In Jesus’ call to us on Ash Wednesday, He gives us a blood-curdling preview of what we are about to see in this momentous drama of Lent. It is horrible. And it is shocking. We, His creation, will mock and insult the Creator of the universe. How can that be? The one who gave us […]
Sample Sermon: 1 Maccabees 4:36-56 and John 10:22-30 (Easter 4C)
March 7, 2011 by
To go the first article in this series, click here. This is a “sample sermon” on preaching from the Apocrypha (Anagignoskomena/Deuterocanon), which is in a presentation I will lead for a pastoral circuit conference. This sermon is more didactic than usual because the average listener is clueless as to how the Feast of Dedication ties […]
Transfiguration: Matthew 17:1-9
March 6, 2011 by
Behold your Lord, Jesus Christ–the greatest rerun you’ll ever see. That’s right: Jesus is the rerun you want to watch, the one you don’t ever want to miss. For that is exactly what Jesus does: He re-runs the entire Old Testament. Jesus is called out of Egypt, He is tempted in the desert, He is […]
The Americanization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
March 6, 2011 by
The process of “Americanization” within the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod began at its very formation. One of our founders, Wilhelm Loehe, noticed as much when he stated our constitution showed signs of Americanization, which he likened to “mob rule.” Even so, despite the initial Americanization that had already taken place, further inroads were held at bay […]
Epiphany 8: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
February 27, 2011 by
St. Isaiah foretold it. St. Paul described it. Jesus lived it. But even more, Jesus is it! I am speaking of Love. So, what is love? What is real love? Our world has become used to seeing emotions and feelings as love. In our fallen world, love is not an action verb, but more often […]
Optional Supplemental Lectionary Readings from the OT Apocrypha
February 24, 2011 by
For my next pastoral conference in early March, I will lead a study on the Apocrypha. We will learn how it fell into disuse within Lutheran circles, and it will finish with optional Old Testament readings from the Apocrypha for the Lutheran Service Book lectionaries. Here is the optional Old Testament Apocrypha pericopes I will present. […]
Lent–What’s with the Season Anyway?
February 21, 2011 by
Lent is almost here. Yes, the days of ashes and sackcloth, fasting, and mourning are almost here. As the ashes of Ash Wednesday remind us: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:19). After the Fall into sin, God called Adam to remember the earth from which he came, and […]
Epiphany 7: Luke 8:4-15, The Parable of the Sower and the Seed
February 20, 2011 by
About every week, somebody sends me mail, mail that promises to make my church grow, mail that promises to bring life to a dying church. Obviously, many churches must be shrinking for so many companies to send out such advertisements. Yet, every one of those mailings focuses–not on God–but on people’s wants and wishes. They […]
Epiphany 6: Matthew 20:1-16
February 13, 2011 by
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner Don’t look for the world’s justice in God’s kingdom. What passes for justice in this world lacks the grace and mercy of our Lord. God rules by grace and mercy, which the Parable of the Vineyard Owner clearly shows us. In the parable, God doesn’t understand a day’s pay […]
Epiphany 5: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
February 6, 2011 by
The parables dealing with God’s rule over us in the book of Matthew are full of promise and hope, especially in the 13th chapter, which we heard in our Gospel reading. The sower goes out to sow his seed. Some of his seed falls on rich soil and produces a generous harvest. Then there is […]
