Some of you may have grown up in families where you weren’t the one who always got the attention. A brother or a sister was better at sports than you. Or maybe in academics, he got the recognition and the approval. Perhaps, others sometimes introduced you as “so-and-so’s brother or sister.” It must have been […]
Midweek Advent Services Begin
November 29, 2011 by
As has been our tradition since we began as a congregation, our midweek Advent services are beginning. We will have four midweek services on each Wednesday of Advent: On November 30th, December 7th, December 14th, and December 21st. Our services times are 1:00 (the alternate time) and 7:00 PM. We will use Evening Prayer as […]
The Way of the Donkey: Mark 11:1-10
November 27, 2011 by
When fishes flew and forests walked and figs grew upon thorn, some moment when the moon was blood then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry and ears like errant wings, the devil’s walking parody on all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth, of ancient crooked will; starve, scourge, deride […]
Understanding Advent
November 25, 2011 by
The call of Advent is a call to slow down. It is not Christmas–at least not yet. Advent bids us patience, to slow down our urgent pace, even to trust in the Lord when dark is our road and confusing our path. Advent is a call, not to push the Lord along, but to wait […]
Giving Thanks Like a Samaritan: Luke 17:11-19
November 23, 2011 by
St. Luke wants you to be bowled over by the man who came back to thank Jesus. Ten lepers approached Jesus. Ten lepers cried out with a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” They all wanted healing. And Jesus was compassionate and merciful. He said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests!” And […]
New Phone Directories Are In!
November 13, 2011 by
The new pictorial phone directories for Shepherd of the Hills are now in. Get your copy in the narthex after the Divine Service.
John 4:46-54: The Hidden and Revealed God
November 13, 2011 by
When your child is sick, you feel powerless. You want to heal your child, but the most you can do is to help the body heal itself. You don’t have true power to heal. Even antibiotics and medicines do not work without the body doing its part. True healing happens without the body’s help. And […]
All Saints’: Matthew 5:1-12
November 6, 2011 by
The kingdom of this world is like a man who goes off to war. He fights for his homeland, but soon his enemies capture him. They strip him and beat him, leaving him half-dead, a prisoner in a large prisoner of war camp, filled with thousand of others. The prison camp is like a small, […]
Reformation Day Sermon: John 8:31-36
October 30, 2011 by
What is this nonsense? How can the Jews who were listening to Jesus say, “We are Abraham’s descendants; we’ve never been slaves of anyone”? Have they never read the Old Testament? Have they never eaten the Passover, which celebrated and remembered God rescuing them from their slavery in Egypt? Even more, look at the time […]
Lorraine Curtis’ Funeral Sermon: Matthew 5:24
October 27, 2011 by
I sometimes wonder if there’s something about Chicago and Northern Illinois that shapes and forms certain personalities. Let me explain. Lorraine had a strong, distinctive personality, similar to some others I’ve met from Chicago. Lorraine wasn’t uncaring by any sort, but she didn’t mince words. She told you what she thought in a way you’d […]
