February 19, 2022Transfiguration SundayMatthew 16:24-17:8 There the disciples witness Jesus’ appearance change and witness him talking to Moses and Elijah. Peter is so awestruck that he wants to commemorate the occasion by erecting tents for Jesus and the two prophets … just as they would for a festival. Then, just as was the case when he was baptized by John, a voice…

February 12, 2023Matthew 13:24-43 When the Roman Empire ruled the known world, there was a unique way of dealing with disloyal servants or people who just pissed you off. When no one was looking … usually under cover of night … you’d have your servants go out into the field of the offending party and sow seeds of a weed called Darnel…

February 5, 2023Matthew 7:1-14, 24-29 In today’s passage from Matthew, Jesus gives his concluding instructions during the Sermon on the Mount. So far, Jesus has told the gathering who would be blessed in the coming kingdom and has offered instructions in the proper way to pray. Click here for service The entire Sermon on the Mount is about relationships. … our relationship…

Matthew 6: 7-21January 29, 2023I’d like to share a brief story with you… I presided over a funeral service earlier this week. I had never met the person who I helped commend, or if I had it was in passing. She had attended a funeral service I had done about four years ago and the message of grace that I delivered at…

January 22, 2023Matthew 4: 12-23@ Trinity Annan God’s peace and grace to you and blessings from the congregation at Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. Thank you for the privilege of joining you in worship this morning. Click here for service I’ve been at LCOS for more than seven years and its pastor for more than five years. Before I entered the Lutheran…

January 15, 2023Matthew 4: 1-17 Donna and I were out grocery shopping shortly after we were married back in the ‘80s. We were in the cereal aisle when we decided that a bottle of wine out on the patio would be a nice way to spend a summer evening.  Click here for service The two of us stopped at a liquor store…

January 8, 2023Matthew  3:1-17 I was a member of the freshmen orientation committee at the beginning of my final year of college. The committee helped incoming first-year students become oriented with life at the college and the expectations that will be placed on them. At the end of the weeklong process, the committee put on a brief variety show that concluded with…

December 24, 2022Luke 2: 1-20 Christmas Eve has become soooooo complicated. Covid changed the way we could gather for worship for two Christmas seasons. Then, when it looked like we could gather a bit more like we had in pre-pandemic days, the blizzard hits and plans had to be changed. Click here for service Like others, I lamented the inconvenience this reality…

December 11, 2022Isaiah 42: 1-9Advent 3I’m pretty sure that when I say the name “Columbo,” most of us here today, would know about whom I am speaking. More than 50 years after the police detective was introduced on television, we can visualize the short, rumpled man, wearing a rumpled trench coat, smoking a cigar and driving an old, dirty Peugeot … sometimes…

Esther 4:1-17Advent 2December 4, 2022About this time twenty years ago, I was walking a picket line. It was the middle of a four-month lockout by the newspaper and … if you never spent a few hours walking a picket line in the middle of the night in minus-40 temperatures … just know that I wouldn’t recommend it. Unless you have a good…