Sermons

Giving Thanks in All Circumstances Well here we are—about to celebrate another holiday in a way we never expected. Tomorrow we will eat a meal alone or perhaps together with…

“We do not grieve as those who have no hope,” Paul says to the Thessalonians. Yet we still grieve. I saw it with my own eyes and felt it in…

One Predictable Change As of this morning, we set our clocks back correctly and gained an hour of sleep. As I say this aloud, I hope it occurs to you,…

Did you catch today’s Gospel reading (John 8:31-36)? It was short. Just four verses. Barely enough characters to fill up two “Tweets” on Twitter. Allow me to read it again.…

A Variety of Denominations We’ve started confirmation for our church’s Middle Schoolers recently. We’re Zooming with about 25 6th graders on Tuesday nights and around 75 7th & 8th graders…

A Sense of Urgency This parable about a wedding banquet gone wrong is a bizarre story (Matthew 22:1-14). Matthew, our gospel writer, extends Jesus’ parable, adding even more dire twists…

Change your Mind The ability of human beings to change our minds forms the basis of how we live our lives together. It is a noble and somewhat comforting thing…

Wait, what? The parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20: 1-16) is about… what, exactly?    Well first of all, let us beware that Jesus is certainly making God…

Chilly Mornings, Warm Beds The weather in these last couple days and nights has shifted. Its chilly out there! I’ve quickly transitioned to snuggling under the covers for my night’s…

Living in Harmony? I don’t know about you, but I am someone who hates disagreement and conflict. About 6 years ago, our church staff took personality inventories and I learned…

Changing Seasons Here in Madison we’re making it through the hottest week of the summer. As I sat on our back deck the other evening when the sun was lower…

Heard any good St. Peter jokes lately? So one day Ole passed away and arrived at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter greeted him and said, “In order to…

Wrestling with the Law As we continue through Paul’s letter to the Romans, you’ll hear the same reminder tonight (Romans 10:5-15) that you heard last week from Pastor Chris (Romans 10:1-5).…

A Legendary Fish Tale In my family there are a few stories that over the years of being told have morphed into family legends. One of them involves a fishing…

How many times does the same miracle performed by Jesus get recorded in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John)? Honestly, I’m not going to give you time to…