John 15:1-8       

A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Every time we gather together, we are really dealing with one thing: Who is God, and how does he work? It’s particularly appropriate today as we look at the fifteenth chapter of John.

As we look at the general way this God question is talked about, most of the time people say God is that X in the sky, that great unknown, like in algebra, or imaginary logic, the infinite one who is beyond everything. We can’t really know, but we all have our ideas. But beyond that, as people say: “There must be more,” and for that we use our imaginations.

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Acts 4:5-12

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter

In this account from the Book of Acts, chapter 4, the lectionary committee has really just given us the middle of a whole sequence, so I want to tell you what goes before and after. Before is that they, the Twelve, were standing there in Jerusalem. They had replaced Judas. Along came a crippled and he was healed. Everyone was excited. They knew Jesus had healed, but here it was continuing. What the authorities did was throw the apostles in prison because it had excited and disturbed the people. Then we have the verses for today. Peter stands us and says: “There is no other name under heaven by which we shall be saved.”

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Luke 24:36b-48

A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter

The Gospel text for today is another text about an appearance of Jesus after the resurrection. In order to get at what it’s about I’d like to go through the Nicene Creed with you. The Nicene Creed is the most widely held creed in Christendom, and of course, it is about the resurrection.

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John 20:19-31

Every Year this Sunday we have Doubting Thomas. Everybody likes Doubting Thomas. Thomas the Apostle and the Twin, but it’s that “Doubting” that says he’s my kind of a guy. I understand that because after all, doubting is what it’s about. How do you know? When we ask ourselves: Why, of the apostles and the early church, is Thomas so well known and so favored? What’s happening here? What is this Doubting Thomas about?

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Four sermons for Easter:
More than Conquerors (Romans 8:32), or as a pdf here.
He is risen. Death is dead. (Romans 6:5, John 20:16), or as a pdf here.
An Easter sermon for all seasons (I Cor 15:17-20), or as a pdf here.
Easter Sunday (I Cor 15:17-20), or as a pdf here.

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