Lutheran Church of the Resurrection

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-1-30-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

Mountain climbing can be a wonderful and exhilarating experience if you like that sort of thing. Here in New England, we have some great mountains to climb. Lets see a show of hands, how many of you have climbed to the summit of Mt. Katahdin? How many to the summit of Mt. Washington? Personally, I’ve never seen a mountain I didn’t want to climb.

In our gospel reading this morning, St. Matthew tells us that Jesus “went up on the mountain.” And we are followers of Jesus. So whether you’re a mountain climber or not, this morning we’re all going “up on the mountain” with Jesus. And we’re going to stay there for four more Sunday’s as we sit at Jesus’ feet listen to the “Sermon on the Mountain.”

The Sermon on the Mount is all about the life of discipleship. It’s about the life of those who follow Jesus.

Next week, we’ll hear how Jesus compares discipleship to salt and light. In two weeks, we’ll hear Jesus tell us how disciples handle anger, lust and divorce. In three weeks, we’ll hear Jesus talk to us about how His disciples deal with enemies when the attack. And then, four Sunday’s from now, we’ll hear Jesus tell us about how disciples deal with the stress and anxiety that comes when the economy slows down and during tough economic times.

So, I’m glad that you’re here this morning, because this morning, we hear this marvelous introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. In these 12 verses, Jesus lays the groundwork for all that follows and what He spells out in more detail in the rest of the Sermon. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.[audio:sermon-1-23-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

Over the Christmas holidays a high school friend of Sarah’s stopped by the house. I asked her what she was doing these days and where she was living. She said she was living and working in Fairbanks, Alaska. I asked her what it was like living there. She said that it’s great once you get used to the long periods of darkness and light. I looked it up on the Internet. During the month of January, the average number of hours of daylight per day is 4. In July, they average 21:45 hours of daylight per day. Up north in Barrow, Alaska, the average hours of daylight per day during the months of December and January is 0.00. And in June, July and August, the average hours of daylight per day is 24.0.

I asked her what that was like, especially the darkness. She said, ‘once you get used to it, it’s okay. After awhile it just becomes normal.

The thought struck me. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-1-16-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” What do you do with a word like that?

“Look, the light turned red!” We know what to do with a word like that. You put on the breaks and prepare to stop. “Look, the building is on fire!” You know to file out of the building through either door, the one up front and the entrance door. “Look, your blood pressure is 240 over 160.” You know that it’s time to make sure your last will and testament is in order.

But what about, ‘Behold,” which means, ‘Listen up’ and ‘put the phone down and stop texting while I’m talking to you.’ ‘Close your Facebook page because right now it doesn’t matter if you’re friends know that you’re getting into your car to go get a doughnut because you’re feeling depressed.’ “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”? What are you supposed to do with a word like that?

The very fact that you’re not sure what to do with this word tells you something. And it’s not something good. The fact that this word passed right on by you and you hardly heard it is dangerous. More dangerous that if you didn’t know that the light changed or the building was on fire or your blood pressure was through the roof. Or, maybe you thought that this word wasn’t meant for you. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-1-9-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

One of the rituals that marks every new year is the official replacing of the calendar. In our house, we have a wall calendar in the kitchen on which we mark schedules, events, appointments and of course, church activities. The challenge is to get just the right calendar that will provide the appropriate inspiration throughout the year. There’s the dog calendar and the cat calendar. The covered bridge calendar and the lighthouse calendar. The quilt calendar and the Appalachian Trail and the fly-fishing calendar. For the particularly pious and righteous house, the calendar of choice will be one with bible verses for each month or the Concordia Theological Seminary calendar with pictures of the campus where God is truly present. Needless to say, in our house, its either a cat or lighthouse calendar.

Regardless of the type of calendar you choose, we can’t help but notice that it is organized into 12 different months, 52 different weeks and 365 different days. This is the way that we keep track of time and organize our life according to the secular calendar.

But the church keeps track of time and organizes our life much differently. For example, the secular calendar tells us that this is the 2nd Sunday in January. But the Church calendar tells us that this is the 2nd Sunday after the Epiphany.

That’s because the secular calendar is organized according to the earth’s rotation around the sun, s-u-n. Every year tracks one complete rotation around the sun as we move from winter to spring to summer to fall.

The Church’s calendar however is organized according to the Church’s rotation around the Son, S-o-n. Every year tracks one complete rotation around the life of Christ from Advent to Christmas to Epiphany to Lent to Easter to Pentecost. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-1-6-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

Let’s begin by setting the record straight as to just who these visitors from the East where and where not. First, there may have been more or less than three of them. Three is just a guess based on the number of gifts they gave to the Christ child.

Second, we’re never told what their names were, so Melchior, Belshazar and Casper could just as easily have been Curly, Moe and Larry.

Third, they were not kings. The idea that they were ‘kings’ doesn’t appear until the 6th century AD. That explains why you won’t find, “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” in any good Lutheran hymnal. Continue reading →

Click play to listen to the audio version of this sermon.
[audio:sermon-1-2-11.mp3]

To download the mp3 file, right click the image below and “save as.”

There were three, annual festivals held at the Temple in Jerusalem ever year which all Jewish men were required to attend. They were Pentecost, Tabernacles and Passover. Luke says Joseph and Mary both attended the Passover every year. It’s always nice when families go to church together.

The distance that the holy family had to travel back and forth from Nazareth to Jerusalem was about 65 miles each way, which was a three or four day journey. Families would travel together in caravans. The children would play together along the way, the women would talk about their children and the men would talk about the Patriots, or something like that. There was also safety in numbers. Continue reading →