Grace Alone Online

In Luke's Gospel, there is an elephant in the room.  You know, when  everybody in a room knows there is an issue but nobody wants to talk  about it?  Our two texts (Nehemiah and Luke) help to understand what is  going on in this synagogue where Jesus was invited to speak and why He  chooses to confront the elephant head on.  Find out what (or who) that  elep...

Sometimes, fairy-tales help us understand imagery that is brought out in the Bible.  One theory is that Biblical stories were so powerful in the history of storytelling, that they also influenced cultural fairy-tales.  "Mirror, mirror on the wall..." shows us who we are, in the light of what we think or imagine that we are.  The truth is, "You are not the fairest in the land." &nbsp...

Today the Church celebrates the Baptism of Jesus.  Why was He baptized?  did he want to start a tradition? a fad?  Was His baptism the same as ours...only better?  Jesus was baptized not only to fulfill prophesy about the coming of the Messiah.  But, yes, he did need to be baptized, because he was fully "man" and fully "God."  Not that His "God side" didn't need Bapti...

January 6 marks the Epiphany. Epiphany means “light” like in “starlight.” We commemorate the arrival of the Magi to the Christchild’s manger. This date, in fact, celebrates the Gentile Christmas. Whereas the 24th of December celebrates the announcement of Christ’s birth to the Jewish world, the star and the Magi who sought the Christchild were not Jewish, they were Gentile. Epiphany, January 6, is...

The countdown has started.  Another year has come and gone.  How has it been for you?  Glad to see 2019 go?  Are you ready for a new year?  These are trying times for most people.  Some can say it was a good year, but many reflect with what the past year left them: challenges, failure, suffering, loneliness.  Where is God in all this?  Has he abandoned the h...

Everyone knows about the 2-minute warning in football.  You know, the clock stops to alert everyone that there is only two minutes left in the game.  Everything is coming to a close and if the losing team does not want to lose, they will do everything they can to win.  The prophets, particularly Daniel in our text for today, gives a two-minute warning on the coming end of all time....

This 3rd Sunday in Advent we turn to Malachi, the final prophet of the Old Testament Scripture, to look at what he says about the second coming of Christ.  He is the Sun of Righteousness that will dawn.  That day will be a day of destruction for all evil and those who have not believed and trusted in the Lord for for forgiveness and salvation; that is, those who have not believed in the...

This second Sunday in Advent.  Listen to a familiar story about Beauty and the Beast.  There is a connection here with real-life in this world between the evil of sin and the Light which we welcome at Christmas time.  Listen in.

We begin the Advent season, the four weeks prior to December 24th (Christmas Eve).  This year we focus on "Light" and the coming of Christ 2000 years ago when God's light entered the world.  We look forward to the return of Christ in the End Times as God returning to this world in victory, to take us home to dwell with Him.  Along our life's path in this world, however, we experienc...

Well, you know - THANKSGIVING.  THINGS to be thankful for?  More than THINGS.  Deuteronomy gives a different perspective on Thanksgiving than the usual Gospel text of the one-out-of-ten Leper who returned to Jesus to give thanks.  Listen in on this Thanksgiving Eve sermon.

In God's Mission we, His saints, those belonging to the body of Christ, are called for salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that we are His children because He called us and made it possible, through His own work, to be that!  We are - not what we are but - what Christ made us: a new creation.  We have a new relationship with God throug...

Equipping the Saints for ministry is the call of every pastor if they are continuing the line of the Apostles.  Regardless of denomination, the call of the pastor as one of the Priesthood of All Believers (1 Peter 2) is to prepare the community for ministry. There are, however, two major setbacks in this which are leftovers from before the Reformation.  These are misconceptions regarding...

In rediscovering God's Mission for His Church we have arrived at the Reformation.  For 1200 years (32AD - 1517AD), the Bishop of Rome (the Pope) ruled politically, spiritually, economically and powerfully over the powers of Europe.  since the time it was legal (32AD), as the official religion of the Roman Empire, it took on characteristics of the Emperor Caesar himself.  ti centrali...

We continue our sermon series discovering our purpose in the overall mission of the church. Today, as we gather, our focus is on how the Church developed from the time it became legal (325AD) until the time of the Reformation. What became the focus of the Apostle’s ‘mission statement’? With the legalization of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in 320AD, the Church that was victorious over pe...

Continuing our series on Re-Discovering God's Mission, we meet the first challenge that the Apostle's encountered.  A challenge between tradition (or personal preference as it is today) and Biblical Truth (God's Word and command).  When Jesus told the disciples to Go and Make Disciples, there was no game plan.  eh did not provide them with a manual.  And there was a good reason...

Re-disovering god's mission is to rediscover your place, and your congregation's place, in that mission.  While churches are thriving, growing, have large numbers, many times, the impetus of size is what drives a congregation into ministry.  Many people + telling many people = more people.  And, more often than not, a diversity of activities and events allow people personal preferen...

Last week we heard where the 12 Apostles journeyed to throughout the world.  From Spain to India.  From Ethiopia to Armenia.  Today, we look at what is commonly known among Christians as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:16-20 where Jesus tells the eleven to "Go and make disciples of all nations...."  This was the beginning of the Christian movement.  Perhaps it was...

Rediscovering God's Mission for our congregation - week 2:  We look at the Apostles.  As Jesus sent them out with "power and authority" even Judas was included.  Matthew names the 12 apostles.  Where did they go after Pentecost?  We mostly hear about Peter, John and a little about James.  then, Paul comes on the scene and sort of steals the show.  Most of what we...

Today's Gospel talks about wayward, lost sheep.  I don't know about sheep, but we had a beagle once.  Perhaps beagle is much more relatable to an urban society than a sheep.  Beagles act like sheep, which makes the point as Isaiah prophecies about the coming Messiah saying, "All we like "beagles" have gone astray.  Everyone has turned to his own way. And, the Lord placed on Him...

In this weeks episode, enjoy the whole service.  The sermon, however, begins at minute 25:15 for those interested only in the message. EAT YOUR PEAS is something probably most of us heard from our parents.  When commanded we begin to whine and negotiate with our parents about what we should do, compared with what we want to do.  We negotiate with God daily about what constitutes "fo...

When you think about the resurrection, do you always think in the future?  Most people think of the resurrection as something that occurs on the Last Day, when our Lord returns to create a new heavens and earth for his redeemed.  Why is it that we don't htink of the resurrection as something that has happened NOW; in the wake of Christ's own resurrection.  The question is, then, doe...

What? Last week, we talked about peace, and Jesus said, “Do not be anxious; do not let your heart be troubled.” Today, Jesus tells us I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Make up your mind. What can we make of this apparent turn about. Does Jesus bring peace or not? Does he bring comfort or a sword? In our Gospel text, Jesus offers us an object lesson about a sword, a cross and a life. The...

In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "Fear not, little flock..."  How easy it is to say these words, but how difficult it is to "feel" at peace.  Jesus words seem unrealistic, fantastical, un-real.  What with the mass shootings in Gilory, California; Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas, it's enough to make you paranoid in any public situation.  Yet, in the midst of anxiety, Jesus invites us...

Today we are celebrating the baptism of Ryan Alan Weaver.  He wants to be sealed with the Holy Spirit and receive the blessed assurance that God the Father is his true Father, and that God the Son, Jesus Christ, is indeed the brother that has redeemed him from sin, death and the power of Satan.  Water and the Word, Christ's words, "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy...

"Won't you be my neighbor?" Was a question (and song) made famous by Mr. Rogers at the beginning of his children's program, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.  This phrase has become popular in parodies, mocking, and making fun of its childlike innocence.  In the Bible, when the Jewish lawyer says to be saved you must "love you neighbor as yourself," he quickly adds the question for Jesus: "Who i...