TagMercy

A Hike To Remember

Traditional Sermon Pentecost 5 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all…

Pentecost 5 Preview

“But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” -Luke 10:29 The Parable of the Good Samaritan is probably one of the most well known parables that Jesus taught. But it was probably one of the most scandalous as well. Samaritans were hated by the Jews and for Jesus to use…

Receiving Mercy

OK, so who remembers hearing this phrase (or some form of it) … when you were a kid growing up as a kid.  “Treat others the way you want them to treat you.”  Go ahead, raise your hands … if you have heard this phrase or some variant of it growing up.  Yuppers.  Me, too. …

How Does God Love the World?

Traditional sermon   lent 4 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Colossians 1:3). Let’s go back in time to the mid-1970s. And, yes, I’m talking about a little over 40 years ago. I was in high school. Disco, very wide ties, platform shoes, tacky…

Are We Sometimes Like the Tenants in the Vineyard?

TRADITIONAL SERMON       PENTECOST 18 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Colossians 1:3). The parable in our gospel reading Matthew today is also found in Mark and Luke. The parable is known either as the Parable of the Vineyard or the Parable…

How Forgiving Can We Be?

Traditional Sermon Pentecost 15 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord, Jesus Christ (1 Colossians 1:3). Listen to this short three-sentence phrase: “I forgive you.” Although this simple phrase consists of three short words, it is nevertheless very powerful. Generally speaking, forgiving those who have wronged us can…

Pentecost 15 Worship Preview

Then Peter came and said to him [Jesus], “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22) Since we all stand before the judgment of God, why do we…

Pentecost 11 Worship Preview

Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David…” -Matthew 15:22 “We are beggars; this is true,” are reported to be Martin Luther’s last written words. Christians are “beggars” for God’s grace, undeserving but graced nonetheless. Today the Canaanite woman becomes our model,…