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Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 17—July 29, 2018
Preacher: Intern Pastor Andy Flatt-Kuntze
Lessons: 2 Kings 4:42–44 | Psalm 145:10–18 | Ephesians 3:14–21 | John 6:1–21
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are again surrounded by a crowd, and they are hungry, so Jesus feeds them with the loaves and fishes a boy had brought for lunch. We usually focus on the feeding, but equally miraculous is the collection of twelve baskets of leftovers. Throughout the Bible, God uses leftovers—making humans from the dust leftover from creation, repopulating the world from Noah and his family who are left after the flood, having Jesus born in the leftover space in Bethlehem. God cares lovingly for the leftovers, and we as the church are called to live among and minister to the leftovers of society.
Listen to this sermon (We apologize for the presence of occasional spots where the sound drops out.)
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 16—July 22, 2018
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Jeremiah 23:1–6 | Psalm 23 | Ephesians 2:11–22 | Mark 6:30–34, 53–56
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the disciples have been working hard, so they go away to a deserted place to rest, but the crowds found them. I would have been annoyed, but Jesus looks on them with compassion, and he and the disciples begin to teach and heal. This is a positive patter for all of us—clergy and lay. When the pressures of life disturb even our worship time, we are called to a compassionate rest that keeps its eyes on the needs of others. Jesus has already gone ahead of us in the world, so we can build on God’s work for the sake of the whole world.
This sermon was not recorded for technical reasons.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 15—July 15, 2018
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Amos 7:7–15 | Psalm 85:8–13 | Ephesians 1:3–14 | Mark 6:14–29
Summary: Today’s Gospel lesson about the death of John the Baptist comes between Jesus sending out the disciples and the feeding of the five thousand. It establishes the character of Herod, shows what the society of that time is like, and clearly shows that Jesus is not John. It shows us what happens when God’s people come up against a society that, like that of Amos’ time, does not align with God’s plumb line. God’s plumb line is love, justice, and interdependence. Just as a building that is not plumb cannot stand, a society that does not line up with these values cannot endure. We are sent into a world that is out of plumb but which is invited to God’s abundant feast.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 14—July 8, 2018
A report from the recent ELCA Youth Gathering replaced this week’s sermon.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 13—July 1, 2018
Preacher: Pastor David Barber
Lessons: Lamentations 3:22–33 | Psalm 30 | 2 Corinthians 8:7–15 | Mark 5:21–43
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus ventures into the world of the unclean to heal the woman afflicted by a hemorrhage and the daughter of Jairus. As in both stories, Jesus calls each of us sons and daughters, heals us, and restores us to community. Amidst this week’s pledges of liberty and justice for all, too many want to build walls and not welcome the outcast. We are all saved by grace alone and called to be life-affirming and life-giving to all.
Listen to this sermon (We apologize for the presence of many spots where the sound drops out.)
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 12—June 24, 2018
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Job 38:1–11 | Psalm 107:1–3, 23–32 | 2 Corinthians 6:1–13 | Mark 4:35–41
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are crossing the lake when a storm comes up. The disciples wake Jesus, who is sleeping the in back, asking whether he cares that they are perishing. Jesus calms the storm and asks why they are panicking and whether they have no faith. Faith and fear are two sides of the same coin. When we are afraid, some want to fight and others want to flee. The current immigration situation is full of fear on all sides. Unfortunately, too many look for a solution in politics and not faith. Our faith in God’s presence allows us to abandon fight/flight and trust in God’s promise to be with us..
This sermon was not recorded for technical reasons.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 11—June 17, 2018
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Ezekiel 17:22–24 | Psalm 92:1–4, 12–15 | 2 Corinthians 5:6–17 | Mark 4:26–34
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells stories to show us what the Kingdom of God is like. Many assume the Kingdom of God is heaven, but it’s more about what God has been doing since the beginning and is still doing. It is grain scattered in a field—random, huge, and chaotic. It’s a mustard seed—small and insignificant but growing into a huge bush. It’s like a child who leads us to love. We should work as if the Kingdom of God were our own responsibility and pray like it is up to God. The Kingdom of God is like you all scattered to the world and becoming God’s harvest of love.
TThis sermon was not recorded for technical reasons, and no summary is available.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 10—June 10, 2018
This sermon was not recorded for technical reasons, and no summary is available.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 9—June 3, 2018
This sermon was not recorded for technical reasons, and no summary is available.
The Holy Trinity—May 27, 2018
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Isaiah 6:1–8 | Psalm 29 | Romans 8:12–17 | John 3:1–17
Summary: Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is made up of symbols that point to God, like the many symbols that our children found around the Nave. But symbols are tricky. We should not confuse the symbols with the reality of God, but sometimes we clink to them too strongly. In our Gospel, Nicodemus comes to Jesus, who says that he must be born again. But Nicodemus takes Jesus’ words literally and cannot makes sense of them. We too must see beyond the symbols and answer the Spirit’s call that we see ourselves as the body of Christ, ready to share God’s love for the healing of the world.
This sermon is not available for technical reasons.