Will Preach For Food Podcast: Recent Episodes
Doug
My name is Doug (he/him/his), I'm a precious child of God, and so are you. I'm serving as lead pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington. In this podcast I talk about the Bible. I talk about Jesus. And I talk about 20 minutes.
This sermon is for the 4th Sunday in Advent, which is also Christmas Eve Day, December 24, 2023, based on the Gospel reading from Luke 1:26-38. In this passage the gospel writer sets the stage—and the stakes—for the miraculous, prophetic, improbable birth of the Son of God, King of Kings, and Savior of the Nations. And it all begins with the courageous faith of a young, poor, unwed girl named Mary.
We’ll take a closer look at Mary, the angel Gabriel, the names of Jesus, and why these details were so important then and now. We’ll conclude with some ideas about what Spirit might be saying to us now, including some practical ways to apply God’s word this Christmas. So, now would be a great time to dust off your Bible, and open to the first chapter of the gospel of Luke and find verse 26. Let’s pray, then dive in. This prayer is verse four of a Christmas Carol: O Little Town of Bethlehem.
O, Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray: Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; Oh, come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel! Amen.
Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV)26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
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Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. I took the summer off from recording this podcast, but it feels good to be back. Thank you so much for tuning in. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. I am recording this for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, September 17, 2023.
Today we’re going to talk about marriage and divorce, reading from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, beginning with the first verse. Here Jesus tells us a little bit about how to relate well as humans, but also points us to the love of God who created us just as we are. God who is both Husband and Helper, Lover and Beloved. Let’s get started by reading Matthew 19:1-12. After a few notes about what the text is saying, we will dig into the Living Word, and what it means for us today. And I’ll leave you with a few takeaways for the week ahead. Ready? Let’s listen.
Matthew 19:1-12When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”
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This is the final podcast in my sermon series through the book of Romans. I'll be taking a couple months off from recording this summer, but will be back with more this fall.
--Doug
Romans 16:1-16...And it brings me to this final chapter 16. I’ll warn you, that it is a lengthy list of weird sounding names. But I want to read it, and as I do, see if you notice anything surprising or unusual.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
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We begin, therefore, by reciting a single verse, Romans 15:7.
Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. This is the word of God. Amen.
Welcome Home! Hospitality is kind of a big deal around here. We begin every worship service with a call and response. I stand up in front of the congregation and say “Welcome Home!” And the congregation responds “It’s good to be home!” But here’s the thing. It’s not “OUR” house. It’s GOD’s house. God welcomes each one of us as strangers and sinners, guests and travelers. We are welcome because of who God is, revealed in Christ Jesus. And because each of us has been welcomed by God’s grace, we seek to extend that same welcome to one another. Welcome home. It’s GOOD to be home.
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Romans 14:1-9I want to look as well at the passage from Romans 14. In some ways, Paul is answering the same question: what do we need to do, what do we need to know? In particular, there are questions in Rome about worship practices and dietary restrictions. How often do we need to go to church? Is it okay to eat bacon? Can I eat bacon AT church? As you can imagine, there were, in Paul’s day—as in ours—differences of opinion, differences of practice in some of these matters. Listen again to what Paul says. This is from “The Message” translation.
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
2-4 For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume he should only be a vegetarian and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ’s table, wouldn’t it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn’t eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God’s welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
5 Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
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Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life, end over end, neither left nor the right. Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights: Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life. Amen.
Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for Sunday, April 30, 2023. We’re continuing a series through Paul’s letter to the Romans. But I’ve also got football on my brain this weekend. I’ve been following the NFL draft with my son. We’ve been tracking who the Seahawks will pick to be the newest members of the team.
It turns out that the NFL draft might be a helpful analogy for understanding God’s word for us today. After all, we’re talking about how Jesus calls each of us by name. How sometimes we play offense, sometimes we’re on defense, and sometimes we play special teams. And we’re talking about putting on the jersey, showing up for practice, and representing the team.
So please open your Bible to the tenth chapter of the gospel of John, beginning with verse 1.
John 10:1-10“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Here ends the reading. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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In Romans 12 Paul begins to describe how God has designed Christian community to be like a single body with many members—body parts—each with a distinct function and purpose, but all belonging to and working together as one body. So today we’ll be talking about stewardship, spiritual gifts, and Christian vocation. Takeaways will include a “time and talents” form for volunteering at Faith, and a larger call to share the gifts of God, to “be” the body of Christ “out there,” beyond the church walls, in the everyday matters of work, home, school, and neighborhood.
We start with a story about how Jesus likes to show up among his followers post-resurrection: on the road, in the Scriptures, with the bread.
Luke 24:13-32Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
CLICK HERE for link to Gifts insert.
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We’re continuing a series through Paul’s letter to the Romans. “By Grace Through Faith” is my ongoing title, as it summarizes, not only the book of Romans, but really the message of the whole Bible. It’s always been about God’s grace, from Genesis to Revelation and everything in between.
One of the most pressing concerns in the first century church was the simple but profound question: “What about the Jews?” Had God given up on them? This was a very personal issue for the writer of Romans, the apostle Paul. These were “his people.” His family, friends, loved ones, his heritage. “What about the Jews?”
So today you’ll get a brief overview of Romans 9-11, which can be summarized into three sections: Grace, not Race; Power Goes Sour; and Shoots, not Roots. We’re going to begin with today’s gospel reading for the Sunday after Easter, though, so open your Bibles to John 20:19-31, and we’ll dive in.
John 20:19-31On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
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Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for Easter Sunday, April 9, 2023. Christ is risen, we declare every Easter morning. He is risen indeed, Alleluia, which is simply another way to say: “Praise the Lord!”
So let’s start by reading the Easter story from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 1-15. What happened on Easter? What REALLY happened? And what does it mean for us today? My Big Idea for today is that Easter Sunday vindicates Jesus—the empty tomb shows that he really is who he says he is. Easter Sunday also underscores the good news that it’s all about God’s grace, and nothing, not even death, can prevent God from accomplishing God’s good purpose for your life. And I’ll leave you with three takeaways: first, that you find hope and joy in the Easter story; second, that you go looking for Jesus “out there” in the neighborhood, and not just at church; and third, that you, like the first disciples, have the courage and love to tell the Easter story in your own life. Again, and again, and again.
Matthew 28:1-15After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
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This podcast is being recorded for Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023. We’ve got the story of Palm Sunday from the 12th chapter of the gospel of John. We’re going to look ahead at what we call “Maundy Thursday.” I’ll tell you about a core Lutheran teaching based on Romans 7, called “simul justis et peccator”—recognition of our life in Christ as simultaneously justified and sinner. And we’ll end with God’s good declaration: you are beautiful, you are loved. So let’s start by reading the gospel of John 12: 12-19.
John 12:12-19The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
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So far, in the first five chapters of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul has talked about sin, salvation, and suffering—all of us in the same boat, bound to sin and saved by grace, apart from any works of the law, including theories like substitutionary atonement. Suffering is neither a sign of blessing or disfavor. Suffering mostly just, well, is. Today, Paul addresses a fourth universal human experience: death. I’ll begin today by reading a few verses of Romans 6, then pivot to a story about a man named Lazarus, in John 11. Understanding the story of Lazarus will help us understand Paul, death, and baptism.
Romans 6:1-14What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Dead Man Walking“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” If I’m saved by grace, if there are no guaranteed direct consequences for my actions and choices, does that mean I can do anything I want? No, Paul says, after all, how can we who have died to sin go on living in it? If you are a bit confused at this point, you aren’t alone. Let’s read about a dead man named Lazarus in John 11, then we’ll circle back around to Romans 6 at the end.
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Today’s big idea is Paul’s claim in Romans 5 that we have “peace with God.” This is by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. By grace we have peace with God, forgiveness of sins, and courage for life. Let’s read Romans 5:1-8 and dive in.
Romans 5:1-8Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
The word of God. Amen. Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Here is that song, "Blessings" by Laura Story.
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This podcast is being recorded for the 2nd Sunday in Lent, March 5, 2023. I’m preaching through the book of Romans this spring. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part Two, looking at Romans 3-4.
Here Paul articulates his proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are justified by grace, through faith, apart from works of the law. To this day, this is a radical and liberating message, one that because it sounds too good to be true, most folks, including well-meaning Christians, attempt to misuse God’s law and limit God’s grace. And like Martin Luther did 500 years ago, it is up to the Lutherans today to call for reformation, to submit to the word alone, and let God be God. We begin, as always, by reading the Bible, listening to what it says, then we’ll try to figure out what it means, and what it means for us today.
Romans 3:19-31 (NRSV)Now we know that, whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For no human will be justified before him by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.
21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed and is attested by the Law and the Prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a [sacrifice of atonement] by his blood, [effective] through faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to demonstrate at the present time his own righteousness, so that he is righteous and he justifies the one who has the faith of Jesus.
27 Then what becomes of boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? That of works? No, rather through the law of faith. 28 For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of gentiles also? Yes, of gentiles also, 30 since God is one, and he will justify the circumcised on the ground of faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law through this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
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IntroductionHello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This podcast is being recorded for the 1st Sunday in Lent, February 26, 2023. Over these next few weeks, I think I’m going to try my best to preach from the book of Romans. “By Grace Through Faith” is my series title, and today is Part One, looking at Romans 1-2.
So we’re going to spend some time getting to know a man named Saul of Tarsus, whom we know as the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Jewish teacher and tentmaker turned Christian missionary, theologian, reformer. Paul introduces himself to the Romans as simply “a servant of Christ Jesus.”
Romans 1:1-4Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
After twenty years of missionary work around the Mediterranean, Paul has on his heart to bring the gospel all the way to Spain. To get there, he’s going to need support from a cluster of little churches in Rome. He needs donors, backers, companions, prayer. He writes a letter to a group he’s never met. It is an ambitious attempt to summarize and demonstrate his message, his vision, and his mission strategy. He is coming to visit them in person, and he wants to be ready and receptive to his vision.
Romans 1:7-10To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.
History tells us that Paul makes it to Rome, although as a prisoner, not a missionary. And he never makes it to Spain.
But we have his letter to the Romans, arguably the most important of Paul’s writings if not the entire Bible. Paul wants to let them know about what he calls “the gospel,” the euangelion, the good news that was promised in the Hebrew Scriptures and finally revealed and realized in the person of Jesus, the Messiah Christ sent from God. This letter gives us ways to talk about human depravity and God’s righteousness. He gives us language for a doctrine of justification: Saved by grace through faith, apart from works of the law. And for sanctification: daily dying and being made new through the Holy Spirit, symbolized and set into motion through Baptism.
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As we come to worship the God who’s always loving us first, take a deep breath. Bring your shoulders up to your ears, then let them melt down you back. Today we’re going to enter the Gospel with our imaginations. As a warmup, I wonder if you can remember a moment of warmth and safety that you enjoyed, maybe near a cozy fire, or in bright and beautiful sun, or in the embrace of a loved one… Thank you, Holy God, for the warm light of your love, your peace. May the peace of God be with you all!
Sermon Transcript with Links
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Hello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org.
This week's podcast is a live recording from Sunday, February 12, 2023, at Faith Lutheran Church in Shelton. The text is Matthew 5:17-30.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
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IntroductionHello, welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This Sunday, February 5, marks the 45th Anniversary of the first worship service held in our current sanctuary back in 1978. So dust off your disco albums, bell bottom jeans, and polyester leisure suits, and we going to worship like it’s 1978! Today’s podcast is titled “Windows of Faith,” and I want to tell you about the stained glass windows that adorn this sanctuary. For you out of staters, I’m working on getting the windows on a page on our website.
Stained glass is a rare and treasured art form that lets the light of the sun shine through it to reveal God’s beauty and goodness. My prayer for the people of Faith is that each one of us be living stained glass, so that God’s Son might shine through our lives to bless the world and glorify God.
Matthew 5:14-16The holy Gospel according to St Matthew, the fifth chapter, beginning with the 14th verse:
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Here ends the reading. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, grace, peace, and mercy be with you. Amen.
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1 Corinthians 1:18-24For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
“We preach Christ crucified,” declares the Apostle Paul in a letter he writes to the first century church he started in Corinth. We preach CHRIST, crucified. The center of our faith and life is Jesus. Christ is Lord and Savior, the beginning and the end. The church isn’t a political organization or cult of personality. No, Paul insists, we preach CHRIST Jesus.
Jesus is the incarnation and revelation of the God described throughout the Bible. God created the heavens and the earth with a Word. The Creator’s Spirit gives life to all living things. It has been noted that the name of God sounds like taking a breath: Yah. Weh. That life begins when we first utter God’s name: Yah. Weh. And it ends when we say God’s name for the last time: Yah. Weh.
YHWH, the Bible teaches, over and over again, is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounds in steadfast love: “Hesed” in Hebrew. It is translated steadfast love, lovingkindness, mercy. The hesed of God: the steadfast love of God never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning… God is faithful. God is hesed.
So when the creative Word of God becomes flesh—that’s how one writer describes the coming of Jesus into the world—it is no wonder that his life, ministry, and death all reflect and embody the hesed of God. We preach the hesed of God.
Crucified, died, and was buriedWe preach Christ crucified. The central feat or accomplishment of Jesus is his crucifixion—his death on a cross. For us and for our salvation, the creed says, he came down from heaven…for our sake he was crucified…suffered death, and was buried. The cross is so much more than a mere divine transaction: there was a price to pay for our sins and Jesus paid it. The cross demonstrates and symbolizes the hesed nature of God: a God who suffers, a God who sacrifices, a God whose love is unconditional and has no bounds. The cross is not primarily about God’s judgment or wrath, but rather a demonstration of and sign of God’s hesed: God so loved the world. For us and for our salvation. For Jesus came into the world not to condemn the world, but to save us—mostly from ourselves.
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Making Christ Known is today’s podcast title, and it is part of this congregation’s mission statement. Faith exists to reveal Jesus to the world. To make him known. What we say about Jesus, and how we live as a result of Jesus. Our talk AND our walk. One of my favorite verses talks about this: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works, and glorify the Father in heaven.
Today we are looking at two passages from the Bible. The first one gives us some intel about who Jesus is and what he does—a teacher, preacher, and healer. He also has this line about fishers of people, and I’m reading that in a new way this week. The other reading today looks at the problem of factions among the followers of Jesus, how lesser loyalties hinder our ability to what we are here to do: which is making Christ known.
Big stuff, and we’re going to try to get through it in about twenty minutes. Grab your Bible and open to the gospel of Matthew chapter 4. Matthew is the first book in the New Testament. We will start reading at verse 17.
Matthew 4:17-25 (NRSV)17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishers. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
23 Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, people possessed by demons or having epilepsy or afflicted with paralysis, and he cured them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
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What is at the heart of worship? Today we’re going to talk about the Lamb of God and the Spirit of Christ. We’re going to consider what is a sanctuary, and how Baptism both invites us into worship AND sends us out for mission, service, and evangelism. Let’s start with a reading from the gospel of John, the first chapter, beginning at verse 29.
John 1:29-4229 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus…
The gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Dear sisters and brothers in Christ: grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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In today’s Bible reading, the apostle Paul is writing to a congregation about its practice of holy communion in the earliest stages of the church. Today I want to spend some time learning from the Bible itself what Holy Communion is—and isn’t. You might be surprised to know that the Bible uses several images and metaphors for describing the meaning and power of this bread and wine: “given and shed for you.” I hope today’s message leads to some good conversations in your household about what communion means to you. I hope it helps OUR congregation wonder together about why and how we want to share this sacrament on Sunday mornings in worship. And I hope this message brings you to a deeper experience of Christ himself at the table of the Lord, in the eating and drinking, in your participation in the Lord’s Supper. Open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
1 Corinthians 11:17-3417 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 20 So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, 21 for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. 22 Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. 32 Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
33 So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. 34 Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
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Hello, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and welcome to this very special Christmas Eve edition of the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. I hope this Christmas is one filled with joy, health, and peace.
I’m going to read the Christmas gospel, as recorded in Luke 2:1-20. Helpful hint—some Bibles are easier to read than others. Some old Bibles are really hard to read and understand. So if you read the Christmas story around the dinner table tomorrow, use something like the NIV (New International Version) or NRSV (New Revised Standard Version. If you don’t have the physical Bible, they are easy to Google. Bible Gateway is a great, free source of just about every English translation out there. Read it directly from your phone or tablet, or do it the old fashioned way and print a copy with a large enough font! Oh, and it’s pronounced “QuiRINeeUs.”
Luke 2:1-20In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is learning how to be a welcoming community, energized by God’s amazing love. We want to make Christ known in the world, we want to grow closer to and more like Jesus. We want to joyfully serve our neighbors, each other, and the whole world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This is the fourth and final Sunday in Advent. Thanks for listening.
Today we tell the Christmas story as recorded in Matthew 1. Admittedly, it lacks the manger, the angel choirs, and the shepherds watching their flocks by night that we hear about in the more familiar account in the gospel of Luke. On the other hand, it does give us a concise summary of why Christmas is such good news. “[Mary] will bear a son,” the angel tells Joseph, “and you will give him the name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Christmas celebrates the birth of the Savior, who is Christ, the Lord! Let’s read the gospel according to Matthew 1:18-25. We’ll set a little bit of context, define a couple of terms, then imagine how Jesus saves us: first as a tragic hero; next as a romantic comedy lover; and finally as Iron Man in the final battle with Thanos.
Matthew 1:18-2518 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
This is the word of God. Sisters and brothers, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Prepare ye the way of the Lord! In today’s Bible reading from Matthew 3, we read about a rock star preacher named John the Baptist. Long hair. Cool clothes. Trendy diet. Outdoor venue. Standing Room Only. John the Baptist is a pivotal character in the Bible story, and one whose example and message we consider every year around this time, at least, those of us who observe the season of Advent in the church calendar. We are getting ready, after all. Ready for Christmas. Ready for Christ to come into our hearts. Ready for Christ to come again.
Today’s message reminds us that the coming of the kingdom of God is good news for everyone. That the Holy Spirit gathers and unites us in the waters of Baptism. And John the Baptist issues the challenge to bear good fruit AND burn the chaff. Let’s unpack all that as we open our Bibles to Matthew 3:1-12.
Matthew 3:1-12In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This is the word of God. Sisters and brothers, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Here we are, at the end of 2022. It sure FEELS like the end times, doesn’t it? So many of our systems seem worn out. Things feel like they are getting worse. Armageddon. Apocalypse. The end of the world as we know it. People have a lot of ideas about Bible prophesies and what it says about the last days, the return of Christ, and the end of the world as we know it. It can be a little bit scary, especially if you get your theology from Indiana Jones, the DaVinci Code, or TikTok.
In fact, the promise of Christ’s return is good news. Prophets like Isaiah wanted to give hope and direction and perspective and encouragement to people who were scared, overwhelmed, and uncertain about the future. Jesus wanted to give hope and direction and perspective and encouragement to his followers—who were scared, overwhelmed, and uncertain about the future. My prayer today is that today’s message, based on those prophecies of Isaiah and those promises of Jesus, may offer you hope and direction and perspective and encouragement as you and I face a future that feels so often scary, overwhelming, and uncertain.
Let’s start with Isaiah 2:1-5.
Isaiah 2:1-5 (NRSV) The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.3 Many peoples shall come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.4 He shall judge between the nations
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation;
neither shall they learn war any more.5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!
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Dear friends, grace to your and peace from Abba-God and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Way back in mid-August, I introduced our Emotionally Healthy Relationships series imagining our spiritual lives as a marathon—a long, long race, or facetiously, a five-year mission to explore strange new feelings, seek new life in Christ’s civilization, to boldly go where Christ has gone before!
Since then, we’ve leaned into our biblical roots and drawn insights and tools from modern psychology, deepening our discipleship and growing in loving relationship with God and each other. And it’s been good!
To varying degrees, we’ve practiced…
· Anchoring ourselves in the love of God by sitting quietly with God at least twice a day, beginning our mornings with God’s voice in scripture and looking back at night to notice God’s touch;
· Then working the program: checking in with each other—staying connected through affirmations, puzzles, what we notice and prefer, hope and dream;
· We’ve stopped mind-reading, clarified our expectations, and expressed our wishes gently and patiently;
We’ve…
· explored our families of origin—Jesus may be in my heart, but how does Grandpa (or Grandma!) still live in my bones?—
· and looked beneath the surface of our lives to recognize the emotions in our bodies, minds, and hearts, letting them move through us instead of stuffing them down to come out sideways as illness or irritability.
With growing awareness of what’s going on in ourselves, our EHR group participants have begun to…
· quiet ourselves to listen more deeply and fully to others;
· clarify our values using a tool for self-examination and awareness called the “ladder of integrity;” and
· put all these learnings together and become peacemakers who “fight clean.” We’re learning to stand calmly, with “patient endurance” in our own God-given places, and to move through conflict in Christlike, calm, healthy ways with family, friends, and colleagues.
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality lives the Jesus Way of Resting in God’s Love and Following God’s Lead.
It isn’t easy. But it is life giving and good.
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I have to say that this has been a very emotional week at Faith. All week the church has been buzzing with church members preparing for our annual holiday bazaar, which is taking place even as I record this podcast! It is also my daughter’s birthday—Happy Birthday, Hannah!
But even as we have been enjoying the fellowship, the baking, and the decorations of the week, we are grieving, too. We can’t help but notice the people who aren’t here. For years people would come to the bazaar to buy Geri’s cinnamon rolls. At the door they’d be greeted by Ron and Pastor Neil decked out in tuxedos and welcoming grins. But Geri and Ron have died, and Neil is in hospice care. We miss them. We grieve.
And this week our hearts broke again when another saint—Linda—fell on Monday and died rather unexpectedly only a couple days ago, at the hospital, with Herb at her side.
There’s a lot of grief and loss all around us—in our families, our congregations, our communities. Even at a national level it feels like something that was once healthy and good has passed away. What do we do with grief? What does God do with our grief? That’s what we’re going to consider today. Open your Bible to Matthew 5:1-9.
Matthew 5:1-9Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
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Happy Reformation Sunday, celebrating the re-forming, re-newing work of the Holy Spirit in the church in every generation. Lutefisk, lutefisk, lefse, lefse: We’re the mighty Lutherans—Yah, shore, you betcha!
We are also in week six of our series focusing on Emotionally Healthy Relationships—EHR for short—as Faith leans into our congregation’s vision and dream to grow “closer to and more like Jesus.” Emotionally Healthy Relationships is an eight-week preaching, devotional, and small group series based on the work of Pete and Geri Scazzero. This week’s lesson has to do with “Climbing the Ladder of Integrity.” You can learn more about Faith and about Emotionally Healthy Relationships at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
I’ve grown up in the Lutheran tradition. I’ve had the privilege to read a chunk of Luther’s writings and quite a bit about his life. He’s no saint. He wasn’t perfect, and was, in many ways, maybe just at the right place at the right time in history to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit to lead a re-formation of a Christian church that had gotten off track.
There are countless stories about Luther, his life, what he accomplished, what he wrote and taught. Today I want to share four details about Martin Luther that are meaningful to me, and why they matter. Three are a matter of public record, and the fourth is just a good story that sounds true. But we’ve got to start where Luther would: with the Word of God. Grab your Bible and open it up to Romans 3:21-28.
Romans 3:21-28But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
John 8:31-36And now a short reading from the gospel of John, chapter 8, beginning at verse 31:
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. The gospel of the Lord.
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Exploring the IcebergHow do we grow closer to and more like Jesus? How are we experiencing the regeneration of the Holy Spirit in our lives today? It starts and ends with God’s agape love for us and for the world. God, in Christ Jesus, has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. Through the love of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we have been saved, justified, and called children of God. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Amen? Amen.
In obedience to God’s command and following the example of our Lord Jesus, we practice the habit of quiet time with God, drinking deep from the well of God’s love so that we can love God and others well. Human relationships require open communication, especially about our mutual expectations and “the stories we are telling ourselves:” about the thoughts and motives of others. We may have Jesus in our hearts, we learned last week, but we also have grandpa in our bones! That is, our family histories—the good, the bad, and the ugly—all play into and play out in our current relating with God and others.
Everything Under the SunAnd that gets us to this week’s lesson that challenges us to “explore the iceberg,” to look inside us and see what lies under the surface, in our hearts and wills. Emotions. Motives. Yes, we are going to talk about our feelings. Let’s start in Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, written over 2500 years ago.
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
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Words for beginning the service:
You have loved us first, O God, alas! We speak of it in terms of history as if You loved us first but a single time, rather than that without ceasing You have loved us first many times and every day and our whole life through. When we wake up in the morning and turn our soul toward You—You are there first—You have loved us first; if I rise at dawn and at that same second turn my soul toward You in prayer, You are there ahead of me, You have loved me first. When I withdraw from the distractions of the day and turn my soul toward You, You are there first and thus forever… we speak ungratefully as if You have loved us first only once.
--Soren Kierkegaard, Danish Philosopher & Theologian (1813-1855)
Grandpa (or Grandma?) in My Bones: Reckoning with Our Past EHR 3)
Rev. Brenda Satrum
October 9, 2022
Gospels for this message:
Luke 8:19-21. Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My other and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
John 15:9-12. (SLIDE 1) “I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love.I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. (Msg)
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. “Great Expectations” is this week’s podcast title. That “EHR” you see in parens stands for “Emotionally Healthy Relationships.” This Fall Faith Lutheran is leaning into our congregation’s vision and dream to become “closer to and more like Jesus.” Today’s message is the second in an eight-week preaching, devotional, and small group series based on the work of Pete and Geri Scazzero.
You can learn more about Faith and about Emotionally Healthy Relationships at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
It starts and ends with love. That was the big idea in week one. The agape love of God is for us and what we were made for. The importance of quiet time with God, drinking deep from the well of God’s love so that we can love well. Love like this never feels like enough, yet the world is dying for love like this.
Session Two in the Emotionally Healthy Relationships Course has to do with resisting the tendencies BOTH to think we know what other people are thinking AND that other people know what WE’RE thinking. Today we are going to learn tools to help us stop “mind-reading” and clarify expectations. Then we’ll look at how Jesus does it. And finally, I’ll give you some ways you can put some of this stuff into practice. We begin with a reading from Luke 18: 31-43.
Luke 18:31-43Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”
34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.
42 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. “It Starts and Ends with Love” is this week’s podcast title. That “EHR” you see in parens stands for “Emotionally Healthy Relationships.” This Fall Faith Lutheran is leaning into our congregation’s vision and dream to become “closer to and more like Jesus.” Today’s message is the first in an eight week preaching, devotional, and small group series based on the work of Pete and Geri Scazzero.
You can learn more about Faith and about Emotionally Healthy Relationships at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
They’ll know we are Christians by our LOVE, the old song says. So why is it that so much of Christianity that we see all around us is so judgmental, angry, and fearful? It seems like we used to be able to have differences of opinion, but still be friends, right. We could work together, go to church together, care for each other. Yet these days it feels like we’ve all been pushed into opposite corners. Earlier this week I used the word “progressive” in a conversation about my faith, and just about got my head bit off. And I’m a pastor! I can only imagine how it is with you. So, what happened? Where did love go?
The Greatest CommandmentAs we start a fall emphasis on being Emotionally Healthy followers of Jesus Christ, we must start—and end—with love.
Dear friends, let us love one another, the Bible teaches, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us (1 John 4:7-12).
Jesus taught and modeled the life of love: love God with everything you’ve got, and you do that by loving your neighbor—and yourself—with everything you’ve got (Mark 12:30-31).
If you’ve ever been to a Christian wedding you probably heard some bit about love being patient and kind, that faith, hope, and love abide, and the greatest of these is…love (1 Corinthians 13). Faith and love are inseparable. “Ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people,” Paul writes to a beloved congregation in Ephesus, “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16).
[The story of Lazarus in Luke 16 portrays a wealthy man who fundamentally lacks love, showing no care or compassion or sympathy for a beggar at his doorstep.]
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our…love.
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GOSPEL READING
1Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So [the rich man] summoned [the manager] and said, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’
3Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’
5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’
8And his master commended the [unrighteous, adikaios] manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd [phronimos, wise, prudent—like serpents, or bridesmaids, or Jesus-people (Paul)] in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.10“Whoever is faithful[pistis] in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest [adikaios] in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
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Today’s reading is one of the more well-known stories Jesus taught, Luke 15:11-32, often known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. The story illustrates God’s amazing grace, that, like the old hymn says: “saved a wretch like me.” Today I wonder if Jesus is the Prodigal Son in the story, and what that might mean for us and for our understanding of how we are being invited to spread the kingdom of God. My sermon title for today is “The Prodigal Jesus.” We start with the reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Luke, the 15th chapter, beginning at the 11th verse.
Luke 15:11-32“There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
The gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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We are wired to ask questions from the time we are little. Where do babies come from? Why is the sky blue? Why is life so hard sometimes? What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?
Most of these questions defy a cookie cutter answer. And so we tell stories. The Bible is full of compelling, multi-faceted stories that make us think and help us see the world with fresh eyes. The Bible includes not just one, but two stories about how and why God created the heavens and the earth and everything in between—including you and me.
Genesis 2:4-244 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
Here ends the reading.
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The primary image for today’s message is that of a banquet, of a big table with lots and lots of people and a table with lots and lots of free food. Think about the biggest feast you’ve ever attended. Jesus says that the kingdom of God is like THAT, and that there is a place for YOU at the table. Let’s look at what it means to be a GUEST at God’s table, then what it looks like to faithfully HOST God’s table. Today’s word of God has application for our shared worship and our shared spaces. And this podcast will end with an invitation for you to come to the table of the Lord. Just as you are.
Let’s start with a reading from the gospel of Luke 14:12-24.
Luke 14:12-2412 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”
16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’
18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’
22 “‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’
23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”
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IntroductionHello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
Some of you listening/here today know all about chronic suffering. Childhood trauma. Mental illness. Cancer. An old back injury. A genetic condition. PTSD. Maybe it is you. Maybe it is a loved one. What do you do with that? How do you cope year after year? A woman in today’s Bible reading had lived with a debilitating, painful, chronic back condition for eighteen years. And Jesus heals her.
I hope that today’s podcast conveys God’s mercy and faithfulness, no matter what you might be going through these days. I hope that God’s word sets you free today, brings you healing and freedom. I hope that today’s message will help you care for others in their suffering as well. Let’s read from Luke 13:10-18.
Luke 13:10-18On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she [was] straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
Here ends the reading.
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Today is a special episode of "Will Preach for Food." The message is presented by Rev. Brenda Satrum, my wife and coworker here at Faith. Enjoy!
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My wife (Brenda) and I just returned from an amazing week-long adventure in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana. People in Montana know it simply as “The Bob.” We were two of eleven guests, six guides, seventeen horses, and sixteen mules coved over 45 miles of remote, rugged wilderness: from Wrong Creek to the North China Wall, the north fork of the Sun River and Headquarters Pass. We saw bear, elk, red-tailed hawks, towering peaks, and meadow after meadow of the most glorious wildflowers you’ll ever see.
Did I mention we were on horseback, and that I had never ridden a horse until this trip? I was assigned a horse named Bam-Bam.
Brenda describes him as “a giant, black, half-Percheron draft horse.” Not only did I manage to stay upright and avoid saddle soreness, I also learned something about faith. Today’s podcast is about faith, wildflowers, and a horse named Bam-Bam.
Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today. Please open your Bible to the book of Hebrews 11:1-6.
Hebrews 11:1-6Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
This is the word of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
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I am recording this podcast for the 5th Sunday after Pentecost. My sermon title is “The Art of Neighboring,” as a reflection on one of the more well-known stories told by Jesus: the story of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37. The story teaches us how to inherit eternal life and how to be a good neighbor. It turns out these are the same thing. Open your Bible to Luke 10, and let’s dig in. As I read, I want to invite you to close your eyes and imagine the scene. Where are you in the story? And where do you see Jesus?
Luke 10:25-37On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
This is the word of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
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IntroductionHello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
I am recording this podcast for the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost. My sermon title is “Calling Down Fire,” based on a reading from Luke 9:51-56. A little bit later we will look some verses from Galatians 5, but we begin with the holy gospel according to St. Luke, the 9th chapter, beginning with verse 51.
Luke 9:51-5651 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
This is the word of the Holy Spirit. Thanks be to God.
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We read about Jesus to learn about God’s love for us. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus’ mission statement is borrowed from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. It is quoted in Luke 4:18-19, and it says this:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And, sure enough, that is what he does. He preaches and teachers about how the kingdom of God has come near. He blesses the poor, treats them with dignity, gives them food to eat and living water. He gives sight to the blind and raises the dead. His own eventual death and resurrection is understood as his ultimate victory over sin and death: “for us, and for our salvation.” We read about Jesus to learn about God’s love for us.
Please open your Bible to Luke 8, verse 26, and we will read about a man possessed by fallen spirits, and how Jesus sets him free. We’ll take a closer look at the story, and how it applies to our life today. And I’ll leave you with four takeaways. I was thinking about calling this sermon “The Bay of Pigs,” but instead I’ll call it: “Set Free, Part One.” This story has Jesus and his disciples in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. They just survived a midnight squall and were apparently out on the water all night.
Luke 8:26-39They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
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How old is “old?” Are you old? Raise your hand if you are old.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel came out with a song in 1968 called “Old Friends.” “Can you imagine us years from today,” the song goes, “sharing a park bench quietly? How terribly strange to be seventy…” Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are both 80 years old now, about the same age as President Biden. Rod Stewart, in 1988, at the age of 43, sang a song called “Forever Young.” He is 76 now. About the same age as former President Trump. Actually, the comparisons seem about right!
How do you feel about growing up, growing older, getting old, especially if you consider the alternative? Because for as much as we live in a culture that never wants to grow up, the Bible says that growing up is a good thing, that spiritual maturity is a mark of a healthy Christian, of healthy churches.
So this week we are going to talk about spiritual maturity, unpacking a passage of the Bible from Ephesians 4, which talks about spiritual maturity, what it looks like, and why it’s a good thing. We will contrast that with an example of from the Bible of a family system marked by spiritual immaturity and dysfunction. Let’s start by reading Ephesians 4:1-7 and 11-16.
Ephesians 4:1-7 [8-10]; 11-16As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. [8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)] 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
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The Ascension of our LordWhere is Jesus when you need him? Seriously, in this day and age, as people of Faith, this may be the most important question on our hearts. I was in a small group discussion recently and posed the question to the group: What in the world is God doing? “Not enough!” said one of my friends.
It turns out that Jesus is closer than you think. Today’s reading from the end of the gospel of Luke tells us that we don’t need to look for Jesus down there, back there, up there, or someday. No, Jesus is here, now, and is recognized and real IN you and me today; in the world, in the breaking of bread, in the mirror, in the study of scriptures, and in the eyes of every neighbor, widow, orphan, and immigrant.
Let’s read Luke 24:36-53, and we will take a fresh look at this thing called the “ascension” of Jesus, and what it means for us today. Open your Bible to Luke 24:36-53, and we will dive in.
Luke 24:36-53While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
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Acts 9:31-43Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”
39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
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Following up with last week’s podcast, we’re going to spend some more time in the book of Revelation. It calls itself a revelation of Jesus Christ, so let’s look closer to learn more of what the Spirit wants to reveal to us about Jesus, about the nature of power, and about the kingdom of God. Please open your Bible to the book of Revelation—the Revelation of Jesus Christ—and turn to chapter 5:1-14.
Revelation 5:1-14Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 4 I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To [the one] who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
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Have you ever seen Jesus? Have you ever encountered the risen Christ? The Bible tells us that Mary did. And so did Peter. And John. Doubting Thomas saw Jesus. Cleopas and his wife met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Fifteen years later, Paul of Tarsus met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Just last week a dear friend shared with me a story of when she, as a little girl, saw Jesus.
The sad thing about it was that she wasn’t sure how I’d receive her testimony, as if seeing Jesus was weird or unusual or unbelievable. Visions of Jesus aren’t crazy at all. Throughout the history of the church the risen Jesus has had a habit of showing up, revealing himself to his followers in very real and personal ways. That’s what we’re going to talk about today. By the time we’re done, I hope that the idea of visions is less weird, that you are freer to share your own stories and listen to others, AND that, even if you have never seen a vision of Jesus, well, “blessed are those who have never seen and yet believe.”
Revelation 1:4-18
John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!
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“Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” the saying goes. Benjamin Franklin wrote that back in 1789. The whole quote goes like this: “Our new Constitution is now established, everything seems to promise it will be durable; but, in this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” He wrote this about five months before his own death on April 17, 1790. Today is the 232nd anniversary of his death. Truly there is precious little in life that is certain. Taxes and government: check. Mortality rates hovering at 100%? Check.
Christians believe that there is a third certainty: resurrection from the dead. That is the bold proclamation of Easter Sunday: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Today we will discuss the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for us today. The title of today’s message is “Death, Taxes, and Easter.” Grab a Bible and we’ll start with a reading from 1 Corinthians 15, then the Easter Gospel according to St Luke, the 24th chapter.
1 Corinthians 15:19-25A reading from First Corinthians 15:19-25.
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Here ends the reading.
Luke 24:1-12The holy gospel for this Easter Sunday is from Luke 24:1-12.
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
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Raise your hand if you want to go to heaven when you die. How do you get there? The Bible teaches that we are saved by God’s grace, through faith, apart from “works of the law.” Yet the Bible also talks about seeking the kingdom, striving and straining, obeying the commandments, and entering through something called the narrow door. Just how does it work, anyway?
Today we’re going to talk about salvation, narrow doors, and knowing Jesus. Today’s podcast is called “Narrow Doors, Open Futures,” and is based on a reading from the gospel of Luke 13:22-30. We are also going to hear later from Philippians 3:4-14, but we start here with Luke 13, beginning at the 22nd verse.
Luke 13:22-30Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Philippians 3:4b-14If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
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Hello and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a welcoming community: growing closer to and more like Jesus; making Christ known; joyfully serving each other, our neighbors, and all God’s creation. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
Prayer is such a central practice of the Christian faith that I decided I should preach about it today. I told God that I needed a really good sermon about prayer. “Good luck with that,” he said. “You’d better get to work on it.” Today’s podcast is for the fourth Sunday in Lent, March 27th, 2022. The title of this podcast is “Pray Continually.”
I want to share a few general biblical principles of prayer based on the examples of Jesus, Daniel, and Paul. We’ll end with some specific takeaways for you and your own prayer life in the coming days and weeks. Let’s start with Jesus. Open your Bible to Luke 11:1-13.
Luke 11:1-4 [5-8] 9-13One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
[5 Then Jesus said to them, “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.]
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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Go Where I Send TheeAnybody else remember the old Sunday School song that goes like this: “Children, go where I send thee! How…shall I send thee? Well… I’m gonna send thee Eight by eight:
· Eight for the eight that stood at the gate
· Seven for the seven that never got to heaven
· Six for the six that never got fixed
· Five for the gospel preachers
· Four for the four that stood at the door
· Three for the Hebrew children
· Two for Paul and Silas
· One for the little bitty baby [that] was BORN, born, born in Bethlehem…”
Please open your Bible to Luke 10:1-12. Today’s podcast is for the third Sunday in Lent, March 20th, 2022. The title of this podcast is “Go Where I Send Thee.”
Luke 10:1-12After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
[10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.]
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Today’s message is in response to some big stuff folks are going through right now. A war in Ukraine. A young woman recovering from a major cancer surgery. A colleague grieving a step-son’s suicide. The funeral of a long time friend and member of this congregation.
From the 8th chapter of the gospel of Luke, we are going to read about a storm. Storms are real things, of course, but they also serve as a metaphor for overwhelming challenges and circumstances in which we often find ourselves, like this week. Please open your Bible to Luke 8:22-25. Today’s podcast is for the second Sunday in Lent, March 13th, 2022. The title of this podcast is “Storms, Cancer, and War.”
Luke 8:22-25One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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Luke 7:36-5036 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’And a brief reading from the book of Romans 3:19-24
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
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Today’s reading, Luke 9:28-36, is for Transfiguration Sunday, February 27, 2022. The title of this podcast is “Divine Intervention.” God chose and sent Jesus to usher in the kingdom of God through his own death and resurrection. Which means that Jesus knew all about politics, wars, and violence. To navigate a way forward, Jesus relies on prayer, solitude, scriptures, old mentors, and new friends. I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and encourage each one of us through whatever uncertainties and fears we may be facing. Please open your Bible to Luke 9:28-36. I want to begin, though, with a prayer for peace:
Dear God, as we open your word today, fill us with your Spirit, so that we can receive your instruction and do as you command. Forgive our warring ways, O God, and lead us in the ways that lead to peace in our hearts and in our world. Amen.
Luke 9:[22-27]28-36[And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”]
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 *When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.
Links:*And with our prayers, we work for justice and peace everywhere. The Lutheran Church has agencies around the world, including Ukraine. I’ve included links to a couple of good humanitarian organizations here: Lutheran World Relief and the Lutheran World Federation. Listen to Jesus. Grieve the suffering in our world. And don’t forget to pray.
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Jesus is for losers. And that is good news. The Good News, in fact. Today’s sermon is mostly a sermon that Jesus himself preached about 2000 years ago. The entire sermon is about 750 words, recorded in Luke 6:20-49. We are going to read the first section of it, along with a few verses Luke uses to set the stage. “Jesus is for Losers” is the title of this podcast, Volume 3, Episode 5. I hope today’s message is provocative. I hope it makes you a little bit uncomfortable at first, so that in the end, you can head into this next week with a newfound freedom, joy, and energy.
Luke 6:20-2620 Looking at his disciples, [Jesus] said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
The Knollwood School of Theologyby Daniel Erlander, which he shares in his book entitled Tales of the Pointless People.
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I don’t know much at all about wine. I think red wine goes with beef and white goes with chicken. I know that Two buck Chuck now costs more like four. David on Schitt’s Creek says that he likes the wine, and not the label. If I’m not careful, it is way too easy for me to drink way too much red wine. And all wine, along with other forms of alcohol, are potent—both joy-making and addictive.
I also know that wine containers have morphed over the years. In Jesus’ day it was kept in leather bags. Glass bottles with a cork became the mainstay for the longest time. And now wine at the store comes in bottles with corks or caps, in boxes and bags, and even aluminum cans. Wine has been around forever. The shape and makeup of the container is always changing.
And this is a metaphor, Jesus says, for the message and makeup of the church. Jesus is new wine, and new wine always necessitates new containers, new ways to carry and distribute the message of God’s love and faithfulness. So today’s Will Preach for Food Podcast is entitled: “Uncorked,” based on a reading from Luke 5. I hope I am able to give you a taste of the richness and fullness of God’s amazing love. And I hope we can imagine new ways for each of us to be filled with, to carry, and to distribute God’s love to a thirsty and hurting world.
Open your Bible to Luke 5:27-39, and let’s pray:
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have in you. Amen
Luke 5:27-39And a reading from the gospel of Luke, the fifth chapter, beginning at verse 27.
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.”
34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.”
36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
The gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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Today we’re going to talk about love: God’s love for us, and Jesus’ radical, counter-cultural call for Christians to love our enemies. And we are going to wonder what this means for us today. I pray that today’s message will help Faith Lutheran Church embrace and live into its newest vision and mission statement. I pray that today’s message will inspire you to embrace and live into your identity as a child of God, loved like Jesus was loved; and loving others like Jesus loved. Open your Bible to Luke 6:27-36, and let’s pray:
Jesu, Jesu, fill us with your love, show us how to serve the neighbors we have in you. Amen
Luke 6:27-36And a reading from the gospel of Luke, the sixth chapter, beginning at verse 27.
“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
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I’ve been doing this Will Preach for Food podcast for almost two years now, and, as the name suggests, I like to preach. I love to read God’s word, try to understand what it says, what it means, and what it means for us today. Preaching is usually a conversation—a public dialog between the preacher, the congregation, the scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. Christians have been gathering weekly to worship for centuries: hearing the Scriptures read out loud, listening to a sermon, singing and praying, sharing communion.
This practice is rooted in the Jewish faith. Jesus was Jewish, so Jesus himself grew up going to the local synagogue every week for worship. And he was a preacher. Today’s reading tells about the first—and maybe the last—sermon he preaches in his hometown. Please open your Bible to Luke 4:14-30. And let’s start with a prayer:
Lord, speak to us that we may speak in living echoes of your tone. As you have sought, so let us seek your straying children, lost and lone. Oh, fill us with your fullness, Lord, until our very hearts overflow in kindling thought and glowing word, your love to tell, your praise to show. Amen (ELW 676)
Luke 4:14-30A reading from the gospel of Luke, the 4th chapter, beginning at verse 14.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
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This Sunday the church calendar recalls the Baptism of Jesus, by John, in the Jordan River. In the waters of baptism, Jesus is filled with the Spirit and affirmed by the Father. Baptism links Jesus to his heritage, his genealogy, his roots. His baptism marks the beginning of his earthly public ministry, framed by grief, disappointment, and temptation.
Today’s story sets the stage for the rest of Jesus’ ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. The story brought hope to an early church community racked by grief, loss, and uncertainty. And I believe today’s word can help us see more clearly who Jesus is, who we are, and who we were created to be. We will start with a reading from the gospel of Luke, chapter 3, beginning at verse 15. Let me make a few comments about this passage, why it might have been important to Luke’s first readers, and finally, why it matters to us today. I’ll share a very personal and pivotal story about Brenda and me early on in our ministry, and then I will leave you with at least one very important job to do.
Luke 3:15-22 (23-38)We start with Luke 3:15-22. John the Baptist is at the Jordan River, “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He had made a name for himself, and the people recognized that something very powerful was going on. Luke 3:15 says that:
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
And then we are given a piece of the story that changes everything. John’s ministry is to be short lived, Luke tells us:
19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.
Only after Luke tells us what is going to happen to John the Baptist does he then tell us about the Baptism of Jesus. Do you supposed that Herod had already dispatched his troops to the wilderness to arrest John? Was Jesus part of the last group to be baptized by John that day—maybe ever? Did John see the men coming to arrest him? Was Jesus aware that he would never see his cousin again?
21When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
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Hello, Merry Christmas, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington. Faith is a beloved, affirming congregation of the ELCA, growing closer to and more like Jesus, making Christ known, for the sake of the world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for listening today.
Today’s Christmas Eve message focuses in on the promise of world peace. The prophets point to it. The angels sing about it. Peacemakers are blessed. The Spirit breathes a peace that passes understanding. And Jesus, the Bible says, IS our peace.
A message of peace, however, flies in the face of what is a rather unpeaceful time in an unpeaceful world among warring nations, tribes, and tongues, ideologies, economic priorities, and political preferences. The Bible itself is a history of conflict, enmity, strife, and division, and the course of human history remains largely unchanged. Or, as the saying went back in the 1950s: Life is just one damned thing after another.
Still, here we are. We gather on yet another Christmas Eve—masks and all. We recall again the story of a child in a manger, and a promise of peace on earth. And I think the Holy Spirit has a good word for us today. Please open your Bible to the story of the birth of Jesus as told in the gospel of Luke, chapter two, beginning at the first verse. Let’s start with a prayer:
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. Amen.
Luke 2:1-20In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and
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Here we are in the final stretch leading into Christmas. The halls are decked, the trees are trimmed, the presents are being handled with care by all the Fed Ex, Amazon, and UPS delivery folks. Local shops are greeting folks with hot apple cider and a smile (behind their masks, of course). Final menus and travel plans are in the works. Brenda and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. May this season be one filled with gratitude and grace, kindness and civility. And pie. Lots of pie.
And I hope you can visit some family or friends this Christmas season. I’ve taken the opportunity to do one last round of visits to some our homebound and more elderly members of Faith. They send their greetings to the rest of the congregation. I video recorded a few of them sharing their personal holiday hellos, and I’ve posted those on YouTube. I’ve added a link here with the podcast and at our website.
Today’s Gospel reading is about a visit that brings joy, support, and encouragement to both an old woman expecting her first baby, and a young woman facing an uncertain future. Let’s read and explore the story of two cousins, Elizabeth and Mary, recorded in Luke 1:39-56. The Holy Spirit does some cool stuff in the course of their visit together, cool stuff the Holy Spirit continues to do today. Let’s read the story, dig in a little deeper, then look at some really practical tips for when you visit others—during the holidays and beyond. Let’s pray:
Gracious God, your Son Jesus visited the earth at just the right time, for us and for our salvation. Your Holy Spirit brought Elizabeth and Mary together at just the right time for their mutual benefit. Send your Spirit now to visit us, and show us how we can visit others in Your name. Amen.
Luke 1:39-55At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.
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IntroductionHello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a beloved, affirming congregation of the ELCA, growing closer to and more like Jesus, for the sake of the world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Thanks for making this podcast part of your day.
Every once in a while, there is a song or hymn that captures the truth of a particular time or season. Take a listen to our own Emily Shane sing this haunting and hopeful Advent carol called “Each Winter as the Year Grows Older” (ELW 252):
Each winter as the year grows older,
we each grow older, too.
The chill sets in a little colder;
the verities we knew seem shaken and untrue.
When race and class cry out for treason,
when sirens call for war, they over shout the voice of reason and scream till we ignore all we held dear before.
Yet I believe beyond believing
that life can spring from death,
that growth can flower from our grieving,
that we can catch our breath
and turn transfixed by faith.
So even as the sun is turning
to journey to the north,
the living flame, in secret burning,
can kindle on the earth and bring God's love to birth.
O Child of ecstasy and sorrows,
O Prince of peace and pain,
brighten today's world by tomorrow's,
renew our lives again;
Lord Jesus, come and reign!
Text: William Gay, b. 1920, alt.
Text © 1971 United Church Press.
Spring is ComingThis is the 3rd Sunday in Advent, a four-week season in the church year leading up to Christmas. It marks a new year, it comes as we march into the long nights of the winter months, especially up here in the PNW. The general theme of Advent has to do with “getting ready” for the arrival of Christ the Lord. John the Baptist is a Bible character associated with Advent, known for his preaching in the wilderness: Prepare the Way of the Lord! We prepare for Christ’s arrival. We “get ready” for Christmas, recalling the events and prophesies that led up to the birth of Jesus 2000 years ago. And, of course, decking the halls, trimming the tree, and buying the presents.
We also “get ready” for Christ’s return to “judge the living and the dead.” We prepare our hearts to receive Christ into our lives now, and to be received by Christ on the last day. We look forward to the great Day of the Lord. If you ever saw the Game of Thrones, you know that the underlying warning was that “winter is coming!” But for Christians, Christ’s return means new life, light, and hope. For Christians, even as the days are short and the nights are long, Advent holds out the promise that “Spring is coming!” So today I’d like to reflect on each of the verses of this Advent hymn, then leave you with four takeaways and a blessing.
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There’s an old legend about an old rabbi approaching the city gate. The watchman calls out to him: Who are you, and what are you doing here?” The rabbi immediately asks the watchman how much he is paid to do his job, then offers him double to ask him those very questions every morning: Who are you, and what are you doing here? Today’s reading from the gospel of Mark reminds the church what its purpose and identity is: to tend faithfully to God’s mission until Christ comes again. What does that look like? Well, it might look a little bit different for different congregations. Faith Lutheran is working out a renewed statement of God’s mission and vision for this congregation. And that’s what I’ll be talking about today. If you are new to Faith, this might be a nice introduction to our culture and priorities. If you have been a part of Faith for a while, I hope this message accurately reflects who we are, and what we are doing here. Let us pray:
Energized by your amazing love, O God, we pray that we may be and become the people you are creating and calling us to be. Amen.
Mark 13:32-37The holy Gospel according to St Mark, the 13th chapter, beginning at verse 32:
“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”
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A preaching theme all this month is “Generous Living.” Christian stewardship, generosity, what the Bible says—and doesn’t say—about things like money and charity, tithing, and what following Jesus looks like regarding finances. Two readings from the Bible today. Four takeaways. First, a passage from 2 Corinthians 8, then a gospel reading from the end of Mark chapter 12. Let us pray:
We give Thee but Thine own, whate’er the gift may be; all that we have is Thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from thee. May we thy bounties thus as stewards true receive, and gladly, as thou blessest us, to Thee our first-fruits give.
2 Corinthians 8:1-9And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. 5 And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. 6 So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Mark 12:38-44The holy Gospel according to St Mark, the twelfth chapter, beginning at verse 38:
38 As he taught, Jesus said, “Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, 39 and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
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Jesus went to school. Do you ever think about that? What kind of student he might have been? What he would have learned? Today’s message looks at a Bible verse that Jesus would have memorized when he was a boy, something called the Shema. This Bible verse helps Jesus keep the main thing the main thing, even when things get really hard. The main thing, we’ll see, is love. By the end of this podcast, I hope you will experience God’s love for you, and how we can share that love with others. You might even learn some math. Please open a Bible to the gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verse 28. First, let us pray:
Rejoice, rejoice, take heart in the night, though dark the winter and cheerless, the rising sun shall crown you with light, be strong and loving and fearless. Love be our song and love our prayer and love our endless story; may God fill every day we share and bring us at last into glory. Amen (Awake, Awake, ELW 242, v.4).
Mark 12:28-34The holy Gospel according to St Mark, the twelfth chapter, beginning at verse 28:
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.
The gospel of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
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“Your faith has saved you.” This is one of the most powerful—and misunderstood—statements in the Bible. First of all, the word for salvation and health are the same. Does Jesus proclaim him “healed” or “saved?” Is there a difference? What is salvation, anyway? Saved from what? Saved for what?
What, exactly, is “faith,” and what does it have to do with salvation and healing? And was there something distinct about the faith of Bartimaeus—“YOUR faith”—that was remarkable? Why does one person get healed, when SO MANY others over the centuries—blind, dying, desperate—do not receive the healing?
These are huge questions, and I don’t pretend to know all the answers. But maybe today’s reading from Mark 10:46-52 can point us to the mercy of Jesus and the source of our hope. Let us pray: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. Amen.
Mark 10:46-52The holy Gospel according to St Mark, the tenth chapter, beginning at verse 46:
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” 50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
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This week we celebrate the baptism of James R., so my topic today is the gift and invitation of baptism. My sermon/podcast title is “Hi, My Name is Jesus, and I’ll be your Server today.” Turn to Mark 10:32-45, and we’ll start with a Baptism prayer written by Martin Luther.
Holy God, mighty Lord, gracious Father: We give you thanks, for in the beginning your Spirit moved over the waters and you created heaven and earth. By the gift of water you nourish and sustain us and all living things.
By the waters of the flood, you condemned the wicked and saved those you had chosen, Noah and his family. You led Israel by the pillar of cloud and fire through the sea, out of slavery into the freedom of the promised land. In the waters of the Jordan your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. By the baptism of his own death and resurrection your beloved Son has set us free from the bondage to sin and death, and has opened the way to the joy and freedom of everlasting life. He made water a sign of the kingdom and of cleansing and rebirth…
Pour out your Holy Spirit, so that those who are here baptized may be given new life. Wash away their sin and bring them forth as inheritors of your glorious kingdom. To you be given praise and honor and worship through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
Mark 10:32-45The holy Gospel according to St Mark, the tenth chapter, beginning at verse 32:
32 They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid. Again he took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. 33 “We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, 34 who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.”
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
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Today I’m going to talk about the Holy Spirit. And I’m going to talk about 20 minutes. The title of this sermon is “the gifts of the Spirit.” You’re going to need a Bible, as usual. You also will want to find some crayons or markers and some nice paper, as this podcast/sermon includes a drawing and coloring assignment. Let’s start with a paragraph from a primer on Christian faith called the Small Catechism, which has this to say about the Holy Spirit:
I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. Daily in this Christian church the Holy Spirit abundantly forgives all sins—mine and those of all believers. On the last day the Holy Spirit will raise me and all the dead and will give to me and all believers in Christ eternal life. This is most certainly true.
1 Corinthians 12:1-27And now a reading from 1 Corinthians 12. We’ll start with verses 1-11.
Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
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Today I’m going to talk about Jesus. And I’m going to talk about 20 minutes. The title of this sermon is “the cost of freedom,” and the readings today are from 1 Peter 1:18-23 and Mark 9:30-37. Please open your Bible to 1 Peter, and we’ll start there after we pray. This prayer is based on Martin Luther’s explanation of the 2nd article of the Apostles’ Creed in the Small Catechism:
O Jesus Christ, true God, Son of the Father from eternity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary—you are my Lord. At great cost you have saved and redeemed me, a lost and condemned person. You have freed me from sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with silver or gold, but with your holy and precious blood and innocent suffering and death. Thank you for doing all this that I may be your own, live under you in your kingdom, and serve you in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as you are risen from the dead and live and rule eternally. Amen.
1 Peter 1:18-23Now a reading from 1 Peter 1:18-23.
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Mark 9:30-37And the holy gospel according to St Mark, the 9th chapter, beginning at verse 30.
They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Genesis 1:1-2:3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creature
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This weekend Faith is not just going to church—we are BEING the church, engaging in a number of service projects throughout the day as we participate in something called “God’s Work, Our Hands” Sunday. “God’s work, our hands” happens to be a tag line of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of which this congregation is a member. We, the church, are called to participate in God’s mission, to join in on what God is doing in our neighborhoods and across the world. God’s work, our hands. Please open your Bible to John 6:1-13. We will read a story about God’s work and our hands: when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish, feeding the 5000.
John 6:1-13A reading from the gospel of John, the 6th chapter, beginning with the first verse:
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.
5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”
10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
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With school starting this week and conversations at Faith about Children and Youth Ministry staffing, it seems that God might be inviting us all to consider how God speaks to us at all ages and stages of life, and how we as a church family can encourage faith in children. I want to share a story about a boy named Sam, a story about a man named Jesus, and teach you all a spiritual exercise called the FAITH5. Please open your Bible to 1 Samuel 3:1-10.
1 Samuel 3:1-10Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.
2 At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; 3 the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” 5 and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. 6 The Lord called again, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”Click HERE for the FAITH5 Practices
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Uffda! What a rough week of news. Political refugees stuck in Afghanistan and stranded at our southern border. Wildfires in the west. Floods in the south. Killer bees and toxic algae and melting glaciers. COVID numbers roaring back with a fourth wave of new cases as Americans argue about whether vaccination is a civic duty or an attack on individual rights. Finger-pointing, cancel culture, yelling and blaming. It is exhausting. And depressing.
If only there was a way for Christians to withstand the onslaught of negativity, to rise above the pettiness, find hope and faith, and fight the real battle—the battle for our hearts. It turns out that Jesus, himself a political refugee, shows us the right way to fight the battle. Spoiler alert: the real enemy is not the person you think it is. Jesus shows us a different way. God’s way. And then the apostle Paul explains in more detail what Jesus modeled. We are going to look at two readings from the Bible. We will circle back around to Ephesians 6:10-20, but first, let’s start with the events just before the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Jesus. For this story, we turn to Luke 22:39-51.
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If you know me, you know that I’m a Bible junkie. I LOVE the Bible. I drink the stuff for breakfast. I’m nearing the end of another summer of reading the Bible in 90 Days. And let’s be honest: parts of the Bible smell funny. Sometimes the Bible says things that are out in left field, more than seven days past the expiration date printed on the carton. Take slavery, for instance. Please: take it away! Yet in today’s reading the Bible talks about slavery like it is no big deal. What do we do with that? Well, before we look at Ephesians 6:5-9, I want to review some basic tools for how we read the Bible, including “the smell test.” So grab your Bible, put on your thinking cap, and let’s begin with this beautiful prayer about God’s word in Psalm 119:
Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
131 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
132 Turn to me and have mercy on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;
let no sin rule over me.
134 Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may obey your precepts.
135 Make your face shine on your servant
and teach me your decrees. Amen.
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1 Kings 19:1-819 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Can you relate to Elijah? Are you ever worn out, at the end of your rope? Does life ever beat you up? You give your best, you begin to make a difference, a next thing you know you are being attacked. You begin to move forward in life, and then the skeletons in your closet trip you up. You overcome an obstacle only to face an even higher mountain. Sometimes the only prayer you can utter is lament: “Seriously, God? How much more can a person take?”
All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
In this story, God meets the tired prophet under the broom tree. An angel cooks him a hot lunch and hands him a bottle of water. Angel Take-out. Elijah eats, takes a nap, eats again, and is strengthened for the journey ahead.
Worship does that sometimes, doesn’t it? We go to church tired and hungry. We come away nourished, fed, refreshed. Sometimes it is the music, or the sermon, or the ritual of the liturgy, or the hug of a friend, or the chocolate chip cookie and cup of coffee.
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a Spirit-led, affirming, beloved congregation of the ELCA, growing closer to and more like Jesus, for the sake of the world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org.
Today’s message blends two different readings from the Bible. Each, in their own way, point us to the amazing grace of God and a call to a difficult but rewarding way of life: the way of Christ. We’ll start with a reading from the gospel of John, chapter 6, picking up the story in verse 24. I’ll break down this story a bit, then turn to the book of Ephesians, chapter 4. You might also want to take a look at the original story of manna in the wilderness in Exodus 16. I’ve included all three readings in my transcript, which you can access at the Will Preach for Food website. Let’s hear what God has to say, then I will leave you with some food for thought and a couple of takeaways.
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Ephesians 2: 8-228 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
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Bienvenidos a casa! Welcome home! It’s good to be home, literally. Brenda and I just returned from a couple of weeks in Costa Rica that included a week spent with Nicaraguan and Venezuelan refugees as part of a mission called Corner of Love. Today I’d like to share some stories of our experience there, and how these stories intersect with a troubling story of corruption and murder in the Bible. The bottom line is LOVE: The amazing love of Jesus and the call for us to love others: like Jesus. More than anything, I hope this podcast brings you encouragement and hope, no matter where you find yourself these days, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The Bible reading today is from the gospel of Mark 6:14-29, in which we hear the story of the political imprisonment and assassination of Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. This is PG-13 stuff, but provides important context for Jesus’ life and ministry.
Mark 6:12-2912 [The disciples of Jesus] went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.”
And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, 20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.
21 Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25 At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 On hearing
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Thanks for tuning in today. We are a Spirit-led, beloved, affirming community of Faith growing closer to and more like Jesus, for the sake of the world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org.
Happy Father’s Day! So let’s read about a fishing trip, use a tennis analogy, and start with a golfing joke. Years ago my college roommate Jake and I were out golfing one summer afternoon outside of Greeley, Colorado. The front range is famous for late afternoon storms that bring wind, rain, hail, and lightning. As the storm quickly blew in, other golfers scurried into the clubhouse, but Jake kept on going, calmly walking the course, carrying an iron over his shoulder. It’s a one iron, he told me, and even God can’t hit a one iron.
Grab your Bible, turn to Mark 4:35-41, and let’s read a fishing story—this one also involves a storm.
Mark 4:35-4135 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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Today’s podcast begins with a reading from Mark 4:26-29, a parable of Jesus that gives us a snapshot of the kingdom of God. I came up with four interpretations of this brief parable, and each one offers a unique insight into God power, God’s promise for you, and God’s purpose for your life. I will leave you with a couple of takeaways for your week ahead. I hope you have your Bible handy, because in addition to reading this parable from Mark 4, I am going to refer to a number of other passages from the Bible for you and your family to look up, study, and reflect upon. Please open your Bible now to the 4th chapter of Mark, verse 26, as we invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us today in the Word: Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Amen.
Mark 4:26-3226 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
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The Children are Worth ItOur family was living in Enumclaw, just up the road from here, toward Mt Rainier. Our old Kirby vacuum cleaner, which we had bought used in Williston, North Dakota, was needing a tune-up and some new bags and belts. The closest Kirby store was in Auburn, so we dropped off our Kirby one day, and I returned a week later to pick it up. I arrived at the store. The attendant was in the back. There was a Bible open on the store counter next to the register. The woman came out from the back. I handed her the ticket, she produced our shiny refurbished Kirby vacuum cleaner with a fresh supply of bags and belts. I pay the bill. As I am ready to walk out the door with merchandise in hand, the woman called out to me and said: “God wants me to tell you that ‘the children are worth it.’”
Romans 8:22-28Now, let’s read from the book of Romans, chapter 8, beginning at verse 22.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
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When it comes to looking for Jesus, where do we start? The last place we saw him? Or where the lighting is best? Today is the story of the Ascension of our Lord in Acts 1, and the story invites us to wonder and recall that Jesus is “up there,” but also “out there,” and “in here.” So let’s go looking for Jesus, shall we? Grab your Bible. We begin with a reading from Acts chapter 1.
Acts 1:1-11In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”Into my heart, into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus.
Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Amen.
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Spring is a time for gardening and working on the yard. The azaleas and dogwoods and and rhodies are blooming all over town. Shelton is beautiful this time of year. Brenda may be the one with the green thumb in our family, but I do stuff, too. I’m good at mowing, digging large holes, pruning, and writing checks to the nursery.
The Bible says that God likes gardening, too. Genesis 2:8-9 says that God planted a garden east of Eden, planting all kinds of trees and bushes that were “pleasing to the eye and good for food.” In today’s Bible reading, Jesus tells us that the One who sent him is like a faithful farmer, a good gardener. He compares himself to a Vine, and claims that you and me are mini versions of the Divine Vine, planted and cultivated to bear good fruit. Let’s dig into this Biblical metaphor and see what kind of fruit we can glean for our lives today. Grab a Bible, turn to John 15:1-8.
God, let our hearts be good soil, open to the seed of your word. Amen.
John 15:1-8“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
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I believe in miracles, and I want you to believe in miracles, too. And I’m not talking about the “Mariners going to the World Series” genre of miracles, though that would be something! No, I’m talking about real miracles: divinely initiated interventions that favorably alter reality, demonstrating the mercy of God and furthering God’s mission in the world today.
Today's message is about miracles--one that happened 2000 years ago, and the miracles that happen today.
"Equally Blessed" is the latest video from Pete and Jana Gedde, aka "Piggy Productions."
Acts 2:46-3:1046 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
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Christ is risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!
Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, the pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Thanks for making this podcast part of your day, and Happy Easter! Today, Easter Sunday marks the anniversary of the empty tomb, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Kind of a big deal for the Christian Church, and, more importantly, for all of humanity and the whole friggin’ universe. The empty tomb signals the victory of God over sin, death, and the devil. My title for this podcast is “Jesus and the Big Floppy Hat.” I hope today’s message is encouraging, informative, mildly entertaining, and that you walk away with a deeper faith and some good stuff to think about in the week ahead.
John 20
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
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This week, what the church calls “Holy Week,” recalls the events of the last days of Jesus, from his entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) to his death on Friday and resurrection on Easter Sunday morning. Today’s podcast topic is the death of Jesus, the events that took place on that Friday, why it happened, and who is responsible for his death.
Mark 15:1-20Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, 10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
16 The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
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A message for the 4th Sunday in Lent, also continuing a series through the 10 Commandments.
Ephesians 2:1-10As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
The Eighth CommandmentYou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we do not tell lies about our neighbors, betray or slander them, or destroy their reputations. Instead, we are to come to their defense, speak well of them, and interpret everything they do in the best possible light.
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The Seventh Commandment goes like this:
You shall not steal. What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither take our neighbors’ money or property nor acquire them by using shoddy merchandise or crooked deals, but instead help them to improve and protect their property and income.
You shall not steal, the Bible says. This has to do with how we do business with our neighbors, how we relate to God, and how we steward the resources which God has given us. And there is a gospel story about Jesus in the Temple that gives us a glimpse of how Jesus applies this commandment. I’ll leave you with seven brief takeaways for how we apply this commandment to our lives today. We begin with a reading from the gospel of John, the 2nd chapter, beginning at the 13th verse. This is the gospel reading designated for this, the 3rd Sunday in Lent.
John 2:13-2213 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
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The Sixth CommandmentYou shall not commit adultery.
What is this? or What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we lead pure and decent lives in word and deed, and each of us loves and honors his or her spouse.
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This podcast was originally recorded for the first Sunday in Lent, February 21, 2021. It is part of a series on the Ten Commandments.
The Fifth CommandmentYou shall not murder.
What is this? or What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither endanger nor harm the lives of our neighbors, but instead help and support them in all of life’s needs.
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This is the fourth podcast/sermon in a series on the Ten Commandments. Today we are looking at the 4th Commandment: Honor your father and your mother. They say that this is the hardest commandment for children, while the hardest one for parents is the 5th: Thou shalt not kill! Kidding aside, I think we make a mistake if we reduce this commandment to telling children to be “good little boys and girls.” The fourth commandment puts human relationships at the center of our faith and practice. How we treat one another matters. Whether we honor one another matters. And it starts with the most intimate and fundamental of all relationships: daughters and fathers, mothers and sons.
Let’s look at what the Small Catechism says about the fourth commandment, and specifically consider the vocation or “office” of parenting. And then we’ll look at how this commandment plays out in the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, a story recorded in the gospel of Mark 9:2-8. You know that I will some leave you with some takeaways, and there is a FAITH5 handout as well as Small Catechism resources available at our website, www.faithshelton.org. I’ll start with the reading of the gospel of Mark, chapter 9.
Mark 9:2-82 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
Fourth CommandmentHonor your father and your mother.
What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we neither despise nor anger our parents and others in authority, but instead honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them.
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This is the third podcast/sermon in a series on the Ten Commandments. Today we are looking at the 3rd Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. Sabbath is a pretty big deal in the Bible, so we’ll start with exploring what the Sabbath is and why God gives it to us. We’ll take a look at the Small Catechism, too. And then we’ll consider what Sabbath-keeping means for us today—including what COVID-19 is teaching us about work and sabbath rest. There will be some takeaways, and there is a FAITH5 handout as well as Small Catechism resources available at our website, www.faithshelton.org.
Third Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Third Commandment (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, [as the Lord your God has commanded you]. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor [your ox, your donkey or] any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, [so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do]. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
The Third Commandment (Small Catechism)Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
What does this mean?
We are to fear and love God, so that we do not despise preaching or God’s word, but instead keep that word holy and gladly hear and learn it.
Bonus: I highly recommend a book entitled: Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives, by Wayne Muller (Bantam, 2000).
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Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington and a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is a beloved, inclusive community striving to grow closer to and more like Jesus, for the sake of the world. Thanks for making this podcast part of your day.
We’ve just begun a series on the Ten Commandments. So, whether the Ten Commandments makes you think of Charlton Heston, Mel Brooks, or Larry the Cucumber, please open your Small Catechism to the first part: The Ten Commandments. Today we are looking at #2: You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. I’m going to lift up three ways we honor the second commandment: We SPEAK God’s name for worship. We BEAR God’s name in our very existence as people of Faith. We GLORIFY God’s name when we participate in God’s mission and purposes. There will be some takeaways, and there is a FAITH5 handout as well as Small Catechism resources available at our website, www.faithshelton.org.
Exodus 20:7
Colossians 3:16-17
Isaiah 58
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A message for the third Sunday in Epiphany, January 24, 2021. This is the first in a series of sermons based on the Small Catechism and the Ten Commandments. More resources are available at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Go to the "By Heart" page in the Resource Center.
Exodus 20:1-620 And God spoke all these words: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We are to fear, love, and trust God above all things.
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Rev. Brenda Satrum is Pastor for Spiritual Formation at Faith Lutheran Church, Shelton, WA. In today's message, Pastor Brenda gives an overview of the "FAITH 5" practices for faith and discipleship in our homes and hearts: Share. Read. Talk. Pray. Bless.
Go to www.faithshelton.org for more FAITH 5 discipleship and spiritual growth resources.
For the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, January 17, 2021.
Psalm 139
1 Samuel 3:1-10
John 1:43-51
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
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Baptism of our Lord
Sunday, January 10, 2021
Ezekiel 22:23-30
Mark 1:4-13
Like most all of you, I watched the events that unfolded in Washington DC on Wednesday. I’ve prayed and wondered about how we as Faith Lutheran and I as your pastor should respond. Today’s message is going to look at the problem of sin and God’s remedy for sin. I’ll also tell you what I think it means to “stand in the gap,” and at least one way we can work toward unity and peace. May the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart be acceptable to You, O God, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.
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A sermon for Sunday, January 3, 2021, the 2nd Sunday after Christmas.
Based on 2 Timothy 3:14-4:8
Who are some people who taught you the most about life or faith? Maybe it is a parent. Maybe a boss, a teacher, or an AA sponsor. Someone who took an interest in you. Someone who invested in you, helped you become the person you are today. I look back on my brother and my parents for sure. I think about Carlos at McDonalds and Jane at Marcus Daly Hospice. I’m grateful to teachers and professors and wise members of congregations who took time for me. The Bible includes a relationship like this: the Apostle Paul and his protégé, Timothy. Please open your Bible to 2 Timothy 3, beginning at verse 14. Today I want to spend some time looking at what Paul says—and does—to mentor Timothy in the faith. I’ll leave you with 3 or4 takeaways to apply this teaching to life in 2021.
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A message for the people of Faith on Christmas Eve.
Luke 2:1-24
O God, our loving Father, help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the Angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.
Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Deliver us from evil by the blessing
That Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.
May the Christmas morning make us happy to be thy children and the Christmas Evening bring us to our beds with Grateful thoughts, forgiving, and forgiven, for Jesus’s sake. Amen.
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This podcast is my sermon for December 20, 2020, the 4th Sunday in Advent (for those of you keeping score at home).
Reading: John 1:1-14
Takeaways:
Unplug
Tune In
Reach Out
Keep Shining
Merry Christmas!
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A sermon about Biblical principles of giving for the third Sunday in Advent.
Matthew 2:1-15
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Five types of giving in the Bible:
Tithing
Offerings
Almsgiving
Wealth Management
Debt Reduction
For more worship and study resources, go to www.faithshelton.org
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Sermon for the Second Sunday in Advent.
Text: Mark 1:1-8
"Some 2000 years ago a man named John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah of the world. His words and example continue to call new generations to repent, reform, and renew their faith in preparation for the King, Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah of the world. Today I want to tell you a bit more about John the Baptist, his message, his martyrdom, and his relevance for us today. I want to leave you with four ideas about how you can prepare a way for God to be real in your life, and how you can be more like John the Baptist. You won’t have to eat bugs to do it—unless, of course, you are into that sort of thing."
Just for fun: Rent or download the 1973 movie version of the musical Godspell...
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This has been a LONG year! As daylight saving time was ending a couple of weeks ago, I saw someone suggest that we set our clocks forward—all the way ahead to 2021! Well, I have some good news for you. There is a centuries old tradition in the Christian church that the new year starts on the 1st Sunday in Advent, which is TODAY! So WOOHOO! Happy New Year, everyone! Today we are invited to start the new year on the right foot. It starts with turning to God to restore us, get us back on track, to shine upon us, and light the way. We’ll start with two readings from the Bible, Psalm 80 and Mark 13. I’ll leave you with at least three takeaways. And I’ll even throw in a story about the time Brenda and I committed voter fraud back in 1996. First, let’s pray…
Restore us, Yahweh, God of the Angel Armies; shine your face upon us that we may be saved. Amen.
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In some countries, government departments are called “Ministries:” Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education, etc. What if we use this idea to understand ourselves (the Church) as “The Ministry of Reconciliation?” Our King, Jesus, under the authority of God the Father, has appointed the Holy Spirit as Director of the Department of Reconciliation. The people of God, the Church, are public servants, employed by the Department. In our work, we are given these four operating principles:
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The “Ephesians 2 Principle.” In Ephesians 2, Paul is writing to a congregation that saw itself as being two distinct groups: the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians. Paul tells them to get over it. Jesus had broken down the dividing wall of hostility. Jesus was their unity now. This department is strictly non-partisan.
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The “Eighth Commandment Principle.” One of the most helpful tools we have in our Lutheran Christian tradition is Martin Luther’s explanation of the 8th Commandment. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” is the command. What Luther teaches is that “we are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbors. Rather, we should defend them, speak well of them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.” It is department policy that we assume the best in others.
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The “Matthew 5 Principle” says “Go first.” If you are on your way to church and you realize that your brother or sister has something against you, turn around, be reconciled first. Department of Reconciliation employees are expected to take the first step toward healing and restoring peace: extend the olive branch, confess the sin, make the apology, ask forgiveness.
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The “AFAIDOY Principle” (Romans 12). Government agencies love acronyms. This one is from Romans 12:18, which says: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (As far as it depends on you). Reconciliation takes two. Relationships cannot be fixed by force or force of will. When efforts of reconciliation are met with resistance, department policy recommends repeating steps 1-3 (see above).
--Rev. Doug Peterson, Shelton Branch Manager, Department of Reconciliation
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This podcast is for Sunday, November 15. The Bible text is Matthew 25:14-30.
Today's message addresses the fundamental question: Why are we here?
An excerpt from today's podcast:
"What we do today, how we spend our time, where I invest my energy and resources, are all stewardship questions. How we raise our kids, the ways we participate in community life, and whether we recycle, these are also stewardship questions. The very first command God gave to Eve and Adam was to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and take care of it. Jesus’ last instructions to his followers was to be stewards of the Gospel: Go, make disciples of all nations…and lo, I am with you always, Jesus says.
God trusts us. God is generous. When we steward God’s gifts with generosity and trust, with joy and confidence, we participate in what God is doing and we become more like Jesus! Stewardship is blessing, not a burden. God’s gifts are meant to be spread out and shared, not hidden and protected. And God’s gifts are potent, powerful, effective, resilient. "
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Today’s podcast is a Confirmation sermon in honor of a young member of Faith, Jacob Miller. Confirmation is a tradition in the Lutheran church that has to do with coming of age, assuming greater responsibility in the life of the church, completing catechetical studies, and affirming one’s baptism. And to understand this sermon, you also need to know that Jacob is an avid bird-watcher. He tells me that he has spotted over a hundred different species of birds over the years, many of them at Skokomish Valley Farms, where he farms with his family.
I personally know very little about ornithology, in fact, I had to google “bird science” to get the word “ornithology.” When it comes to sighting birds in a field, I am not much use. But when it comes to citing Bible verses ABOUT birds, well, that is right up my alley. So what follows is a sermon about birds and faith.
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Today's message recalls Jesus' teaching of the greatest commandment: Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
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Today’s sermon title and topic comes from Philippians 3. We’re also going to spend some time with the story of the apostle Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. I’ll leave you with a few takeaways and tools. As always, a transcript of this podcast, as well as worship and study resources are available at our website, www.faithshelton.org. Before we dive in, let us pray:
God, you have made each one of us, and you know us better than we know ourselves. You know our passions, our hopes, our fears. Open our hearts and ears to listen to your word today. We anticipate and trust that you will give us what we need to hear to direct our passions, realize our hopes, and overcome our fears. Come, Holy Spirit! Amen.
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Today a couple from our congregation is celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary. Woohoo! They give some advice for keeping a marriage strong. The Bible also has some things to say about marriage, and about our lives together as husbands and wives, parents and children, church members and citizens. Please grab a Bible, and first we’re going to look at Matthew 19:1-10, when Jesus gets quizzed about divorce. Then we’re going to turn to Philippians 2, one of my favorite passages in the Bible as it clearly describes what God is like, and how we are called to live in God’s name. I’ll leave you with a few takeaways and tools for healthier relationships.
--Pastor Doug
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Today I sit down with Rev. Terry Oliver to discuss the topic of grief and loss.
Terry has a passion and gift for bereavement ministry that stems from his own personal experience of loss combined with decades of pastoral care. My years as a hospice chaplain, working with dying patients and their families, taught me to appreciate the sacred space and grace that one enters when grieving, and when coming alongside those who grieve.
Usually I promise to talk about Jesus and talk about twenty minutes. Well, this podcast runs closer to a half hour, but I think you’ll find Terry’s insights more than worth your time.
(Sorry, no transcript of this episode!)
John 11:32-3732 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”
The Grief Share Open House is this Thursday, September 24, from 1 to 3pm at Faith Lutheran, 1212 Connection Street in Shelton. Go to the North Entrance, and of course please wear a mask and observe all the social distancing protocols. The Grief Share classes will start in October and run through mid-December.
For more information about Grief Share or other ministries of Faith, you can go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. You can also listen to or subscribe to this podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other way you listen to podcasts. Thank you for your ongoing financial support—our online giving option was having a glitch last week, but we should have that up and running by now.
And if this message has touched your heart or helped you recognize and unresolved loss or grief in your life, contact the church office, or email welcomehome@faithshelton.org, and a member of the pastoral staff will contact you to offer prayer, support, and compassion.
BenedictionTerry alluded to a Bible verse that seems like a good way to end today’s podcast, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Amen.
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In today's message, God invites us to consider the formula for forgiveness, the calculus of mercy. How many times should I forgive my neighbor? The answer might surprise you!
Readings: Matthew 18:21-35, Psalm 103:1-14; Romans 14:1-13; Hebrews 4:16
See the transcript for additional readings and references, or go to our website, www.faithshelton.org.
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In today's podcast, Doug walks us through Romans 12:9-18, where we discover not only a "to do" list of Christian love, but also a path to understanding and receiving the mercy of God.
Study Guide: For the Love of God
Romans 12:9-189 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
(Here ends the reading.)
Belonging…to God and to one another1. What are some core values and beliefs of an organization that you belong to? Do you think it is important for an organization to define expectations of its members? Why or Why not?
- Make a list of 5-8 core values that you think reflect the mission of the Church in general, or of Faith Lutheran in particular. Why did you pick these? How well do you live up to these in your life?
Becoming…more like and closer to Jesus1. What would you say were the core values and behaviors that Jesus taught and lived in his ministry? Are any of these different from those of the Church?
- Read through today’s passage, Romans 12:9-18. Which words or phrases catch your attention?
a. What is a behavior he lists that is easy or natural for you? How is the Spirit inviting you to grow in that behavior this week?
b. What is a behavior he lists that is difficult for you? How is the Spirit inviting you to receive God’s mercy through this realization?
- Do you prefer mercy or merit badges? Spend some time with God, letting go of your check lists, leaning on the gift of God instead.
Blessing…my neighbor, my community, my world1. Make a prayer list this week. Include any teachers, school-age children and their parents, and anyone who attends, works for, or works with a school. Ask God—and then ask an educator—how you can help.
- This week when you go out or pick up take out, leave double the tip you usually give. Don’t tell anyone.
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How can God's people worship during a pandemic without exposing vulnerable neighbors to the threat of COVID-19? How should Christians respond to restrictive measures, like facemasks, social distancing, and limiting indoor worship events? The Bible is full of stories about how God's people worship in extraordinary circumstances--like exile, or slavery, or even a pandemic! In today's podcast I offer a broad, biblically view of worship: the offering our whole selves as a living sacrifice, not just for an hour on Sundays, but all 168 hours in the week.
"What do you think about churches worshiping together in public during COVID-19?"
Key Bible Passages:
Psalm 150, Romans 12
Four ways to worship during COVID-19:
1. In the home (Deuteronomy 6)
2. In your neighborhood (Jeremiah 29)
3. In a small group (Matthew 18)
4. Serving the poor (Matthew 25, James 1)
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This week Rev. Brenda Satrum shares a message about the joys and struggles of marriage.
To practice at home and away:
You/your marriage is a gift: Say early and often, "Wow! God gave me you."
Your marriage/relationship is a choice: The cup/quaich conversation.
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Choose a cup (or Celtic quaich) and a place to put it as an invitation to talk.
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Find a time that's free of interruption and with good energy.
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Read and pray Colossians 3:1-17 or another awesome passage.
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In the Spirit of Christ, lean in and listen, speak, and do your work.
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If you need further help, talk to wise friends, a pastor, or a counselor.
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Drink to your peace with a beverage that's a treat for you both.
Your marriage/way of life is a container to grow in: The cross.
Display a cross that invites you to see your life and relationships as a movement in relation to receive the love of God and to share love with others as Christ did and does.
Bio:
Pastor Brenda is a native of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where her family still farms hazelnuts. She was raised in the steady love of the Lutheran tradition and gladly dove deep when she married Doug and followed him to seminary. She and pastor Doug Peterson enjoy their two grown kids, both flown and out-of-state, their fluffy Aussie dog, good food, peaks and passes, and living over Shelton's Oakland bay.
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This podcast is a 20 minute "primer" on Baptism in the Christian church: what it is, why we do it, and what it means for daily life.
Matthew 3:13-4:1
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Excerpt from today's message:
"Simply put, Baptism is the beginning of the Christian life. This includes the reality of sin, temptation, struggles, doubts, and wilderness. This includes the messiness of Christian community—what do you expect when you take a bunch of forgiven sinners and put them all in one place? This includes the blessed assurance of the presence of God, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the unconditional love of the God who created you and all living things."Two little books about Baptism I recommend, both by Rev. Daniel Erlander.
Let the Children Come: A Baptism Manual for ParentsWater Washed and Spirit Born: A Baptism Manual for Youth and AdultsYou can also download Luther's Small Catechism as a free app for your phone or tablet. I recommend the one from Augsburg Fortress (the one with a white leafy branch on a burgundy background).
Study Guide
Faith Website
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The Bible says that the life and character of Jesus is itself the clearest, best revelation of who God is, what God is like. One of the authors of the Bible describes Jesus as “the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of God’s being” (Hebrews 1:3). And then Jesus also tells stories about what God is like, called parables. Matthew 13 records eight of these parables—intended to describe what he calls the kingdom of heaven.
In Part One of this series we looked at the first parable: one in which Jesus compares God to a farmer. He invites us to trust God and what God’s seed is doing in the world, and to cultivate lives of faith.
Last week in Part Two we explored three more parables: Weeds, Seeds, and Yeast. The stories point to a God who is already at work in all corners of the world, whose Spirit is often hidden but always present. The parables also warn us of an enemy who sows deceit and sometimes obscures our perception of God. God is patient and forgiving and just. And we also ought to exercise patience and forgiveness.
Today we are going to look at the last four parables in Matthew 13, recorded in verses 44-52. I’ll give you a little bit of background about the phrase: kingdom of heaven, then a little lesson in semantics and grammar. I hope by the time we’re done that you will have a clearer, deeper sense of how you fit in God’s creation and in your community. I hope I can give you some tools and pathways for growing in faith. And I hope you come away inspired to find ways to bless, encourage, and help others.
--Doug
Takeaways
Belonging to and with one another in Christ.
Reflect this week on Matthew 13:44-46. Consider that YOU are the pearl, YOU are the treasure, YOU are the one with whom God is pursuing a love relationship that is real and personal. How does it impact your life to know that you matter to God? Receive God’s devotion and faithful promise. Say “yes.”
Becoming more like and closer to Jesus.
Reflect this week on Matthew 13:52. Think about old and new treasures. Recall something “old”—something (or someone) that used to strengthen or encourage your relationship with God—a prayer, an old hymn, a Bible verse, a picture, maybe a friend, a family member, or pastor. Pull it out of the proverbial closet see how God might want you to share it with someone else.
Or consider something “new.” Is there a practice, a technology, a book, an idea, a new song or new Bible verse that the Spirit is inviting you to adopt or practice in order to grow more like or closer to Jesus?
Blessing others, for the sake of the world and the glory of God.
Text three people right now and tell them that they matter: to you and to God. That you love them. That God loves them. Quote Bob the Tomato: “God made you special and loves you very much.”
Hold those three people in your prayers this week, asking God to bless them and reveal His love to them in ways that are real and personal.
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Today's podcast is the second of a three week series on Matthew 13. Last week we began asking the question: What is God like? And how can we know?
The Bible tells us that Jesus is everything we need to know about God AND about being human. So we can know what God is like by reading, not only stories about Jesus, but also by the stories Jesus told: parables. And Matthew 13 has eight of these parables all packed into a few verses.
Last week we looked at verses 1-23, including one of Jesus’ more well-known parables—the one that compares God to a Farmer who plants in rocky soil, thorny soil, and good soil. We also looked at the nature of parables themselves, and why Jesus might have chosen this format to teach what God is like. And we looked at some of the layers of understanding that parables draw out—how to be better soil, maybe; but also how to ask better questions, and how to recognize God at work all around us.
*Today we are going to look at three more parables in Matthew 13:24-43. As we open ourselves to these parables, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will plant and nurture seeds of faith and love in your heart. That you will experience and come to know more deeply the God who created you, who loves you, and made you on purpose, for a purpose.
--Doug*
Faith Shelton website
What God is Like, Part 2 (Matthew 13) Study Guide
BibleMatthew 13:24-43
· What word, phrase, or idea captures your attention?
· What is one thing you would like to ask a biblical scholar about this passage?
· What is God inviting you to do in response to this reading today?
Galatians 5:22
· Which fruit of the Spirit is easiest for you? Hardest? Why?
Belonging· Based on what you have read in Matthew 13, write down three words to describe what God is like. Do any of these surprise you?
Becoming· Read Galatians 5:22. List the eight fruits of the Spirit. Circle the one that is easiest for you. Underline the one that is hardest for you right now.
· Think about ways to nurture the fruit that is easiest for you. Invite the Holy Spirit to strengthen and grow this fruit even more.
· What are some weeds in your life right now? Are these weeds something you think you need to root out right now, or are they weeds that you need to “aphe,” (forgive), leave alone for now, focusing instead on what the Spirit is growing in you?
· What percentage of your energy is being spent paying attention to weeds versus growing in God’s field? What would it look like to shift that percentage more toward the later?
Blessing· How can you share, offer, encourage others this week with your fruit of the Spirit?
· Is the Spirit inviting you to forgive someone?
· Pray for our schools, teachers, and students as we all try to figure out what education in a time of pandemic looks like. Think about ways that you or a group you are part of can support or encourage parents, families, and teachers.
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Today's podcast is the first of a three part series focusing the parables of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus tells in Matthew 13.
"The gospel hope we have today in a time of unemployment, political gridlock, pandemic, and racial unrest is what Jesus calls the kingdom of heaven. These parables point to a God who is good. The whole world is created by and cared for by God. A God who is prodigal and patient, passionate and persistent, a God who is hidden and revealed, a God whose mercy and mission simply cannot and will not fail to bear fruit. In you. In me."
For Discussion and Action
Belong
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Where are you in this parable? Do you identify with one of the soils? Which one? How does it make you feel to know that God has planted God’s kingdom in your heart? That God loves you and believes in you no matter how dry or tangled or crazy your life feels today?
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Think about the picture of God that Jesus presents in this parable. How would YOU describe this God? Is this different than the picture of God that you have had in your mind previously? Does that change how you feel about God? In what ways?
Become
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How would you describe the quality or state of the soil of your heart? Barren? Rocky? Dry? Muddy? Thorn-infested? Ready and open for planting? What is one thing you want to change about your soil/life to better receive the kingdom of God and allow God’s word to grow and bear fruit in your life?
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Think about our nation these days: how would you describe the state of our national heart? Based on this parable, what do you think God is doing in the world today?
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How are the crises of 2020—the pandemic, the racial protests, the political dysfunction, the economic downturn—how are these impacting your soil? How do these influences make faith harder? How do these influences help your faith grow?
Bless
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What do you think God has planted in your heart? For what purpose do you think God has planted you in this world, here and now? What are ways that you feel like you’ve “produced a harvest” over your lifetime? Ask family members, friends, or co-workers to share what they have seen God accomplish through you.
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Plant a seed of faith and encouragement: Tell at least one other person this week about how their life of faith has blessed you, and thank them. Even better, write them a note.
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Feed the hungry. Farmers plant seeds to grow and bear fruit so that people can eat. Make an extra donation to Community Lifeline, volunteer with Saints’ Pantry, plant a garden, buy a gift card from a local restaurant, or make a grab and go bag, and give it to someone on the street.
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Summary
Today's podcast explores two stories from the Bible. In one, St. Paul confronts a group of early Christians concerning their reliance on themselves instead of Christ. In the other, Jesus speaks to the crowds of our responsibilities to God and to each other. Through the unique lens of a prison congregation and its worship team, we explore how these lessons still speak to us today.
Galatians 3:1-14
Bio
Established in 2006, Living Stones Prison Congregation is a ministry of the ELCA operating "behind the walls" of the Washington Corrections Center (Shelton). Pastor Chris Ode spends his time ministering directly to the members of the congregation, developing reentry resources and opportunities, and sharing stories from "the inside" with outside congregations and community groups. He lives happily with the funniest woman on earth, two inquisitive young children, and a pair of loyal - but dense - Labrador Retrievers. In his spare time, he produces and performs with a local theatre and film company. Learn more about Living Stones at livingstonesprisoncongregation.com
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"The Gospel is that Jesus came to set us free from sin and death, by uniting us with him in his own death and resurrection, so that we might walk in the perfect freedom of the God who created us, loves us, and has a purpose for our lives. Baptism is a sign of God’s promise, the waters through which we pass from slavery into freedom."In today's podcast, we look at what the Bible says about sin and freedom. Sin is a slave owner, the Bible says, and thus is in opposition to God and God's creation. The Bible story is one where God is always opposed to slavery of any kind. Through the story of the Exodus, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, and our own history of slavery in America, we see how God is always working to set people free, inviting us to join God in the fight for liberty and justice for all.
Takeaways:
- Remember your Baptism.
- Guard your Freedom
- Champion Liberty and Justice for All
Faith Lutheran Website
Readings:
John 8:31-36
Exodus 12-14
Romans 6:1-18
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
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Today's podcast explores two stories from the Bible. In one, a man faces a crisis of faith, and finds the courage to do the right thing. In the other, Jesus sends his disciples on a field trip to experience the healing power of God, and learn compassion, too. As our nation faces a crisis of faith around race and justice, the people of God are compelled wrestle with it, lead with a limp, and learn to stand firm in the faithfulness of God.
And to the Class of 2020, today's word calls on the next generation to take on the challenges facing our planet, led and equipped by the same power of the Spirit Jesus gave his first followers.
Faith Shelton website
Readings:
Genesis 32:22-31
32:22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
Matthew 9:35-10:89:35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
10:1 Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
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Today's podcast takes on the sin of racism. Instead of pointing the finger at others, this podcast challenges you to look in the mirror, see your own sin, own it, release it to God, and get about the hard work of repentance, restoration, and reconciliation of every child of God, regardless of skin color.
"Jesus, the Son of God, was profiled and targeted by the government, by the press, and by religious leaders who then sent law enforcement officers to beat him to the brink of death then nail him to a cross. Crucifixion kills a person by slowly preventing them from being able to take breath. With a loud cry: “I can’t breathe!” Jesus went limp and died (see Mark 15:37).
How many times do I need to witness the crucifixion before my heart finally breaks?"For more information about Faith, visit our website: www.faithshelton.org
For a thoughtful and heartfelt read about race, gender, and church, I recommend:Dear Church, by Lenny Duncan (Fortress Press, 2019).
Genesis 4:1-9:4 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
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The Holy Spirit gathers, scatters, leads, and equips the people of Faith. We ARE the body of Christ, and each one of us manifests the power and love of God in our own unique ways, just like every part of the body each doing its "thing," to make the body complete, healthy, and mature. You are a vital member of the body, and God has equipped YOU to bless others, belong to a community of faith, and help you grow closer to and more like Jesus. This podcast explores a Biblical understanding of the Holy Spirit, and encourages you to trust, follow, and reveal the Holy Spirit at work in your life, and in the people around you.
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your Spirit is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This message was presented for Pentecost Sunday, May 31, 2020.
Faith Shelton Worship Resources
Readings:
Acts 2:1-4, 41-47; 8:1-4
John 20:21-22
1 Corinthians 12:1-12, 27
12:4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.
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"Life on planet earth presents everyone of us, in every generation, with challenges, crises, battles, and 'fiery ordeals' that both reveal and shape our character." Today's message wonders what God is up to, and what happens when we lean into and face challenges head on. We hear advice from the apostle Peter, and recall the story of Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo in the book of Daniel, chapter 3.
Today's podcast is a message for Sunday, May 24, 2020, the seventh Sunday of Easter, and Memorial Day weekend.
Takeaways:
Don't be surprised by trials
Be humble
God is gracious
Readings (see transcript):
1 Peter 4:12-13; 5:5-11
Daniel 3:1-30
Faith Shelton Worship Resources
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Today's message lifts up the power of the gospel to bring meaning and hope to every person, regardless of race, gender, or age. I've enlisted the help of my friend Katrina to give voice to a woman named Damaris, a young Roman woman who became a follower of Jesus. She is named in Acts 17:34. This message is for Sunday, May 17th, the 6th Sunday in Easter. (Also Norwegian Constitution Day!)
If you would like to learn more about life in 1st century Rome, I recommend a book by UW sociologist Rodney Stark, entitled The Rise of Christianity.Other links:
www.faithshelton.org
Faith Shelton Worship Cafe (YouTube)
Sunday School materials for 5/17/20
Acts 17:(16-21) 22-34
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[a] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[b]
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
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A sermon for the 4th Sunday in Easter
May 3rd, 2020
Jesus is the Good Shepherd; we are his sheep. When Jesus speaks, his words inspire confidence, trust, rest, courage, and peace. I pray that you hear the voice of God through this podcast, to help you navigate life and filter out the negative voices all around us.
Worship Resources
Sunday School Resources
Website
Bible References:
John 10:1-10
Other scripture:
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).
This is what God says: I have called you by name, and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you (Isaiah 43).
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8).
Rejoice in the Lord always. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I can do all things through the one who gives me strength (Philippians 4).
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13).
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth (1 John 3)
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil; for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever (Psalm 23).
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The Holy Spirit is everywhere, creating, equipping, and leading people into new life, freedom, and salvation. Sometimes we get so fixated on what is going wrong that we miss out on what God is doing right under our noses. Jesus says that sometimes what God is doing is so new that we need to find new ways to understand it and share it with others. New wine needs new wineskins, he says.
In this podcast I will invite you to think about how planting zucchini might be a good way to think about our calling as a church in this uncertain time of pandemic and social distancing.
These three characteristics of being a "zucchini church:"
· Recognizing that God is at work all around us, right under our noses.
· Appreciating the blessings and limitations of “big.”
· Thinking small, planting early and often.
Readings:
Luke 5:27-39
1 Peter 2:16-17
John 15:1-8
Faith Website
Worship Resources
Sunday School
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April 19th, 2020
The 2nd Sunday of Easter
In today's message, we hear from Jesus both a word of peace and instructions for how we can be instruments of the peace of God.
Readings and Bible references:
John 20:18-31
John 14-17
1 John 1:8-9
Psalms 130 and 103
Joel 2:28-32
Hebrews 12:1
Romans 16:25-27
website for Faith Lutheran
Sunday School Resources
Worship Resources (YouTube)
Dean Smith--Live to Forgive
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A sermon for Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020.
God of grace, you sent your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, to bring life and immortality to light. We give you thanks because by his death Jesus destroyed the power of death and by his resurrection has opened the kingdom of heaven to all who believe. Make us certain that because he lives we shall live also, and that neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from your love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen
Readings:
Matthew 28:1-10 (11-20)
Romans 8:38-39
Luke 1:52-53
Luther's Small Catechism (2nd Article of the Creed)
Acts 10:34
Galatians 3:26-28
Hebrews 13:20-21
Easter Worship
Sunday School Materials
Faith Lutheran Church, Shelton website
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In uncertain and anxious times, the Bible invites us to put our hope in the God who created us, who loves us, and who has a purpose for our lives.
Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020
Bible Readings:
- John 12:12-19
- Romans 5:1-5
- Philippians 4:11-14
Sunday School materials:
Transcript of today's podcast:
Worship Resources:
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A message for the 5th Sunday in Lent, March 29th, 2020.
We believe in "the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting" (Apostles' Creed). But what does that mean? From a vision of dry bones to the dream of a angel trumpet on the last day, the Bible points us to the hope that Jesus came to give us eternal life: a daily dying and rising relationship with the God who created us, loves us, and has a purpose for our lives.
Side note: due to technical difficulties, What you hear is about the 4th or 5th "take." I think I was getting a bit tired...Thanks for listening!
--Doug
Lessons and Readings:
Ezekiel 37:1-14
John 11:1-45
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Romans 6:4-5
Worship Resources/Playlist
Sunday School Materials (Illustrated Ministry)
Sermon Text
For discussions about advanced directives and end of life decisions:
theconversationproject.org
fivewishes.org
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4th Sunday in LentIn a time of pandemics, slumping markets, social distancing, and long lines at Costco, the encouraging words of the 23rd Psalm offer comfort, healing, and hope.
Written Manuscript here
Bible Readings and References:
- Psalm 23
- 1 Samuel 16:1-7
- Ezekiel 34:11-16
- John 10:11
- Leviticus 23:3; 25:1-19; 26:33-35
- Hebrews 13:20-21
Worship Resources here
Sunday School Materials here
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John 4:4-30, 39-42 New International Version (NIV)4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?”
28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42 They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
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The spiral of sin.
The healing of confession.
A 15 minute sermon based on the story of Eve and Adam in the garden (Genesis 3) and a prayer of King David (Psalm 32).
Sin starts with disobedience, but spirals as we tend to try to cover it up, blame others, or minimize the problem. Sin is killing us.
Confession is good for the soul. We acknowledge our disobedience, and we open ourselves to receive what God wants to give us: mercy and healing.
This is my first podcast, and the audio quality is iffy. Stay tuned--the quality of the audio (and hopefully the quality of the content) will improve with practice!
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