Sermon for the 3rd Sunday in Easter:
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Thank you, Brian Seaman, for delivering this sermon in the absence of Pastor Mark.
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Thanks to flickr and Waiting For The Word, for the photo.
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“There’s more work to be done concerning your sanctification.”
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And more of the ones who aren’t doing it themselves are gonna tell you what you should be doing regarding your sanctification.
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Here’s my advice: Forget trying to improve people (or yourselves) in God’s eyes. Dump that “3rd use” baloney, and just preach the law and the gospel, to kill off and to make alive again.
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And BEFORE you write in with your 27 page tome with excerpts from the Lutheran Confessions and the Bible to buttress your little self-improvement/righteousness project…take a good long look in the mirror and honestly ask yourself what this project has done for you.
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“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
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Thanks to flickr and Christian_Wall_Art, for the photo.
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Filed under: Sanctification | 3 Comments »
You like Bible? OK…here’s a Bible study on the Gospel of John, given by Pastor Mark.
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Some of you may consider this quite a departure from the sort of Bible study that you are used to. That’s ok. Another perspective can be a very enlightening thing.
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and tomfinken, for the photo.
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Got friends or family who aren’t believers? This might be a good one to get them to listen to:
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Or maybe you can get them a copy of John’s Gospel and ask them if they would read it.
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Thank you, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and hagia sofia, for the photo.
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“He is the head of the body, the church;…”
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Our faith is personal and corporate. Both are well-represented in the Bible. Noah, for example, was commanded to build an ark – in the desert. Needless to say, his reaction was less than enthusiastic. Why did he do it? Obviously, his relationship with God was something intense and personal. So much so, he overcame his reluctance and set to work.
At the same time, Noah was commanded to fill the ark with critters and to bring the family. A new beginning would emerge from the flood for the creation and the covenant people.
Isaiah had a profound, personal vision of the Holy One. That vision brought him face to face with his sin. “I am a man of unclean lips”, he was brought to confess.
At the same time, Isaiah’s vision brought him to see the larger implications. “…and I dwell among a people with unclean lips”, he concluded. Sin is personal and corporate.
The prophets, generally, were perceived to have a unique word from God. At the same time, that word was always for the people of God. The word was personal and corporate.
Our Lord Jesus called Matthew at the toll gate, the first of twelve. Each disciple was singled out. At the same time, Jesus made of them the nucleus of a new Israel. Twelve disciples, representing the twelve tribes of the covenant people.
St. Paul was singled out on the road to Damascus. Christ appeared to him, called him, set him apart. At the same time, bearing witness to this experience was neither the burden nor the focus of Paul’s message. He rarely mentions his dramatic, personal encounter with Christ. His letters were written, in large measure, for the sake of congregations, Christian communities, the body of Christ.
We have just celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord. We believe He lives. But this risen Lord is not the private property of the individual. Through Word and sacrament He makes us His own, one by one, to be sure. At the same time, Christ Jesus never leaves it at that. He makes us members of His body. That’s what the Resurrection looks like here and now; persons called by the grace of Christ into community. We are each a unique, living member of the body. This means faith is personal but not private. Like it or not, we belong to one another.
“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
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From Pastor Mark Anderson’s Daily Devotional blog site
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Thank you, Pastor Mark Anderson
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And thanks to flickr and Capt Kodak, for the photo.
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Filed under: Pastor Mark Anderson's blog, The Church | 1 Comment »
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Thanks to flickr and martinlightinchrist, for the photo.
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Filed under: Easter Sunday | 2 Comments »
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Good Friday sermon from 2012:
(there are some places where the audio momentarily cuts out in our aging sound system but the message is not affected)
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Have a blessed Good Friday.
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Thank you, Pastor Mark.
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Thanks to flickr and pattykoplitz, for the photo.
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Filed under: Good Friday, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | Leave a comment »
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Not literally (but maybe so). He commands you to love. To be in service to your neighbor. To be selfless in that service.
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“Well…I don’t want to. I don’t feel like it.” No kidding. I don’t much feel like doing it, myself.
And usually when I do make an attempt, I find that I am wishing that I were somewhere else, doing something else, besides “loving” my neighbor. How’s that for a loving, selfless heart?
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What does this mean for me? For you? That we so often refuse to do what Jesus commands us us?
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It means that we must die. It means that He had to die. So that He could bear all our sin, and forgive us.
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Maundy Thursday, the day that Jesus washed their feet and shared the Last Supper with them, reveals to us our great love of self and our great rebellion to the will of the Living God. It exposes us and reveals our great need of a Savior.
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Yes…it’s the same sermon by Pastor Mark that was up a day earlier. It deserves to be up for this post, as well. It deserves to be shared with those who maybe aren’t so familiar with what this story, His story, is all about. So pass it along, if you can. It’s another way to share His love and forgiveness with a neighbor, friend, family member, or enemy. (categories may overlap)
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Pastor Mark, for the sermon.
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And thanks to flickr and jamesfischer, for the photo.
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Filed under: Foot washing | 2 Comments »
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Thank you, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and Inspirational.Images, for the photo.
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Filed under: Getting ready for Maundy Thursday, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | Leave a comment »
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Yesterday began Holy Week.
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Pastor Mark speaks to that fact and how Jesus meets us in this, greatest of all stories.
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Thanks, Pastor Mark.
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And thanks to flickr and Waiting For The Word, for the photo.
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Filed under: Holy Week, Liturgy, Pastor Mark Anderson, Sermon | Leave a comment »
The Old Adam Lives! 