When Jesus started His New-Covenant Church, fulfilling what came before, He didn’t hand out copies of the Bible and tell people to read it. Neither did He command His Apostles to do the same. He commanded them to do other things. And how God is at work through those things can be mysterious to our […]
Your Future Reality Invades Your Darkness
December 10, 2014 by
Malachi 3:1-4, Philippians 1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6 The name Malachi means “my messenger.” And it’s a fitting name, since that prophet so powerfully spoke about God’s coming messenger. That messenger would be like a powerful soap to purify and cleanse the Levites, the chosen priesthood of Israel. God chose that tribe of Israel to be His […]
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 15:1-7: Joan Botthof’s Funeral Sermon
December 6, 2014 by
Jesus told a parable to those who thought they had sealed the deal with God. They didn’t need to repent–they were God’s people. So Jesus told them a parable, a story to make a point. But in that parable, Jesus also makes a point for us. But what is that point? Ah, Jesus sneaked it […]
Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:29-31: Jesus Ushers in a New Springtime of Life
December 3, 2014 by
Although we are now on the cusp of winter, some of us are already looking forward to spring. In our Gospel reading, we heard Jesus speak of spring, when leaves begin to bud and finally burst forth in the marvel of new life. Jesus used a picture of “the fig tree and all the others […]
Jeremiah 23:5-8: Jesus, Our True King
December 1, 2014 by
A good king is hard to find. In Jesus’ day, if the people of Jerusalem looked at the kings around them, they wouldn’t have found a true king. If they looked at their local king, Herod Antipas, they would have thought that a king was a bloodthirsty oppressor who thought little of his people, who […]
Thanksgiving Sermon: What Faith Is and What Faith Does
November 26, 2014 by
Our Old Testament reading had with these words: “Keep the commands of the Lord your God by walking in His ways and fearing Him.” So, how’s that going for you? How well are you keeping them, His Commandments, the Ten Words that God gave to Moses to give to the people of Israel? So let’s […]
Matthew 25:31-46: The Hidden Jesus
November 23, 2014 by
What’s surprising about the resurrection of the body on the Last Day is that every physical body ever born will rise. Jesus will show to all that He DID take away the sins of the entire world when He physically died on the cross and physically rose from the grave. That’s why every person ever […]
Sermon for Bobbie Hansen’s Funeral: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: Remember the Resurrection
November 21, 2014 by
When memory fades and recognition falters, when eyes we love grow dim and minds confused, speak to our souls of love that never alters; speak to our hearts, by pain and fear abused. O God of life and healing peace, empower us with patient courage, by your grace infused. As frailness grows, and youthful strengths […]
Matthew 25:14-30: A Talent is What?
November 19, 2014 by
In today’s church, especially when dealing with the topic of stewardship, this phrase rolls off our tongue like water: “Time, talents, and treasure.” When we say that, we think that a talent is an ability we have, or an ability we’ve cultivated. But that’s not a talent in the Bible. A talent was the amount […]
Amos 5:18-24, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: The Day of the Lord
November 11, 2014 by
When we imagine the prophets of old, we often see a fire-and-brimstone preacher breathing out God’s judgment and wrath. And that’s what Amos did in our Old-Testament reading for today. He warned the people of Israel about the “Day of the Lord,” realized in all its fullness when God would judge the entire world. Other […]
