John 2:1-11

A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

We are in the season of Epiphany, the season of the coming of the light. There’s a problem with this and the problem is like the line you know from the poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.”
There’s light, light everywhere, but who’s got the light?

This comes out in two major ways. There are about 40,000 Christian denominations in the United States, although they can be grouped in about seven major groupings. Why is this? In part it’s because every single verse in the Bible has all multiple interpretations so there is no way to say: “Ah, yes, this verse is self-evident.” Or: “That verse is clear.” There is tremendous variation in terms of how things are interpreted.

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Isaiah 43:1; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

A Sermon for the First Sunday after Epiphany

How long can a person live without water? On average a person can survive without water only about three days.
We know the problem of water shortages and droughts. (Perhaps some examples.) In Isaiah 44:3 the Lord says: “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.”

And the problem of floods and too much water. (Perhaps some examples.) Genesis 7 tells the story of the flood which lasted forty days.

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John 1:1-18

A sermon for the Second Sunday after Christmas

In this remarkable prologue, the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John, one of the key points is something we call “grace.” What is grace? It can mean many things. “Grace” is a women’s name. When we watch Olympic ice-skaters, we are awed by their “grace.” When we say they were so “gracious” to us, we mean they were kind and thoughtful.

For Christians “grace” is a key word. Last week we talked about the hymn “Amazing Grace,” and noted that despite its popularity, it’s quite vague about what grace is and is not.
Luther is famous for saying “grace alone,” but what exactly is it?

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And Suddenly . . . or as a pdf document.

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Luke 1:39-45

A sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
The fourth Sunday in Advent is often called Mary Sunday. In our Luke text for today, Mary goes to stay with Elizabeth, who refers to her as “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43).

Sometimes it is forgotten among us, but in 431 A.D. an ecumenical council of Christian leaders met in Ephesus and declared that Mary is “the God-bearer.” She is unique among all human beings. She is the one chosen by God to bear his Son. We do not want in any way to take away from that.

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