Sermon for 7th Sunday of Easter/Ascension Sunday/Memorial Day Sunday - John 17:1-11
Jesus is the absolute picture of the suffering God. The God who comes to earth with forgiveness and mercy, but receives none. The God who takes the nails, the tree, the tomb, who feels pain for you. The picture of the unity of God with humanity to bring life where death reigns. He is the one we look to when we want to know the nature of this God we profess. A God who yearns to send his spirit upon you, to inaugurate his kingdom inside yours, to humble you in a war for your soul, speaking of freedom to ones captured by sin, shame and fear. That is this God that speaks to you now, praying for his disciples and for you, desiring for you to know his eternal life that is this knowledge of God and his work for you in Jesus.
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A Baccalaureate sermon for Nevis High School, Nevis, Minnesota - May 21, 2017 - 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Your God is a God who gives. A God who provides. A God who offers to you all things to make for yourself a life in this world and a life for others. This God speaks to you at each moment of each day through many different people, as preachers to you; and he speaks to show you of his goodness and mercy that goes with you. Whether you are in school, graduating, been an adult/parent for a long time, God still stands as one for you regardless of how well you do, or how you use that which he gives to you. A Confirmation Day Sermon (Easter 6) - John 14:15-21
You know Jesus, in part. That has been the goal anyways. Dawson, Maddie and Jayden – that was what we set out to do this year, if you remember. I said last fall that I am sure you might only remember one percent of what I teach you, but my hope has been that one percent to be comprised of your Jesus. A Jesus who has loved you by coming to you. A Jesus who has spoken to you in giving you the commandment to come to him in all things, in all ways, be covered by his blood to give you life and to offer you up as a sweet-smelling offering to the Father and to the world. That has been the goal. I expect that it is a goal we will have together for the rest of our lives. Sermon for the 5th Sunday of Easter (Mother's Day/Fishing Opener) - John 14:1-14
Jesus isn’t worried about too many things. At least he doesn’t show it. Apart from saying he has a home decorating job to do before he has his open house and gives you a room. I guess there is the whole sweating blood, nails and cross, scourging, crown of thorns, rising from the dead thing. Except for that, he doesn’t have much he is worried about. Maybe your immortality. That too, I guess. Looking you in the face, calling you by name. He can look and see that your worries are his and his should be yours. So in that way, he worries, and so he speaks to you this morning in some truth to tell you, he has a place for you. Sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday (Easter 4) - John 10:1-10
Jesus doesn’t take too kindly to sheep-stealing. He doesn’t like it when people try and enter into the sheep pen to rustle-up their flock from those of his sheep. He doesn’t like it because the thievery harms his sheep and the thief. The thievery makes for bad shepherds and abused lambs. It showcases a form of entitlement, as all theft does, that “I want what you have Jesus and I don’t think you deserve it.” Or, “There are some sheep in there that are a little too smelly, too stinky, too dirty or of the wrong breed Jesus. We need to cull the flock a little. Make it more pure or proper, like a good shepherd should.” Never thinking that the sheep that are in the pen are his sheep. Sheep he wants to be there. All of them sheep. None of them anything else but his sheep whom he knows by name and they know his voice. |
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