April 3, 2022John 19: 1-16aLent 5 Today, we continue our journey to the foot of the cross. Last week, the high priest had sent Jesus to Pontus Pilate, the Roman governor. Click here for service The religious authorities want Jesus eliminated, but they lack the power to make that happen … only Rome holds the legal power of life and death in the…
March 27, 2022John 18: 28-40Lent 4 Last week, we left Jesus in front of the high priest … being questioned about his teaching and his ministry while Peter remained by the fire in the courtyard … denying all connections to Jesus and to his fellow disciples. In essence, Peter denies his identity to those who question him. Click here for service This…
March 20, 2022John 18: 12-27Lent 3 Some of us have seen this in the movies or we may have experienced this in our much younger days in elementary or high school. Click here for service We’ve got our crowd … those people whose interests or perspectives mesh almost perfectly with our own. We like the same music … or we like the…
March 6, 2022John 11: 1-44During a Lenten video series released couple of years ago, theologian Dwight Petersen offered his thoughts on his then-impending death. Click here for service Petersen was interviewed while he lay in the hospice where he stayed after he received his terminal diagnosis. Petersen told the interviewer that the message at the heart of the Gospel … and the message…
February 27, 2022John 9: 1-41Kasandra has cerebral palsy and is blind. Click here for service She makes her way in the world with a white cane in hand. At home, her husband’s therapeutic touch helps ease the pain that the palsy carries throughout her body. About four years ago, Kasandra was interviewed for a video entitled “Disability in Heaven” by the Centre…
February 20, 2022John 7: 37-52Jesus is on his third visit to Jerusalem. In John’s gospel, each time Jesus comes to the city, there is trouble … and each time there’s more trouble than before. First, it was turning over the tables and chasing the animals out of the temple … then, he heals the man who had been paralyzed since birth. Click…
WARNING: There is a light bulb exploding in this service. February 13, 2022John 6: 35-59 The new congregational council at LCOS held its first meeting earlier this week. Communion came up as part of council’s discussion around the suspension of in-person services … the suspension of services has tentatively been extended until Palm Sunday, BTW. Click here for service “What about communion?” was…
January 30, 2022John 4: 1-42Theologian David Lose once wrote that how you view the woman who comes to the well speaks more about you than it does about her. Click here for service For many readers, the woman has a less-than-stellar past. After all, she has five husbands. For some, this translates into a sinful past and the encounter with Jesus is…
January 16, 2022John 2: 13-25Today’s lesson from the Gospel of John offers us a question that is especially relevant in these pandemic times when worship has been taken online and congregations are left to gather virtually. Click here for service John writes his gospel after the Romans have destroyed the second Temple. When today’s story takes place years earlier, the temple has…
January 9, 2022John 2: 1-11In today’s Gospel story, Jesus, the disciples and his mother are attending a wedding in Cana in Galilee. It is a time of celebration of one of those affirming moments that mark our lives. It is a time when relationships are formed and renewed. It is a time of abundant joy and community. That’s all put at risk…