Sermons (Page 89)
God Loves Men
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
What does this mean? On a hillside near Jerusalem, there is a deep, round hole in the ground. Actually, there are three holes. Planted in them are three large trees. Sturdy branches stretch from their sturdy trunks, but they are devoid of leaves. The only…
Setting the Stage
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
One of the unique aspects of this arrangement of the Good Friday Tenebrae service is the placement of the sermon near the beginning, before we’ve even had the lessons for the day. Granted, we have responsively read the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the Savior’s…
It’s Unpopular
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Oh, to be popular! Oh, to be famous! Oh, to bask in the adulation of others! The attraction of celebrity is so great that people will do all sorts of things to achieve it. Some will compromise their morals, if they had any to begin with. Others will embellish the…
Renewal of Godly Fear
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
In our second lesson today, St. Paul is instructing the people of the Church atRomeabout the topic of sanctification. That is, a description of life lived in and under the Holy Spirit. We have been made Christians by our Baptism into Jesus’ death and resurrection,…
Getting Jesus Right
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Although the evidence of today’s text would indicate otherwise, St. John, the writer of the fourth gospel account and the three epistles that bear his name, and St. James, his older brother and the first of the original Twelve to be martyred, are good models for our…
He is the Serpent Lifted Up
[Machine transcription] Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. One never forgets when one sees death for the very first time. Maybe it was one of your beloved pets, a dog or a cat, a parakeet, even a goldfish. Maybe it was more awe-inspiring because you saw a beloved grandparent lying cold and lifeless in…
Follow in the Procession
[Machine transcription] Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Listen again. Yea, Lord, t’was thy rich bounty gave my body, soul, and all I have in this poor life of labor. Lord, grant that I in every place may glorify thy lavish grace and help and serve my neighbor. Let no false doctrine me beguile.…
A Time and Place for Everything
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, baptized and tempted for us, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Most of us have seen or heard the famous “Who’s on First?” routine by Abbott and Costello. Their sense of comic timing—the pauses and interruptions and quick responses—has made that to be one of the funniest routines in American…
The Glory That Awaits Comes Through Death
[Machine transcription] Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. It has been slow, but steady. It has not been abrupt. And the changes that have come almost seem to be enlightened changes, or forward-thinking changes. And not bad. In fact, encouragement to embrace these changes comes from the desire to not…
Let it Be Done, His Way
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A reading from the Gospel according to Frank Sinatra:
For what is a man? What has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels,
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows
…