Sunday, January 28, 2024 – Mark 1:21-28 A Problem of Language Today, I want to talk about healing. In our gospel text, we hear of a man healed by Jesus of an “unclean spirit.” Jesus clearly performs an exorcism of that demon. Now, I’ve heard tell of present-day exorcisms, and I’ve seen the movie, “The […]
Sunday, January 21, 2024: Mark 1:14-20, Jonah 3:1-5, 10, Psalm 62:5-12, 1 Cor 7:29-31 Jonah and the Ninevites Last week, I began with a discussion of the children’s swimming game “Marco Polo” to talk about seeking, finding, calling, and responding. Today, I will focus on answering the call of God. In this week’s reading from
Sunday, January 14, 2024 – John 1:43-51, also 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Psalm 139:1-6, 3-18, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 We May Not Know God Last week, I talked about water and how much I loved being near the water. Which is kind of ironic, since I couldn’t swim without an inflatable tube until I was about 9
January 7, 2024 – Mark 1: 4-11, Genesis 1:1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19:1-7 I love water. I love being around water. Of course, here, that means I like to spend time at the beach, near the Gulf of Mexico. I can sit and listen to the sound of the waves for hours. But it’s not
December 31, 2023 – Luke 2:22-40, Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 148, Gal 4:4-7 On Christmas Eve, I spoke about “Mystery, Miracles, and the Unexpected.” And while it’s true that all three of those were in abundance at the birth of Jesus, also present were the very mundane things of daily life, including working men dirty from
Luke 1:26-38 – December 24, 2023, Christmas Eve Sermon Last year, right around this time, I heard the most amazing story. It was posted to Facebook by a friend’s wife, Christie. This happened to her about 14 years ago, and she gave me permission to share it. Christie is a psychotherapist and this is her
Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2023 We’ve been given several readings today that, at first glance, don’t necessarily seem to have much to do with each other. And yet I find key phrases or ideas in them that seem to rise to the surface with a little bit of extra sparkle or energy and
The Second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2023 Today is the second Sunday of Advent, and the emphasis of today’s readings is mostly on preparation for the coming of the kingdom of God, or what my friend Chuck Queen just calls “God’s World.” Christians believe that God’s World was revealed in the incarnation of God
The First Sunday of Advent, December 3, 2023 Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Not every Christian denomination celebrates Advent, but the Lutheran Church understands both Advent before Christmas and Lent and the Passion Week before Easter as necessary steps that we shouldn’t skip over. One of my favorite memories from past Christmas seasons
Matthew 25: 31-46 (November 26, 2023) In 1975, a Marine on leave in Aiken, SC named Dannion Brinkley was on the phone with his best friend while a storm raged outside. As they spoke, a bolt of lightning struck the telephone pole, sending 180,000 volts of electricity burning through the phone line and the handset
