May 19, 2019
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. The Bible teaches in Psalm 8: From the mouths of little children and infants, you have built a fortress against your opponents, to silence the enemy and the avenger.1 Here God has declared that a war is going on. An enemy is attacking. Another Psalm reads:… Read More »
May 12, 2019
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. A Sunday school teacher was beginning her class for some 4-year-olds. The class had increased in size this day with the arrival of an unfamiliar boy. The teacher told the boy her name, and then asked him his. “Robert,” he said. Robert gave no last name,… Read More »
May 5, 2019
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen. You heard it in the Gospel Reading. You heard it three times. Three times Jesus says, “when you pray…” “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites…” “When you pray, go to your room and close the door….” “When you pray, don’t ramble like heathens…” “When… Read More »
April 28, 2019
Grace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Have you ever been in a situation that, if only for a short time, paralyzed you with fear? Maybe it was when a doctor’s visit brought a diagnosis of serious illness; a report that comes back with cancer or some… Read More »
April 21, 2019
Grace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. In our Epistle1 reading for today we heard these words, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.2” In Genesis 2:17 we hear these words: “You must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because… Read More »
April 20, 2019
Grace to you and peace in Jesus’ holy name. Amen. Our enemies never cease to assail us. The sight of our sin shames us. The power of the grave frightens us. Death’s shadow hovers over us waiting for an opportune time to strike. Such a shadow has covered our Lord. The women make their way… Read More »
April 19, 2019
Grace to you, and peace, in Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen. We are here on this dark, somber, day. A day of conviction in self-reflection of our sinfulness and the endless failures we bring before our God, often unknowingly, but all too often defiantly knowing our sin and not caring about the pain it causes our… Read More »
April 18, 2019
Grace to you in Jesus’ name. Amen. During this Lenten season we have looked at several people. We looked at Judas the betrayer, Caiaphas the schemer, Nicodemus the silent believer, Pontius Pilate the thinker, and even one of the mob. So who could be left? In Jesus’ Passion there are many characters, but perhaps some… Read More »
April 14, 2019
May God’s peace, and His victory over sin, give you comfort in Jesus’ name. Amen. It is one week before the Passover celebration. Jesus is now in Bethany, less than a day’s walk to Jerusalem. Mary, Martha and Lazarus are some of Jesus’ closest friends, so He makes one last stop at their house to… Read More »
April 10, 2019
Grace, and peace to you in Jesus’ name. Amen. You might find this hard to believe at first, but there is really a lot in common with Simon Peter, and Judas Iscariot. You might say these two were made of much of the same stuff. So why did they end up in such utterly, radically,… Read More »
