Simply Grace

Rev. Wesley Menke 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive who are left until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself with a cry of command with the archangels call and the sound of the trumpet, will descend from heaven , and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive who are...

Some people say that very soon Jesus is coming back to judge the Earth. Some people say that before he comes there will be a period of trials and tribulations on the Earth. Some people also say that those who have faith in Jesus will be spared from such trials, and will be taken away in a…rapture. LIES!!! Or as my sister likes to say, “Freshly baked LIES!” In the Bible and in ancient Roman culture...

Sermon 2023.10.29 Happy Reformation Sunday! I took this opportunity to re-read Justo Gonzalez’ chapters on Martin Luther and the Reformation which helped give background to this sermon. A little over 500 years ago before he wrote the 95 theses Martin Luther was an unknown Augustinian monk. Even though he tried his hardest to be a good monk, he found that he feared and even had feelings of hatred t...

Sermon 2023.10.22 Paul writes in 1 Thesselonians, “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly.” When I look out and see your beautiful faces gathered together for worship I am so thankful for the tremendous sacrifice you make for your fellow human beings, creation, and God. And yet when I look out upon you I am also concerned because I know just how taxi...

Sermon 2023.10.15 This parable, like the one last week, has been falsely interpreted to be God’s judgment against Judaism, Jerusalem, and the temple. There is sadly an anti-semitic tradition of misinterpreting scripture that needs to be named and dismissed. This is how it goes. The king that throws the wedding banquet is said to represent God, and the wedding banquet is said to be Holy Communion,...

2023.10.08 Sermon We are like vineyards, we will survive through collaboration and fellowship.

Sermon 10.01.2023

Sermon 2023.09.24 Wesley Menke Jonah was angry at God. Jonah was angry enough to die. Why? He was angry for two reasons. The first was that he wanted the city of Nineveh to be completely destroyed, but God did not destroy the city, because the people repented. Jonah hated the city and the people in it so much because he considered them to be his enemy. It was the capital of the Assyrian empire, an...

Sermon 2023.09.17 One of my children was talking about baptism at school with his friend. He told his friend that God forgives all your sins when you are baptized. His friend asked him, “What if you kill 1,000 people?” So my son said, “Well…God will forgive you, but he also will give you a consequence.”  Consider Genesis 50 and the death of Jacob. For better or worse Jacob was a patriarch who main...

Sermon 2023.09.10 Rev. Wesley Menke Sometimes it is hard to go to sleep at night, and sometimes it is also hard to wake up in the morning. I remember not so long ago waking up on a particular day that I had a lot to do and I had some difficult things to do. I groaned and felt weighed down. I prayed to God to help me. I prayed for the strength to get up and I prayed that some of this burden would b...

Sermon 2023.09.03 Wesley Menke One of the really big challenges we have to deal with as Christians is the way our religion has valorized and spiritualized suffering. Jesus says that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering. Jesus goes on to say that anyone who wants to be his disciple must deny themself, take up their cross and follow him. Does Jesus valorize and spiritualize suffering?...

Sermon 2023.07.23 I was listening to the radio this week and I heard a program about life after death. The person speaking had a near death experience and was telling how joyous and wonderful it was. Then I thought about the record breaking heat all over the planet, and the conflicts threatening life itself. If we are so sure that life after death is so much better, why bother living at all?  St....

Sermon 2023 July 9

Sermon 2023.05.28 Rev. Wesley Menke This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to participate in a ride along with Sheriff deputy Chris Carrico, who is a member of this church. […]

Sermon 2023.05.21 Rev. Wesley Menke Happy Sunday! We are more than halfway through May and it is beginning to feel more like summer. But this heat is nothing compared to […]

Sermon 2023.05.14 So it’s Mother’s Day! Thank you to all the Mothers and Mother figures. Mothering is not easy. It’s a tremendous and difficult job. It is a job, perhaps […]

Sermon 2023.05.07 One of the things we do as followers of Jesus is talk to people about their health and illnesses. We do this because we seek to love our […]

Jesus is the good gate, the way of peace for leaders and shepherds to follow.

In the story of the road to Emmaus we find two disciples walking along a road the same day of the resurrection. The resurrected Jesus begins to walk with them. […]