Jesus Christ is Lord

A Sermon for the Second Sunday after Pentecost

2 Cor 4:1-6

Eighty-eight years ago, May 29-31, 1934, a group of Protestant leaders met in Wuppertal-Barmen, Germany. They thought something had to be done over against Hitler. Hitler had taken power in Germany in January 1933. All the legal rights and power of the church were made subject to the State. What was to be done about this? People began to worry. There were 138 in that group gathered in Barmen, Germany, to do something. They talked and talked.

Half-way through the second day, when everyone there did what Germans did in those days, that is, take a nap between 1:00 and 3:00, while everyone was napping, Karl Barth drank a strong cup of coffee and wrote what is called the Barmen Declaration. It is only a couple of pages long. Six main points. Scripture, what we hold, and what we reject.

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A sermon for the First Sunday after Pentecost

John 3:1-18

Finally a Sunday where we get to talk about God!

From Advent until Pentecost the focus is on the Son, the coming of the Son and all he did. Then with Pentecost until the beginning of Advent again, it’s about the Holy Spirit. When do we get to talk about God? Where does God come in?

On Trinity Sunday! We’re not talking about God in some abstract way, but about the Trinity. It’s important to see how the Trinity works, that we talk about who this God is and what is he like in that particular way.

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The Holy Spirit is God

A sermon for Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

On this the third of the three great festivals of the Christian Church, Pentecost, you will note, if you happen to have a commercial calendar, that the calendar will likely identify Christmas and maybe Easter, but not Pentecost.

Some congregations celebrate Pentecost by asking people to wear red on that day. It’s one way to make this great festival festive. The color red represents fire, and Acts 2:2-4 states that on the Day of Pentecost the disciples were gathered together. “And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind” (Acts 2:2). Note a similar word about wind and Spirit in John 3:8:

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Pastors:

We are offering sermons for both Easter 6 & 7 in this post.

Because “What About Judas?” is an often asked question, some pastors may want to take it up on Easter 6 rather than on Easter 7, Memorial Day weekend.

Select here for Easter 6 or here for Easter 7.

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John 14:6b

A sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Easter

Pope Francis is 85 years old, and we can expect a new pope in the next few years. Every time a new pope is elected people want to know: What’s he like? No matter who he is, some people are shocked to find out: Why, yes, the Pope is Catholic.

After a new pope is elected, there is a ceremony called an investiture, in which the new pope is given the authority and regalia of the papacy. During this ceremony a pallium is put around his neck. A pallium is like a stole, only it’s put on backwards from the way a stole is usually worn. Why is the pallium important? Because a pallium was what was put around the neck of the Roman Emperor when he was crowned Emperor. The pallium is a relic of the fact that the Roman Catholic Church is simply the Roman Empire continuing without the politics of the Roman Empire.

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