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Sermon Text: Luke 1:26-38 I’m not sure why but Advent 4 (Mary’s week in the lectionary) and Thanksgiving are probably the two occasions that I almost always feel real good about the sermon. On firm Lutheran grounding I’d just say that they are opportunities to proclaim a very clear gospel. In my . . . → Read More: Standby by for some Announcements… In the post yesterday I made a comment to the effect that “we as a country seem to be playing a never-ending game of musical chairs deciding who takes the loss.” That has been my gut financial feeling for a long time. My guess is that is the core of the anger over things . . . → Read More: Outside Support (“A Game of Musical Chairs”) This post from Scot McKnight strikes at a theological nerve. It is the latest and most clear in an grouping of posts. First the caveats. McKnight is a big-tent evangelical. He has a new book to sell. My sympathies lie with McKnight’s general bent. Last caveat – Luther said a lot of . . . → Read More: It’s about the gospel… Scripture Text: John 8:31-36 Traditions tend to pile up. There is nothing inherently wrong with traditions. Most traditions are in fact healthy and good. But they tend to pile up. Just think about Christmas. How many things are there that you “have” to do? Does the holiday just . . . → Read More: The Puzzle of Reformation Day This short write up is well worth the 3 mins on Pope Benedict’s conception of interfaith or ecumenical interaction. Its starting point in an event that just took place in Assisi. 25 years ago the previous pope was at the same place involved in prayer with “Buddhists chant[ing] to the accompaniment of gongs and . . . → Read More: Religion and Truth in a Pluralistic Culture First post in series. Ask yourself what is the summary or shorthand for the gospel. Go ahead, think for a second, what is the gospel…… That is good news. It is gospel. But is it the full gospel or even a good summary? If . . . → Read More: Sin, death and the power of the Devil – post 2 Sermon Text: Matthew 22:34-46 The text is the last in a sequence of questions that the various leaders of the Jews in Jerusalem were quizzing Jesus with. In the Synoptics (Matt, Mark and Luke) Jesus is only in Jerusalem once, and the leaders are testing him. Finding out where he falls. . . . → Read More: What do you think about the Christ? Full Text Link As with so much else in America, if you want to cut to the soul or the bone of a matter you need to listen to Lincoln. (And Silent Cal Coolidge, but he didn’t live in exciting times, but his Autobiography and letters are deeply full of wisdom and heart.) But Lincoln . . . → Read More: The Civic Religion and the Sure Hope This story by Australian Theologian Ben Myers is nifty. And I have to admit I hear the law in it slightly, I am convicted, but not where he is aiming. Prof. Myers is part of one of those “uniting” churches. That is the same thing the founders of the LCMS were running to America away . . . → Read More: Man does not live by bread alone… Full Text What does the law of Moses mean to a Christian? I think that is what Paul is trying to answer in Romans 7. And the text for today talked about the ditch to the right side of the road and the ditch to the left side of the road. On the right, . . . → Read More: I fought the law and the law won… |
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