Sometimes it can be tricky to determine where a Gospel narrative ends and a new one begins. It seems that chapter 11 of the Gospel of Luke flows directly into chapter 12, as if they were a part of the same narrative.

In Luke chapter 11 we find Jesus teaching a large crowd. In verse 37 Jesus is invited to dine with some Pharisees and lawyers and...

There are some days where it is easier to walk up here than others. I wish I could stand before you today and preach about something warm and fuzzy. After all, it is summer time… and we just finished an amazing Vacation Bible School. Time to relax right? But, as is so often the case, God had other plans; today’s reading from Amos...

In our scripture readings this week, we find much evidence of the abundant life that God has the power to enact. This message of new life has stirred in me a need to reflect upon my own life. I came to realize some of the ways in which God has granted new life for us. Certainly we could point to our children as the greatest evidence of that...

This past week as I was going over the lectionary readings, I found myself being drawn to the Apostle Paul’s words in the Book of Romans that speak of suffering, and ultimately, hope. I was probably drawn to those words because my own understanding of hope has been challenged recently. There are two stories I would like to share with you...

Where would the church be without Women of Faith? 

Do you ever notice how mysterious dusk and dawn often are in the Bible? It seems that there is something particularly sacred about these transitional times of day. The Easter journey is full of key events at these particular times, Peter denying Jesus as the rooster crows, Jesus is hurried down from the cross before the Sabbath sun sets, Jesus...

Doubting Thomas. It seems that Thomas the Twin often gets a bad rap. He is set up as an easy punching bag in this Gospel reading. How could he not believe the disciples when they told him Jesus dropped in? I wonder if they had April Fool’s Day back then. It seems like a pretty good set up. Perhaps Thomas drew the short straw and was sent...

Good Friday, what’s so Good about Good Friday?

It seems a little bit of a misnomer given how gruesome today’s story is. Jesus is tested, betrayed and arrested, humiliated, his disciples reject him, he’s beaten and tortured, put on the cross to suffer a horrible death, witness to the agony on his mother’s face as she...

Today is a dark day in the Christian calendar, this is not really a feel good event. How many times have you heard the words, “in the night in which he was betrayed?” Tonight is the night of the Last Supper, as told by the Gospel of John.

You know what, I love the Gospel of John. It is a rich narrative about Jesus’ ministry,...

There is a lot of heavy stuff in today’s reading; faith, sin, atonement, law, death, justification. The first thing that jumps out at me is the most important theological principle in the Lutheran tradition. Justification through faith.

Basically what that means is that it is God’s grace and forgiveness, which makes us acceptable to...