Posts

Showing posts from July, 2025

Sermon - Trinity VII, 2026 - Mark 8:1-9

-
Image
The Multiplication of Loaves, Daniel Halle, 1664 Those who abide with Jesus will be satisfied by Jesus Jesus has compassion on those who abide in Him Jesus provides for us by means of others Those who sacrifice for Christ shall receive far more later Jesus satisfies our hungry hearts so that we do not faint on the way but have strength to reach our heavenly home St. Paul explains: “ I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. ” We’re simple people, or at least I am, and the way in which the Lord reveals Himself to us is through natural, human things. As such, the miracles of Jesus are always more than meets the eye. Of course the feeding of the four thousand reveals God’s providence for us. Of course each miracle reveals the divinity of Christ. However, the miracles are more than the miracles themselves, and they do more than reveal the divinity of Christ. Each miracle Jesus performs is meant to teach us and reveal to us God’s greater work of redemption for all o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon - Proper 11, Year C, 2025 - Luke 10:38-42

-
Image
Christ with Martha and Mary , Joos Goemare, circa 1600 Receiving God’s Service God serves His people first Our service must respond to, but not distract from, God’s service Listening to Jesus is the one thing needful What’s the point of going to church? Why should people come here? Obviously I don’t need to convince you into coming to church, since you’re already here. But when you’re having a conversation with someone, and you tell them they should come to church, and they ask you why, you need to have an answer, and you need to have the right answer. The simple answer is: we go to church to be served by God. We go to church to be like Mary, “ who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching. ” This question of why you should go to church has been a major disagreement among Christians on this continent for the past few hundred years. In the 18th and 19th centuries Christian Revivalism and the First and Second Great Awakenings were huge movements in Christianity, attempting to r...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon - Proper 10, Year C, 2024 - Luke 10:25-37

-
Image
The Good Samaritan,  Rembrandt, late 17th century Love your neighbor To love is to devote yourself to another My neighbor is whomever God has placed near to me The Lord Jesus selflessly devotes Himself to us and our salvation We must devote ourselves to our neighbors How do you receive eternal life? That’s not a difficult question posed to Jesus, and in fact it’s a question any average Israelite would’ve been able to answer. The lawyer simply recites the Shema from Deuteronomy: “ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ” The reason any Israelite could’ve recited this is because the Shema continues: “ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your ...
Post a Comment
Read more