Sermons with Reverend Killjoy

God does awesome deeds that we do not expect.

Christ the King Sunday A Matthew 25:31-46 Christ the King, or Reign of Christ, is the final Sunday of the church year. Our Gospel lesson is Jesus' iconic judgment of the nations from his heavenly throne, surrounded by the heavenly host. In this state I like to call him cosmic awesome Jesus, king of the universe, Lord of heaven and earth. So how is it that I recognized the significance of this stor...

23rd Sunday after Pentecost A Matthew 25:14-30 God gives us so much more than we expect. What do we do with God's unexpected abundance?

All Saints Sunday, Lectionary Year A Revelation 7:9-17 Revelation has become my favorite book of the Bible. Hear why in this sermon for All Saints.

Reformation Sunday Matthew 22:34-46 (alternate Gospel lesson) To reform is to change, and the church has a particular kind of change at the heart of our community: the change from death to life. Resurrection is the reformation we seek.

19th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 22:15-22 The Pharisees' challenge to Jesus about whether or not to pay taxes to the emperor famously ends with Jesus' witty victory when he asks to see whose image is on the coin. Whose image do we bear, and whose image do others see in us?

Richard Paul Dinda January 19, 1954 - October 5, 2014 Excerpted from his obituary: "Richard was a very active member of Lutheran Church of the Savior in Kalamazoo. At one time he operated the church sound system. Other church-related activities included playing guitar at folk services, organizing annual outings, and representing the congregation on the steering committee of the Greater Kalamazoo C...

17th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Philippians 3:4b-14 What does success look like? Paul wrote to the Philippians that he had been very successful before he met Jesus, and then the rules changed and he had to adapt to an entirely new definition of success. As followers of Jesus navigating our complex society today, how do we define success, as individuals and as a congregation? Who def...

16th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Philippians 2:1-13 Today's beautiful lesson from Philippians reminds us that God is at work in us, and God is at work through us.

16th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 20:1-16 Jesus' parable of the generous landowner is a wonderfully unexpected look at God's grace for us. The laborers are right to point out that the landowner's generosity exceeds the bounds of fairness, which is why this is such a great story for us as we embark on our annual stewardship drive. Stewardship is the process of figuring out how...

Holy Cross Sunday First Corinthians 1:18-24 The cross is the central symbol of Christianity. Even before Jesus, the cross was a powerful symbol, and its meaning has changed over time. What does the cross mean to us today as we try to follow Jesus together?

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 18:15-20 As we kicked off our program year with Sunday School, "God's Work. Our Hands." Sunday and more, today's Gospel lesson challenged us to be honest about the challenges and conflict that come with being an active community with diverse goals. How does Jesus instruct us to manage conflict? How have we managed conflict in our congreg...

12th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Romans 12:9-21 Today's lesson from Romans offers my favorite instruction in the Bible: love one another. This simple, profound, difficult instruction is only one of about 29 ways Paul instructs Christians to act toward others, each as obviously good and near-impossible as the next. How can we do the things God wants us to do?

11th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 16:13-20 "Who do you say that I am?" Who so we say Jesus is? Who do others say we are? Given the recent (and ongoing) unrest in Ferguson, MO, who do we say Michael Brown is? Jesus asks hard questions, and invites us to do the same.

Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 and Matthew 15:10-28 The history of Lutheran churches in this country is primarily a history of northern European ethnic groups maintaining their cultural identity amidst the American "melting pot" (more of a jambalaya, as the American parts remain distinct in the mix, but that's a story for another day). Seemingly in spite of, but m...

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 14:22-33 Today we talked about faith in its most basic form: faith is trust in God. Peter trusted God until his Wile E. Coyote moment out on the water. Then what?

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 On this Sunday we heard some of Jesus' parables about the kingdom of heaven (aka kingdom of God / reign of Christ / kin-dom of God / empire of heaven / etc), so in this interactive sermon we tried to think of what the kingdom is like.

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 and Wisdom of Solomon, 12: 13, 16-19 What's the difference between the gospel and the Gospels? Comparing today's Gospel lesson from Matthew with our first reading from Wisdom of Solomon (not even in the Lutheran version of the Bible!) can help. Confusing? Probably. Worthwhile? I hope so.

5th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Jesus tells the parable of the sower, with four kinds of ground into which the seed of God's Word might fall. If we are that ground, then I clearly see myself in one kind more than the others. Hint: it's not the good soil. Luckily for me, that's not the end of the story.

4th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Jesus' words today bring to mind the old saying, "You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't." Can I say that in a sermon? Based on the reactions I heard to this sermon, apparently I can, so long as that's not the content of my actual message. Law and gospel is the word today.

2nd Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary Year A Matthew 10:24-39 We begin the "ordinary" time after Pentecost by diving into the deep end of some of Jesus' most challenging words: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." He also tells his disciples they are unworthy unless they love Jesus more than their own parents and children, and t...

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity can make for a boring and obtuse sermon, as I have likely demonstrated in the past. Instead, today we focused on how the Trinity reminds us that we, created in God's image, are made for relationship. Thankfulness is a vital part of any relationship, particularly our relationship with God. So, at the recommendation of our esteemed Rev. Sarah Friesen-Carper, on this...

Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 Sometimes I forget how great Pentecost is. Then the Holy Spirit shows up, and I remember. Pentecost was a new beginning for Jesus' followers, not the vacation they deserved but an opportunity to share the story of God's love for the world in Jesus.

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Year A John 14:15-21 On his last night with his disciples, Jesus tells them about the Holy Spirit to help them be ready for what comes next.

Fifth Sunday after Easter, Lectionary Year A John 14:1-14 In this beginning to the famous final speech of Jesus in John's Gospel, I've often focused on the many dwelling places Jesus offers in his father's house. As Christians, we have often focused on the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way to the father. Today we looked at some other emphases of Jesus' words. "Do not let your hearts be troubled...