hear last week’s sermon through our website, Facebook page, or YouTube channel, by the way.) 1st Peter 1:3-9 reminded us of our living hope, the hope we […]

Living Hope, 1 Peter 1:3–9, Second Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2020 *********************************************************** Over the next six weeks our second reading comes from the New Testament letter of 1st Peter. We know quite a bit about Peter. Peter was as a fisherman when Jesus called him as a disciple, along with his brother Andrew. Peter […]

Eyes on Jesus: Angel Eyes, John 20:1-18, Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020 *********************************************************** The phrase “angel eyes” may conjure up different thoughts based on your age and interests. Older music lovers will think of the 1946 jazz standard popularized by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. Another generation might think of the ballad of the same name […]

The Suffering Servant, Isaiah 50:4-9, Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020 ************************************************************************* Palm Sunday marks the beginning of this, the holiest of weeks of the Church Year. Palm Sunday really has a dual focus. On the one hand, it is a day of joy and gladness, as we mingle our “hosannas” with those crowds who first welcomed […]

Preaching to Dry Bones, Ezekiel 37:1–14, Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 29, 2020 ************************************************************************* The Lenten cycle is drawing to a close. This is the last numbered Sunday in Lent; next Sunday begins Palm Sunday and Holy Week. In our Old Testament text today, God shows the prophet Ezekiel a vision that is quite dramatic and […]