Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

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I. Jesus Gives His Life For His Friends Eight year old Johnny was told by his doctor that he could save his younger sister's life by giving her some of his blood. Mary, his 6 year old sister was near death, a victim of blood disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness. Since the two children had the same blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

So the doctor asked, "Johnny, would like to give your blood for Mary?"

Johnny hesitated for a moment. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he said, "Sure, Doc, I'll give my blood for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room – Mary, pale and thin; Johnny a picture of health. Neither spoke as his blood siphoned into her, but when their eyes met, Johnny smiled at his sister. The ordeal was almost over when Johnny's brave little voice broke the silence, "Say, Doc, when do I die?"

It was only then that the doctor realized what the moment of hesitation, the trembling of the lip, had meant earlier. Johnny actually thought that in giving his blood to his sister he was giving up his life! And in that brief moment, he had made his great decision! (more…)

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Here is the scene. You’re on a plane flying across the country and suddenly the engines of the plane burst into flames and the co-pilot rushes out of the cockpit into the cabin and instructs you that the plane is going to crash. It’s necessary to bail out. But not to worry, there are plenty of parachutes on hand for every passenger. And with that and the help of the stewardesses, the pilot passes out a parachute to each passenger and gives instructions on how to wear it and operate it. He says, “although this may seem scary to you, please be assured, the parachute will deliver you safely.”

At that the door of the plane is opened, the first passenger steps up to the door and shouts over the wind, “Could I make a request? Could I have a green parachute?” The pilot shakes his head in disbelief and says, “No, it’s enough that you have a parachute.”

A second asks, “I’m afraid of heights. Can you remove my fears before I jump?” “No,” comes the reply, “but despite your fears, you’ll land safely.”

A third argues that he would like to wait until the plane gets lower before jumping to which the pilot says, “No. Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve got a parachute. Trust it.”

A fourth with knocking knees shouts, “I have a better idea. Let’s crash with the plane. Maybe we’ll survive And the pilot shouts, “You people don’t understand. I’ve given you a parachute. That’s enough.” (more…)

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A. The Stormy Sea “On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat.” The disciples had undoubtedly had enough for one day. But Jesus wanted to get to the other side. As if He knew He needed to be on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As if He knew that there was a demon possessed man who needed His help. (more…)

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It is said that there is no emotional pain greater than that which parent feels at the death of a child. The pain that is felt at the death of a parent and even the death of a spouse doesn’t compare to the pain that is felt at the death of a child. From personal experience, I would certainly agree that this is true. And I know that those of you who have experienced the same will certainly agree. Even parents who have been so blessed as to never have experienced such a pain themselves would surely agree with this. And so, with that thought in mind, we meet a man named Jairus. He’s a father. He has a 12 year old daughter, and she is at the point of death. (more…)

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“And He said to them, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?’” Parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. That must mean that there must be a connection between earthly things and heavenly things.

But how can that be? If the earth evolved on it’s own and without God, where do those connections come from and how did they get there? Unless of course, God made the earth, and in just such a way that the things of this world would be earthly stories that tell us something about God.

My favorite example of this is marriage. (more…)