Category: Posts

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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A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent

Once again, our Gospel text is about John the Baptist. What’s a preacher to do?! One of the things that preachers sometimes do is dress up in a burlap sack, carry a plate with grasshoppers and honey on it, and walk up and down the aisle with a staff, crying: “Prepare the way!”

As we noted last week, in the book of Malachi, (“Malachi,” Hebrew for messenger), it says that there will be a messenger who will come and proclaim the Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment (Malachi 3:1, 4:5).

According to Matthew’s Gospel (11:11-14), John the Baptist is this one, the new Elijah, the greatest of the prophets. Yet John himself says: “He who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (Luke 3:16).

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