The Lutheran Podcast

“Increase our faith”, said the disciples. They must have known that making a request like this of Jesus is a risky proposition. The law tells us that we have to guard what we have because it’s likely to run out. The Gospel tells us that when all we have is a little, God will make it enough. Support the show

This is probably the last sermon I'll preach as a pastor in the South Carolina Synod or as an assistant to the bishop. It's weird to think of this ending because I feel like I still have plenty to do, but then I saw this Gospel reading and remembered that it's not really about my plans, but about what God has planned for me. How do we respond to the times in life where what we want...

The question "Who is my neighbor?" is a stunningly relevant question today, as the US immigration services prepare to deport members of some 2000 families over the next few days. More, it's stunningly relevant to our lives, as we continue to struggle with how we can care for "those people" whoever they might be when they make us so mad, frustrated, frightened, or stressed....

We often think of God as the most powerful being in the universe, but God teaches us that powerful leadership looks like service. What if God is not the landowner, but the Gardener? Support the show

"There was a father who had two sons", the story goes. A question this week shaped how I hear this story, "who is missing?". As I wrestled with that question, another thought came to my mind: we live in an Older Brother culture.  How do we begin to deal with this fact, and how can we begin to overcome the jealous judgementalism that gets in our way when it comes to accepting th...

Have you ever wondered why God called you, or how you could possibly be worthy of a calling? Yeah...me too...and Isaiah too...and Paul too...and Peter too. God equips us to do what we're called to do in surprising ways! Support the show

I'm not particularly known for nuance or sensitivity, and when I describe my guitar playing I often tell people that God gave me only two tools, a hammer and a guitar, and I'm likely as not to use both together.  Having said that, here's a fingerpicked version of Silent Night.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or whatever floats your boat and increases your love for  yourself, other...

We live in a nation that lifts up our individuality as an idol, and pushes an angry guy false god as the deity of a cultural religion that has many people convinced that to be Christian means to pick and choose who's in and who's out. This false god is vengeful, and even its love looks like wrath. What would it look like if we professed the one true God whose love looks loving as loudly...

We are called to do many things in our lifetime. Some of them are wonderful, like eating steak; others are not, like eating salad. As we approach Thanksgiving, a holiday that for me has always been more about food and family than the generosity of Native Americans toward the struggling Pilgrims, we explore the purpose of suffering, something against which I have a general policy.  In our suffering...

In a world where we try to possess everything, how do live in the knowledge that EVERYTHING belongs to God, and that we follow God - who gives everything away leaving nothing behind, and calls us to do the same? Preached at St. Timothy’s in Midland, Michigan (I’m the North/West Lower Michigan Synod) because the pastor there got sick and we had an abundance of pastors present at the first ever Mitt...

Faith is about more than being a good person, it's about finding freedom from the things that enslave us. How do we embrace the love that sets us free? Support the show

so often we hear the words of the Bible as law — what we HAVE to do. How do we change the way we hear these verses that discuss things like divorce so that we can instead hear them as words of promise about who we were created to be, about relationship, about love, and about hope so that we can dwell in the love that only God has to offer? We learn to approach God and each other more honestly and...

Carl Barth instructed us to preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, but what do we do when the newspaper has stories like it did this week? How do we in the Church live out the culture of Jesus Christ in a world where the culture of society is so different? How do we live lives that love and respect others when we're told so many people are disposable? Support the sh...

The audio is terrible because of pocket noise despite the microphone, I apologize!!! We all experience times when our hearts are closed off, when our hearts are racing and we don’t know what to do because were afraid or anxious, when we find ourselves trapped by our opinions or preconceive notion‘s. How do we answer the call of God who commands us to be open even when we think the matter is settle...

Jesus sees the crowds return after feeding them and realizes a hard truth: they don't get it, and they never will. Why are WE seeking Jesus: because our bellies are full, or because we have caught a glimpse of the Kingdom of God? Support the show

When God calls, it's often to places that make us uncomfortable. How can we answer God's call faithfully when we usually want to be comfortable more than anything else? Support the show

In this moment of uncertainty and growing conflict, the truth people tell about the world is a truth we're tempted to believe. Through the waters of baptism, God calls us to believe a new truth: that this broken world is a place that God loves; a place for which God has a plan. How will you be a part of this new truth and live into your part of God's plan? Support the show

Preaching at our home congregation while Pastor Tim is away, I pondered what it means that Reformation is a Reconciling in Christ congregation, and am convinced that in order to be a congregation or a Christian who is reconciling in Christ, we must be reconciled to Christ our King. How do we deal with a king in a land where we proclaim democracy? How can we live into the values that our King comma...

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How do we handle an unfair justice or undeserved mercy? Living in the Kingdom of God is like this. Support the show

Forgiveness is a road to freedom. #asweforgive #scsynod #elca Support the show

In a time of storms, where can we find space to encounter God?#scsynod #elca Support the show

I'm the words of Opus, "we have met the enemy and it is us". Support the show

Jesus's Parable of the Sower is widely known, but how do we fit in? What kind of soil is my heart? And who will hear this without ears? Support the show

We are soil, but what kind? Support the show