Why Do You Wonder? Sermon on Acts 3:12-19

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Easter 3B
Video
We are in the second week of “Getting Our ACTS Together” during Eastertide. For the first three Sundays after Easter, our readings in Acts depend on the story of the crippled man healed at the Beautiful Gate. Each reading refers back to this miraculous healing story, but never includes it. It’s a story full of amazement, astonishment, and wonder. And yet, amazing as it is, the healing isn’t what’s important here. Continue reading →

Getting our ACTS together: All Things in Common – sermon on Acts 4:32-35 Easter 2B

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Video 

The New Testament is mostly letters – letters from Paul to various churches, letters from Peter, and from James Jude, and John. It’s mostly letters, but not entirely letters. There’s the Revelation of John at the end of the New Testament, and the four gospels at the beginning. And sandwiched in between the gospels and the letters there’s a book called The Acts of the Apostles, or simply, “Acts.”

Some Bible scholars like to call it “Second Luke” because it continues the story of Luke’s gospel beyond the resurrection of Jesus. So it’s appropriate that the assigned readings for the season of Eastertide include passages from Acts, or “Second Luke.” Because, as we learned last week, the story isn’t over when Jesus rises from death to life. It’s just beginning. Over the next few weeks, we will be taking a closer look at this story, to see how it might inform our story. Continue reading →

The Last Laugh – Sermon on Mark 16:1-8 Easter B

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April 1, 2018

A good “April Fool” joke is some false claim that is presented so convincingly, you think it’s true. And just when you surrender to the claim, the joker yells “April Fool!” If you came here this morning expecting me to tell a bunch of jokes, “April Fool!” – I’m not going to do that. The Good News I have to share with you this morning might have felt like a practical joke to the disciples who first heard it, but they quickly realized the truth, and the truth was way more amazing than they could have imagined. Continue reading →

Fools Rush In – Sermon for Palm Sunday B on Mark 11:11-33, 14:1-11

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Entrance to Holy Week
Watch a video of this sermon here. 

The line “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread” first appeared in Alexander Pope’s poem An Essay on Criticism, in 1711. The phrase usually refers to inexperienced people diving into things that people with more experience would probably avoid. A few other lines from this poem are also well known – such as “to err is human, to forgive divine;” and “a little learning is a dangerous thing.”[1] But Pope’s “fools rush in” has become an idiom in its own right.

Throughout Mark’s story of this final week, fools are rushing in everywhere: Continue reading →

Seeking Jesus – Sermon on John 12:20-33 for Lent 5B

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By now, you’ve probably figured out that wandering in the wilderness to follow Jesus isn’t just senseless meandering. It doesn’t mean going around in aimless circles. But it does require turning our expectations and assumptions around. It requires becoming vulnerable, having enough humility to accept ridicule, even.

But Jesus submitted himself to that kind of humiliation, and if we are to be his followers, we have to accept that it is only in dying we can experience resurrection. It is only in humility that we can be exalted with Christ, and it is only in asking the seemingly foolish question that we can find the answer that leads to eternal life.
Continue reading →

Finding Our Way in the Dark – Sermon on John 3:14-21 for Lent 4B

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Watch a video of this sermon from 2018  here. 

Are you getting tired of Lent, yet? If this were the fourth Sunday of Advent, we’d be nearly done with the purple of penitence and preparation. We would be anticipating the celebration of Christ’s coming in less than a week – Christmas Eve would be just around the corner!

But this isn’t Advent. It’s Lent. We have a ways to go before the end of this 40-day journey into the wilderness. There are still two more weeks before we can wave palm branches at the entry into Holy Week. We have three more weeks to fast and pray and prepare our hearts for Christ’s resurrection on Easter morning.

Here in the middle of Lent, we could sure use some joy. I think that’s why, centuries ago, someone thought it would be a good idea to make the fourth Sunday of Lent be Laetare Sunday, a Sunday when we get to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’ It’s kind of like that third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, when we light a rose-colored candle instead of a dark purple one. And what better gospel passage to bring us joy, than the third chapter of John? This is where we find the famous verse that sums up the whole gospel message – “For God so loved the world…”

And this brings us to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a rabbi, who comes to Jesus under cover of darkness. Maybe Rabbi Nic comes to Jesus at night to keep his conversation a secret from the other Pharisees. Maybe he doesn’t want to admit publicly that he is in contact with Jesus. Continue reading →

Wisdom in the Wilderness – Sermon for Lent 3B on 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

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Watch a video of this sermon here

We are smack dab in the middle of Lent this week. We’ve been wandering in the wilderness, tempted by Satan to grab power wherever we can get it, to look for affirmation in all the wrong places. Like Peter, we want to make Jesus fit into our limited idea of what a Savior should be. And, like Peter, we tend to deny that we know Jesus when it matters most, instead of denying ourselves and taking up the cross Jesus asks us to bear.

Bearing our cross means living our lives in a way that should raise questions among the people we meet outside the church.
Questions like:

  • What makes Christians different from everyone else?
  • Why are they so generous? How do they manage to give sacrificially, and still have enough to be satisfied?
  • How do they always seem to know exactly the right thing to say, or the kindest thing to do when someone is hurting?
  • How do they manage to show so much love to people they barely know? Why do they care?

When we follow Jesus, these are the questions people ask about us. But in first century Corinth, people had stopped asking those questions. And the church was in deep trouble. Made up of several groups that met in homes, what we would call house churches today, this church was a mess. One of the church leaders, a woman named Chloe, had sent some of her people to ask Paul for help. So Paul writes a letter, not just to Chloe, but to the whole church at Corinth. Continue reading →

Litany for Lent 3B 

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The Old Testament lesson and responding Psalm for the third Sunday in Lent, Year B (RCL) work well when woven together as a responsive reading. First UMC New Ulm, MN will use this Litany, taken from Exodus 20 and Psalm 19, in worship on March 4, 2018. 

ONE:   God spoke from the mountain and said: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.”

ALL:   The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol.”

The commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes.

“You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.”

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.

“Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.”

The decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple.

“Honor your father and your mother.”

The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever.

“You shall not murder.”

The ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

“You shall not commit adultery.”

More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

“You shall not steal.”

Moreover by your commands is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

“You shall not bear false witness.”

But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults.

“You shall not covet … anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Crossing the Wilderness – Sermon on Mark 8:31-38 Lent 2B

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Watch video of this sermon.

We’re in the second week of Lent. How is your journey through the wilderness going? Or, as Pietists like to say, “How goes your walk with the Lord?” Are you managing to keep up with Jesus? We may be in only the second week of Lent, but for some of us, it feels like we’ve been on this Lenten journey for a long time. If you’re like me, the wilderness can wear you down. So how’s your walk with the Lord really going? Continue reading →

A Fool’s Errand – Sermon on Mark 1:9-15

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February 18, 2018 Lent 1B
Watch a video of this sermon here. 

What kind of fool are you? Over the next several weeks, as we mark the season of Lent, we’re going to be looking at the foolishness of God that puts human wisdom to shame. We will examine what it means to be a fool for Christ, someone who is willing to put pride on the line for the sake of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. By the time we get to Easter on April Fool’s Day, we are going to see Jesus get the last laugh on Death and Sin.

Today, on this first Sunday of Lent, we start out by following Jesus on a fool’s errand. A fool’s errand is a journey that doesn’t make sense. At first glance, it looks like nothing good can come of this trip; there is nothing worthwhile to be gained.

In this case, it’s dangerous. Temptations will try to steer us off course. And it’s a long trip. We aren’t talking a three-day weekend here. This fool’s errand is a serious, six-week journey into the wilderness.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:9-15)

No matter which gospel we read, the first Sunday in Lent always brings us to the story of Christ’s temptation in the desert. Since we’ve heard about Jesus’ baptism and the beginning of his ministry in recent weeks, let’s just focus today on the wilderness, where the Spirit drives Jesus out on a fool’s errand. In other words, the Spirit expels, or throws Jesus out to be tempted. Continue reading →