July 13, 2014 “Good Soil and A Fond Farewell, Jason” Jesus’s parable of the sower will be connected to the ministry of Amazing Grace, a place that is good soil for the word of God. This will be Pastor Jason’s last sermon here at Amazing Grace. He is leaving for another calling and he will be sorely missed. A fond farewell Jason, to you and your beautiful family.
July 6, 2014 “Learn From Me” One of my favorite passages in scripture comes from Matthew 11, where Jesus says: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. These are words overflowing with grace. Humbly and gently, Christ extends an invitation to all who are burdened, promising rest. Christ borrows language from farming, a yoke was placed on oxen when plowing in the field. We are to take on his yoke, finding rest. But tucked in all these words of grace is another invitation: “learn from me”. Yes, in response to grace there is a call to discipleship, to learn from Jesus.
June 29, 2014 “Welcoming Jesus” In our Gospel reading from Matthew 10, Jesus informs his followers that those who welcome his disciples in turn, welcome him. This idea takes some getting used to. Each of us with our own quirks and foibles are bearing the savior’s presence wherever we go. Jesus draws his followers to him, in turn they will embody his presence in the world. Jesus is welcomed, even a cup of water offered in his name is life-transforming (Matt 10:42)
June 22, 2014 “Do Not Be Afraid.” And what I whisper to you; you proclaim from the rooftops.
June 8, 2014 “Pentecost” This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, where we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit being given to the early church as recorded in Acts 2 where tongues of fire descended on each person and all could understand foreign languages.
June 1, 2014 “Oneness” As we wait for Pentecost we are reading from John 17. A prayer by Jesus to His Father that describes His relationship to His followers and to His Father and praying to the Father that his followers have unity: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”
May 25, 2014 “To Hell and Back” Jesus says to his followers in our Gospel reading, because I live, you also will live (John 14:19). Jesus went to hell to proclaim life and salvation to those who had died before his resurrection. We often describe the low points in our lives as seeming like hell. Wherever there is death and suffering in the life of a Christian, the crucified and risen Christ brings life in his name. This week we will explore these themes of hell, death, and resurrection.
“Shelter in the Storm”
For four weeks during the season of Easter, we are going to spend some time considering what it is our church is here for. Christ is Risen! What does this mean for us? In a society increasingly indifferent to organized religion, what exactly do we have to offer others? Who are we supposed to be? The series is entitled “Shelter in the Storm”, and consists of 4 words that begin with C: Compassion, Community, a Connecting Story, and a Compass.
May 18, 2014 “Compass” Important long-term questions such as “where are we headed?” are often overlooked, because of our preoccupation with what lies immediately ahead. When in the midst of the chaos of a storm, which way is north? Jesus says in our Gospel, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). He gives our life purpose and direction.
May 11, 2014 “A Connecting Story” In our “Shelter from the Storm” series, where we consider the role of the church in our context, the 3rd C-word in Connecting Story. The Bible provides our connecting story, the meta-narrative to our lives. In our gospel reading, Jesus is the Good Shepherd in John 10, the gate through which we experience life and blessing.
May 4, 2014 “On Community” Jesus is at the center of our community. He shapes our life together, and we break bread with him in Holy Communion, being a community shaped by the promises he brings to us in that meal, feeding us with his body and blood.
April 27, 2014 “On Compassion” In a society increasingly indifferent to organized religion, what exactly do we have to offer others? Who are we supposed to be? The series is entitled “Shelter in the Storm”, and consists of 4 words that begin with C: Compassion, Community, a Connecting Story, and a Compass.
“Journey of Stones”
In our series “Journey of Stones” this Lent, we will focus on Jesus’ words to Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt 16:18). What is the rock? Peter’s confession, that Jesus is the “Messiah, the Living One of God” (Matt 16:16). What can you say about Jesus? Christ’s faith in you is solid. If you were asked in the elevator what Christ has done for you, could you give an answer before the 6th floor?
April 20, 2014 “Rolling Stones” This Sunday we will consider what Easter means for “living stones” (our theme verse for Lent, I Peter 2:5). The stone has been rolled away, death has been defeated. The Easter proclamation brings hope to all of us, especially those who have suffered adversity, “quakes” in their lives.
April 13, 2014 “Shouting Stones” It is Palm Sunday this Sunday. In addition to gathering outside for a procession with palms and singing “All Glory Laud and Honor”, we will consider Jesus’ response to his celebrated entrance into Jerusalem. Some Pharisees requested that Jesus order the people to stop their celebrating. Jesus replied “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” (Luke 19:40). Shouting stones? No need, Jesus’ followers can do that.
April 6, 2014 “Upon This Rock” In our series “Journey of Stones” today, we will focus on Jesus’ words to Peter, “upon this rock I will build my church” (Matt 16:18). What is the rock? Peter’s confession, that Jesus is the “Messiah, the Living One of God” (Matt 16:16). What can you say about Jesus? Christ’s faith in you is solid. If you were asked in the elevator what Christ has done for you, could you give an answer before the 6th floor?
March 30, 2014 “Hearts of Stone” God spoke about our heats through the prophet Ezekiel: A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26).
March 23, 2014 “Sticks and Stones” For as precious and potentially interesting each rock is, for much of human history a primary use of rocks was for throwing. Rocks were weapons we used to hurt each other. The thrower cared little about the type of rock, only that it was a rock hard enough to hurt someone else. For the most part we have graduated from rock into using our tongues to hurt one-another. The damage is the same.
March 16, 2014 “Rejected Stones” Our sermon series on “Journey of Stones” continues this week with a focus on an important descriptor of Jesus, said in a few places in scripture: “the stone the builder rejected became the chief cornerstone” (Psalm 118:)
March 9, 2014 “Stones in the Wilderness” We begin this season of Lent with a question about our identity. Who are we supposed to be? The world offers us distractions. The devil appeals to comforts to grander schemes, such as his inviting Jesus to turn stones to bread. What does God want for us? Faith leads us to find ourselves in Christ Jesus. Without Jesus, we are stones in the wilderness, scattered bearing no meaning and semblance. But with Christ, we are living stones with a purpose, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
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March 2, 2014 “On Glory” “Glory” is a term we often hear in the Bible but we don’t often talk about it. What is glory? How and when might we experience it? Martin Luther had some issues with the term in certain contexts, which is why we Lutherans are somewhat weak on the term. Transfiguration is about the glory of God in Christ Jesus. This Sunday’s sermon will be on glory.
February 23, 2014 “Honor Bound” Honor involves subscribing to a higher code, Jesus invites us each to honor him through refusing to participate in retaliatory violence. All honor belongs to God. In following Jesus’ radical teachings, we demonstrate the greatest honor God bestowed to the world, the gift of his son.
February 16, 2014 “Mary and Martha” Our sermon series on listening to God concludes this week with a story about two sisters, Mary and Martha. Jesus visited their house one day. Martha kept busy doing preparations for her guest. Mary knelt at Jesus feet and listened. Jesus commends Mary for “choosing the better part” (Luke 10:42). If we believe God still communicates with us today, how is it that so many of us feel more like Martha than Mary? Could it be that we embrace Martha’s approach so much that we revel in snow days that force us to shut things down for a while? This Sunday we make the case for living more like Mary.
February 9, 2014 “Listening to God’s Voice” The message for us today will be about listening to God’s voice, taking into account Jesus the Good Shepherd who said “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27).
February 2, 2014 “Can We Hear God?” Can we hear God? Do Christians believe God directs their lives? Some people are uncomfortable with these questions. Heeding God’s voice is often given as rationale for outlandish things for a small number of people. “God told me to” says the deranged person. The terrorists who flew into the World Trade Towers claimed to be doing what God told them to do.
January 26, 2014 “Life Long Spiritual Learning” When Christ calls us, he called us to lifelong worship, to lifelong witness, to lifelong service, and to lifelong learning. He didn’t say, “Boys and girls, following me is only a part-time hobby or a part-time job. Put your soul on automatic pilot and take the rest of your life off until the final trumpet.” Instead, Jesus said something like, “Follow me for a lifetime of adventure in the faith. Follow me for a lifetime of spiritual learning about God. Follow me through all your fears and all your years, and I’ll make you come alive as fishers of living people.”
January 19, 2014 “Behold The Lamb of God” Our Gospel reading from John 1:29-42, features the disciples meeting Jesus for the first time. Twice Jesus is introduced: “Here is the lamb of God” (John 1:29) and “Look, here is the Lamb of God” (John 1:36). These verses used to be translated starting with the word “behold”. On Sunday, we are going to consider what it means to behold Christ. We will discuss that beholding is a whole lot more involved than simply looking.
January 12, 2014 “Baptized into Wholeness” Each year at this time the church observes The Baptism of Our Lord, where Jesus goes to the river Jordan to be baptized. For Lutherans, baptism is a means of grace, one of the three ways God bestows his righteousness upon us (the other two being Holy Communion and God’s Word). In baptism we receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Without baptism we are less than who God wants us to be. With Baptism, we receive the wholeness of God.
January 6, 2014 “For the Time Being” Poet W. H Auden has a poem about the time after Christmas, called “For The Time Being”. The poem questions if all the hubbub about Christmas really matters in our daily lives. Our gospel reading is from John chapter one, and the focus of the sermon will be verse 1:18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. In Christ, God has been revealed to us. Many live day to day without this sense. What do we do with this gap between these two realities? That’s where many of us are, God will change that, but what do we do for the time being?
December 29, 2013 “Extenuating Circumstances” This week we look at how the world around us can affect our lives just as the world of Jesus’ time affected Him and His family.
December 24, 2013 “Christmas Eve” Christmas should bring hope to us all.
In December, The Season of Advent:
December 22, 2013 “Two Names” In Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth, Joseph’s role is highlighted. Troubled by the news that Mary is pregnant and he’s not the father, Joseph considers calling the marriage off. An angel appears to Joseph in a dream and says that Mary’s son is to be named “Jesus, because he will save people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Jesus means “the Lord saves”.
But then Matthew informs us that all this took place to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah, who says the virgin’s son will be called “Emmanuel”, which means “God with us”. So Joseph and Mary have one baby with two names, two important names that tell us about the messiah whose birth we are celebrating.
December 8, 2013 “Repentance: Re-examining Presumptions” When John the Baptist arrived on the scene shortly before Jesus started his ministry, he preached repentance and preparation for the advent of the Messiah. He told the Israelites “..do not presume to say to yourselves…” (Matt 3:9). What presumptions do we hold that get in the way of our relationship with God? John the Baptist preached with urgency. In what areas of our walk with Christ do we need to increase the urgency? This Sunday’s sermon will examine the figure of John the Baptist and consider how his message applies to us today.
December 1, 2013 “Breaking and Entering” In Christ we have security. But he warns us about not getting to lax in our spiritual life. Be prepared, he warns us. He will return. If the house owner knew what time the burgler came in the night he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into (Matthew 24:43).
November 24, 2013 “The Reign of Christ“ Most kings and political leaders rule through raw power. But how does our Living Savior reign? Looking to Christ on the cross, we find a different kind of king using a different kind of power: ruling through love and forgiveness.
November 17, 2013 “Salvation Has Come” One of the first songs kids learn in Sunday School is about Zacchaeus, a man who climbed a tree to better see Jesus. His interest in Jesus resulted in an unexpected visit by Jesus to his home. Jesus announced that “salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:0).
November 10, 2013 “Children of the Resurrection” God is the God not of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20:37). We are God’s children, Jesus calls us “children of the resurrection”.
