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…
December 24, 2021 Luke 2: 1-20 Christmas Eve Sermon With Luke’s nativity story, we can find ourselves immersed in the scene … a shepherd staring at the wonder lying before him … or we can feel a tinge of guilt because we have acted like the innkeeper from time to time … or maybe we’re just some passerby whose curiosity led them…
December 19, 2021John 1: 1-18 From last week’s lesson with Isaiah to this week’s reading from John, we have moved about 400 years. Click here for service If it is not a dark time, at the very least it is a shadowy time … life had a greyness to it. The exiles have long-since returned to Jerusalem and the surrounding region ……
December 5, 2021Advent 2Ezekiel 37:1-14 Today, we … and the prophet Ezekiel … are faced with a vision of hopeless resignation. Click here for service Ezekiel writes from exile around the same time that Jeremiah is prophesizing in Jerusalem. But where Jeremiah’s message was for those in exile, Ezekiel’s message is for the people of both conquered kingdoms. Ezekiel is among the…
November 28, 2021Advent 1Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-14 Last week, we heard the prophet Isaiah trying to offer hope to people at a time when violence and uncertainty filled their everyday lives. Click here for service Isaiah … you’ll recall … offered a hymn that would mark the inauguration … the coming … of a king who would shepherd the people into a…
November 21, 2021Christ the KingIsaiah 9: 1-9 Last Sunday, we heard about the prophet Amos. Amos … a working person’s prophet, you’ll recall … was upset because the people had become complacent in their worship life. Click here for service Worship should have led people to live into their faith and work for justice for the vulnerable and less-fortunate … but instead…