Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord. Our Gospel Reading for today is the shortest in the entire church lectionary. It is made up of only one short verse: “And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb†(Luke 2:21). Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us†(John 1:14). We humans naturally don’t like to be alone. And so, what a joyous message it is to hear that we are not alone and that God is with us. When we’re little, the fear of being away from Mom & Dad might manifest itself in separation anxiety or homesickness. Life is not right, life is incomplete when we are apart from our parents. Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. Our Introit for this morning directs us to look to the Lord alone for all that we need. The words from Isaiah 45 invite us to look to the heavens for blessings, as we say: “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness†(Isaiah 45:8a). Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. This Third Sunday in Advent is called Gaudete Sunday. The word Gaudete is a Latin word which comes from our Introit and means, “Rejoice!†And so, on this Third Sunday in Advent, we are invited to rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice†(Philippians 4:4a). –
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. Look at the houses, and so many other buildings. As soon as the decorations come out in front yards and in windows, you see for yourselves and know that Christmas is near. From a very young age, we learn to recognize the signs that Christmas is coming—Christmas decorations placed prominently in the stores, Christmas lights on buildings, Christmas trees on sale, and Christmas music playing on the radio, just to name a few. Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. This first Sunday in the season of Advent bears the Latin name Ad Te Levavi, which comes from the first words of our Introit antiphon and is translated, “to you I lift up.†Lifting up our hearts, our minds, and our voices towards the Lord is precisely what is happening in today’s Gospel text. Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. Our text for this Last Sunday of the Church Year give us opportunity to discuss the difference between getting ready and being ready. This is something that we all have experience with. We all understand this difference conceptually, but often times when we are in the moment, we can fail to see the difference. Let’s take, for example, what a Sunday morning might look like for a church-going family. When the agreed upon time to leave for church arrives, chances are, everyone thinks they are ready to leave, but the facts suggest otherwise. Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Text
1. Our text for this morning is Matthew 18:21-35, which contains our Lord’s parable of the unforgiving servant. But you will notice that this parable is told in response to a question. Peter asks our Lord a question about forgiveness: “Lord, how many times will my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?†(Matthew 18:21). Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. In our Gospel text for today, we read the story of our Lord healing an official’s son. This is a fascinating account for a number of reasons. It closes the first major section of John’s gospel account, and as such, it brings together a number of themes that the gospel writer has been introducing through the first nearly four chapters of his gospel. Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I. Introduction
1. Our Gospel text for this Reformation Sunday is an interesting one. It invites us to consider a topic that we might not immediately associate with Reformation Day. That topic is the violence which the kingdom of heaven continues to suffer. Continue reading