Pastor Josh Ehrler

Who is outside? Probably easier to define who is inside, with us. In our gospel its a group of outsiders who define the kingdom of God and adjust the trajectory of the story. As we are called to follow, we are also being called to walk beyond ourselves. #sermon #PalmSunday 

This is where our gospel begins, with an innocent question pointing to the deep divisions we create between ourselves and our neighbors. There is nothing inherently wrong with the man born blind, as Jesus proclaims, yet the entire community-and all of the disciples-can only define him by the sin they perceive. Even after Jesus demonstrates that there is no separation between the man and God, still, the people cannot see him. They see only their reaction to him. The man born blind can be a reflection of the countless we are willing to banish from our communities because we see them as "other" or separate from God. Though, Jesus reminds that he will continually leave the community to be with God's people. Whether racism, ageism, economic policies or LGBTQ+ youth and adults, we as God's people have a history of casting God's own off. Yet Jesus leads us out of ourselves and leads us to where mercy and grace are needed, on the margins outside of town.

Our gospel this week takes us to the troubled lands of Samaria, where Jesus crosses a few lines to hang out with a woman at a well. She does not receive him well, and her reasoning is sound. It is right for her to be skeptical. As she and Jesus dig into a conversation, our opinion of her begins to change and suddenly we realize we're the ones creating the skepticism, not her.  She is moved in faith as soon as she is seen by Christ. We are called by Christ to see our neighbors before we see what we expect of them. #lent #WordofGod #exvangelical #speakgrace #ReadtheBible

No one likes to be manipulated or told what to do. And yet, every single one of us is shaped and crafted by our families, cultures, and communities. How we encounter another person is oriented by our stereotypes, assumptions, stories, and experiences. Is it even possible to meet a person without our own biases? Jesus hangs out with a guy who shows up at night (that's bad) and by most other measures, is a person not to be trusted. Rightly. Instead of following the assumptions Jesus no doubt lived in, he sits with them man and hears him out. And out of that moment comes one of the most important verses in the Christian writings. #sermon #biases #stereotypes #crossofChrist #vision #GodsWord

Jesus gathers a small group to follow him up a mountain, where he hangs out with some famous people. Its all going splendid until God appears (through a cloud) and commands the disciples to listen to Jesus. In one breath, Jesus's identity is transformed from a cool guy with some wild skills and ideas to the Son of God. As in, everything he has been saying is directly from God. No wonder the disciples are terrified. No wonder we often find ways to ignore Jesus, too. #sermon #transfiguration #listen #GodsWord #takeupthecross

Our reading leaps from the middle of a story between God and a king who wants to do his own thing. Its an opportunity for us to consider what we would need from God to believe that God is actually with us in the moment. We ask for signs and evidence of God often in faith; how do we know that God is listening? God gives the king a sign, even after the king refuses it, because God needs the king, and us, to know one simple word that speaks of every divine promise. #Advent #lament #hope #kings #signsofgrace #youareloved

Our reading this week, Isaiah 54.1-8, seems unique in that God is talking to women. Exclusively women. Directly to women. God even declares that the fate of the nation of Israel is connected to the lives of the women within it. For those of us who grow up in a male dominated culture, church, and reading of the Bible, God is centering women for the sake of creation. We might describe God instinctively as a man, yet in this reading from Isaiah, God is a woman. #Advent #hope #lament #humanity #equity #womenoffaith #womenoftheBible

We already know how it feels to be out of control. We don't really need Jesus's help picturing or imagining what it might be like for our lives. Yet, our reading this week is Jesus telling us about the end of the world. Certainly that's what it sounds like, and we don't need more of that in our lives. Yet, Jesus is of this world and typically speaks in a way that we can understand God's Word in our world. If all the doom and gloom isn't about devastation and chaos to come, what in this world is he talking about? #grace #theologyofthecross #lutheran #hereandnow #Godwithus

Jesus is preaching to the disciples this week, we the gathered who are seeking wisdom and hope for our walk in the world. He is also naming some of the ways that we categorize each other, and how easily we assume that life is a binary (black/white, good/bad, rich/poor). Binaries are part of our world, and create a perception that in order for our world to work, there must be both (rich/poor, hungry/full, sad/laughing). And yet, we disciples know God's kingdom and we know what Christ has done and will do through us. The cross destroys our binaries and opens our vision to see our neighbors through compassion, justice, and equity. #lifeisnotbinary #sermon #AllSaints #lutheran #grace #sermonsoutofruralministry

As in, be loud and direct. Be in public, on the square, in the presence of the powerful. Our gospel points us to a woman who does not wait, she does not hold back, and she will not be silenced. She speaks God's Word and mountains are moved for justice. Jesus offers her explicitly as a model of prayer. Through Christ, we will be called on to speak a prayer on behalf of others; may we pray out loud. #lutheran #sermonsoutofruralministry #prayoutloud #dailygenerosity #justice #fannielouhamer

In such a short reading we are confronted by our own dread of incompetence, our want to value others, slavery, systemic racism, and eating at restaurants. Jesus moves us through a lot of history to confront a lot of ourselves here and now. How we see our place in God's kingdom is how we see others with us in the presence of God. #sermon #Lutheran #forgive #systemicracism #dothework

There's a reason we call them blind spots. As much as we are called to see all people as God's own, we are human enough to admit we don't see all people equally. Some we see only from a distance, hoping to keep them far enough that we cannot imagine that we are equals. Our gospel exposes a deep blind spot with one character who lived right next to another. How we see our neighbor, especially those whose names we know, is how we see God. #chasms #sermon #lutheran #cross #nameofGod 

Our gospel reading is a story from Jesus that goes in many directions. Or at least, does not go in a direction that many of us are following. A clever financial manager is praised for doctoring the books to benefit himself. Its not for noble gains or to serve those in the community impacted by poverty or illness. Jesus ends his parable with a series of one liners that also move from side to side, making the entire text tough to manage. Still, there is grace, and patience from God when we cannot see where Jesus is trying to take us. #sermon #grace #lutheran

Our gospel contains two stories of losing and finding objects, and the people possible responsible for the loss. Often we'll hear these and imagine pastoral ideals of Jesus finding us who have either gotten lost or wandered away. There's a hitch in that thinking, though, and its in the text. What are we missing? Or to put it another way, who might we have lost along the way? #sermon #forgiveness #lostfound #rejoice

Where is that for you? We all have a line in the sand across which we cannot go, even for God. This week Jesus calls on the crowds to hate our families and if we can't do that, we can't follow him. That feels like a hard line for most of us and it means he must be cutting at something other than simply disowning those whom we love. Within these harsh words we find a painful truth about ourselves and our relationship with God, one that can only be named and transformed by the cross. #intheway #grace #forgiveness #whodoyoulove #lutheran #sermonsoutofruralministryThis is also our 200th sermon published. Thank you for participating and supporting this endeavor.

Our text this week is a bit unusual for the author, Luke. Luke's gospel is full of concrete, tangible, earthy examples of Jesus, or direct commands from Jesus that make him somewhat easy to imagine. We can picture his presence near ours through those stories. Then, we get to this ending piece, in which Jesus disappears and (we) the disciples are left staring at the clouds. We live most of our faith in mystery and doubt. How do we live our what we cannot actually see or touch? #sermon #careforcreation #Lutheran #ascension

We all have them, at least one moment in which the clouds formed and we were surrounded in fear. Our gospel is a storm story that reminds us of many others in the Bible, as well as a promise from God spoken after a great storm had finally receded. God does not declare an end to storms; instead, God promises to remain within them. It is the power of the storms drawing us from faith that Christ rebukes. What is your storm story? When were you aware of the nearness of God within it? #lutheran #sermon #careforcreation #stormstoriesSHOW LESS

For people of faith, one of our hopes is to be encountered by God. Sometimes we will create spaces or being quite intentional about preparing ourselves for God's Word. In our gospel from Luke, we hear of a group who are doing all they can to experience the Word of God. Then there's the fishermen down the shore, who don't seem to care much at all that Jesus, our Jesus, is so close. A reminder for us in worship spaces that not everyone takes Christ quite as seriously, and that Christ doesn't always need our best, most focused selves to find us. #sermon #sermonsoutofruralministry #WordofGod #Jesusfindsyou #Lutheran

Jesus teaching us how to pray. Turns out the prayer is not simply the words, which are beautiful, he is also teaching us how his prayer shapes our walk in the world. He is transforming how we see our neighbors, and how we can love each other. Its not just a prayer for ourselves. Its an expectation placed upon us. #sermon #LordsPrayer #ourfather #dailybread

Our gospel reading is full of words that mean more than how they read. Then there's the words of people that don't mean anything to us because they speak of a different era. Because we want to be engaged by Christ and moved in love, we spend some time thinking of the words while we think of the people whom we attempt to cast off and ignore, like ancient words. #sermon #sermonsoutofruralministry #Lutheran

Our gospel this week is an invitation to follow Christ in love with the temptation to bring about destruction on our enemies. We might be feeling the James and John vibe of calling fire upon those who use their power against God's people. Jesus, instead, takes us to the cross because it is only through the cross that we witness love. It is a powerful love, a transforming love, a love of mercy, compassion, and justice. Through the cross we glimpse a collapse of violence and a promise from God every life (LGBTQ, black, brown, indigenous, women) is counted and loved fully. #Pride #Lutheran #Godislove #LGBTQIA

Our gospel tells of a man who is corrupted by a legion of demons. Jesus shows up, does his thing, the legion is gone. Then the townsfolk show up and they don't respond as we might expect. We're reminded in this text that the demons did not just affect the individual, they shaped the entire community. Systemic racism is a legion of demons, flowing in, with, and all around God's people who find our ways to justify the unjust treatment of black, brown, and indigenous people. The legion of racism will even destroy life before it is ultimately silenced. We commemorate the Emanuel Nine this weekend, recognize Juneteenth, and ponder again Christ's love breaking us open even as we reject his love for us. #forgiveness #EmanuelNine #systemicracism

How might we see the realm of God responding to the prayers of this world? The violence of hate that arrived in Buffalo, NY, has reigned and exists in every shadowy corner of Creation, including our hometown. How is God compelling us to see the suffering of others while awakening us to our call into God's kingdom? God is for the persecuted, the oppressed, the ones who are told on a daily basis that their lives do not matter. Our place in this promise is already set through the cross and our baptism. How will we respond to the violence through God's light? #dailyrevelations #Godsjustice #newearth #gatesopen #racialjustice #saytheirnames #Buffalo

What in the world would you change if you had absolute control? We could focus on racial injustice, economic barriers to life, gender equality, peace in places of violence, or the topic close to our individual hearts. There's a hitch to the question, and it points to the conviction we face when we hear God promise to make all things new. Do we really want God to interfere with what we already know, even when it costs lives? Our series through Revelation continues as God declares what we cannot imagine (and may not want). #DailyRevelations #sermon #Easter #newheaven #newearth #baptism

Our sermon series, Daily Revelations, begins with a first look at the book of Revelation. We know the letter wasn't written for us, it was put down nearly 2000 years ago. It makes sense if not all of the symbols and images mean much to us even as we know that Revelation is not a look at the end of the world. It is not a prediction of coming doom and gloom. So, then, why bother reading it if it is old, doesn't make sense, and doesn't reveal much about our daily lives? #sermon #dailyrevelations #ruralministry #lutheran

Easter continues as we read the second half of last week's gospel. This week Jesus goes looking for the disciples and finds (most of) them. Thomas misses out and the text compels us to ask, "Who is missing?" Thomas becomes our reminder that people close to our congregation still feel disconnected from Christ and we the church may be keeping folks away. #sermon #Easter #DailyRevelations #sermonsoutofruralministry

This is the day the Lord has made! Can you feel it? Do you feel it? Our gospel centers on a moment between Mary and Jesus that speaks to our hope that God knows our name. With all of the hype of the day and every expectation we put on it, we might be left wondering if we can have the same beloved experience as Mary. Maybe, then, Mary is not the character for us to focus on this day. #sermon #DailyRevelations #Easter #ruralministry #sermonsoutofruralministry #Lutheran

"Words Fall Short" Our gospel reading begins where Christ often finds us, trying to figure him out. We come up with all sorts of words and ideas, many coming from scripture. We try to define Christ's being and wind up creating a version of God that fits our profile. As Jesus stands before Pilate and Herod silent, Jesus hears all of our words. Then, he takes them to the cross. #sermon #Lent #PalmSunday #sermonsoutofruralministry

"Smells Like Love," the sermon for this weekend on the contagious nature of grace. In our gospel, the joy of Mary fills the entire space, getting into clothes, walls, and skin. One of the disciples tries to tamp down this love with economic calculations and discomfort with extragant generosity, yet Jesus quiets all words. Mary, and Martha filling the space with her own aromatics, reflect God's abundance in the presence of death. How are we marked by the stench of fear and perfume of love? #sermon #LightBreakingin #Lent

"Room for You," the Christmas Eve sermon from Pr Josh Ehrler. For any of us who do not feel like we fit, or God is too far in the distance, there is room enough for you. Jesus is the living Word of justice and love. #bangthedoorlikeJoseph #ChristmasEve #GodWithYou #Emmanuel #sermon #lgbtq #blacklivesmatter #justice #love

"Everyday Kingdom Work" Our gospel text for this weekend is Mary's song. You know, that song. The one that has been transcribed, translated and put to countless tunes in order for Creation to sing with her joy. It is a song of transformation, hope, and a promise of God's kingdom breaking into the world to turn our lives upside down. How, then, do we live into these words that speak of loft and aspiration beyond our abilities? There might be a hint in the text, and in Mary's own response to her song. #Magnificat #sermon #ActivePrayer #Advent

Our preaching text takes us to a baby shower up in the hills of Judea, where Mary and Elizabether are celebrating. Mary, a young mother surrounded by challenges and a vague future, is greeted by Elizabeth, a "very old" mother (Luke's words) facing her own obstacles and wonder. For all that they have against them and waiting for them, in this moment, they are filled with holy joy. With all that you are dealing with and waiting to unfold, how might you be defiant in your joy? #babyshower #sermon #joy #advent #activeprayer 

"Imagining Our Role" How do you actively engage God? Sure, God is always near and always speaking to us in many and various ways, yet we may not be listening. Well, most of the time we probably aren't listening. God may not need us, though God brings forth gifts of life for us. The kingdom of God is breaking in, can you imagine it breaking into the world through you? #Mary #advent #ActivePrayer #sermon #Luke1

Jesus, who knows and sees and loves, is standing outside the tomb of a friend he is about to resurrect, and he cries. Seems strange for God's Son, who knows and sees, to shed tears when there is no sadness to be found in the promise he reveals. Why did Jesus cry? How do his tears reflect our place outside the tomb and our place in the presence of God's mercy? #sermon #John11 #Lazarus #Jesuswept #Godslove

A reflection on a man declared insignificant by his family and friends, and yet his name is remembered in the Bible. Jesus sees the man living along the side of the road and when Jesus points to him, the crowds who silenced the man now declare him blessed. There is power in being seen and acknowledged as human. Being seen may be a sign of God's Grace.

Jesus is walking along, headed toward Jerusalem, and two of his disciples stop him with a request. Jesus hears them out-he's patient like that-and quickly hears them asking a rather cringy question that benefits their status. How often we all may cause Jesus to cringe as he walks with us in the world. How often we put ourselves first and forget (again) Christ's call to take ourselves out of the center for the sake of the most vulnerable among us. A #sermon on Mark 10.35-45. #Godspatience #forgiveness #thecross

Jesus is confronted by a group intending to trip him up in public. They ask him a question about divorce. Jesus, naturally, sees the game afoot and pivots on the question to put the focus on power and equity. His approach gives us an opportunity to approach and question the ways we see women in our culture, community and church. The truth is, we don't have a good record for gender equality. So what do we do about that? How does Jesus recognize the patriarchy in the sacred texts we read? A sermon on Mark 10.2-16

Who is your rival? Even the church has a rival and we perpetually look over our shoulder to see what they are up to. In our gospel reading, Mark 9.38-50, the disciples call out a new rival in their midst and Jesus responds, though probably not as they expected. He keeps talking about kids and service and the cross. This time he even ramps up his teaching by recommending the sudden removal of appendages (he's being intentionally ridiculous, BTW, don't cut off your hands). There is something about rivalries that seems to get Jesus worked up. 

Being healed means being seen. In our text this week, a woman approaches Jesus on his day off and asks for healing for her daughter back home. Seems like an easy thing for the Healer of the World. Instead, and for reasons beyond our knowledge, Jesus doesn't immediately heal the girl. He pauses, and gives the woman a line about children and dogs and crumbs. Healing the Bible is less about medical rehabilitation and more about wholeness and hope. It is about being seen by God. The woman demands to be seen by Jesus, whom she knows as a revelation of God's kingdom. She might be an inspiration for any of us who are longing to be seen, or are longing for justice for the unseen and silenced in our community. You are seen by God and you are loved to wholeness. #sermon #lgbtqia #blacklivesmatter #healing #wholeness #hope

Jesus is confronted by a group of people that don't like his hygiene habits. In the context of the story, these rituals are meant to reflect purity and nearness to God. By not doing them as prescribed, the group is assuming Jesus is further from God than others. Its a story and a teaching from Jesus that compels us to consider all the ways we put up barriers between ourselves and others for the sake of purity and goodness. We find differences in each other and use those as reasons to assume they are not quite as good as we. Its a troubling thought and a troubling text and doesn't really have anything to do with keeping our hands clean.

The crowds declare their love of God and their want to commit to God's leadership. Joshua, standing in the midst of the crowds, tells them "You'll never do it." By the way, it was Joshua who rallied the crowds, organized them, and asked them which god they will serve. His response feels crass and disregarding and its terribly honest. We say one thing with God and will forever go our own way. It is the nature of our humaness. How God responds to our sin and brokeness is the crux of this conversation, and lies at the heart of Joshua's rally at the end of his book. #sermon #brokenpromises #summersermons #covenant #Godisenough

Our faith in Christ makes no sense. It is fair to say, beyond the walls of a faith community, that our belief in Christ is ridiculous. We say things, believe ideas, and report events that defy logic and lived experiences. This week our gospel makes reference to Communion, our holy meal in which we believe to be consuming the real presence of Christ. Even some within Jesus' followers are little bothered by the idea that we might actually be eating his flesh. Eventually these followers will leave Jesus and his nonsense. What do you do when Jesus no longer makes sense? One response we can make is to try a three point test to see if we still need Jesus. #sermon #Godhere #askGodanything #Godislistening #Goddoesntmakesense #lovedoesntmakesense

he text this week is about a prophet getting his head taken off by a king. Fun stuff. Since we come to worship for good news and hope, this doesn't seem like much of a gospel text for us, so we'll go find another one. One that fits what we want and need. Of course, faith isn't as simple as picking and choosing what we expect from God and its possible that the story about the beheaded man is actually what we need to hear.

Jesus does love a good parable. Our reading has two and they both make sense, until we take a second look. It turns out the farmer in the first parable has no clue how agriculture works. She scatters seeds almost randomly and then goes to sleep. No one does that. Then there's the story of the mustard plant that needs literally no help to grow from the tiniest of seeds into a sizeable plant. And with all that, Jesus is telling these parables to his disciples to instruct us on how to follow him. Without actually telling us what to do with our lives. A first glance. With that second look, there might be instructions buried in the soil with the seeds. #sermon #goodnews #webelongtoChristSHOW LESS

Jesus tells stories about the kingdom of God in context. They are never random or simply dropped from his infinite wisdom to our feet. In this week's text, Jesus tells us about a thief binding up and strong man and stealing all the stuff from the house and he's speaking to his blood relatives and the religious authorities. Who's the thief, Jesus or the ones who are confronting him? And what is being stolen from the house, the goods that belong to others or the people who already belong to God? This is also Pride Month, so maybe all this talk of family and church and binding and unbinding is meant to widen our definitions and reimagine God's love for anyone who has been sent away from their families or cast out from their church. #sermon #Pride #LGBTQ #loveislove

Even when all the work is complete, it doesn't always seem to be enough. When the room is full of people, we might still feel out of place. Our text from Acts (1.15-17ff) speaks of fixing a immediate problem with a simple solution. Is it enough, though? Can the disciples choose a leader to replace the one who is gone without recognizing all that is still unfinished? The final sermon in our Easter series. #OffWeGo

God has given you a powerful story, one of redemptions, do overs, and hope. It is story so powerful that changes how you see your neighbors and how you see yourself. Every day this story of Christ through you is renewed. How might you share this story? How can you help a neighbor, a friend, a classmate hear the good news that they are part of God's story, too? #sermon​ #Acts​ #OffWeGo​ #forgiveness​ #story

Based on our reading for this week, there are consequences to speaking Christ's name. Though this may seem the case, Peter and John (Acts 4) are on trial because they did the more heinous act of loving someone who had been cast out of the community. They saw the presence of God in a man whose life others considered mattering less, and for that they must stand trial. And they do not stand alone. We do not stand alone when we speak or act or care for God's people whom our culture has pushed aside and denied life. How will we rise and speak Christ's name for the restoration of others? #sermon #blacklivesmatter #LGBTQrights #restoringhope #OffWeGo 

The preaching text comes out of disconnect between a crowd and person within it who lives a suffering life. When the person is restored to wholeness, the crowd is astounded because their expectations and vision are being challenged by Christ. Peter then makes us uncomfortable by noting that we, who are in the crowds, struggle to see Christ in the lives around us who are suffering for their sking color. Though our assumption is equality, our reality is that not every life matters the same. And suffering and violence and death continue. Can we see Christ in the face of a neighbor who lives other than us? #blacklivesmatter #ChristLives #SayTheirNames

Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Most blessed news for we are ready to celebrate. Though, before we get to the exuberance of Easter, Jesus offers us good news in the garden. Mary is stuck, unsure of where to go. She seems to be missing something, or someone. Jesus asks a question that, for we are already joyous, sounds like a prop for a big reveal. Its a powerful question, meant to break us open to recognize our hope in Christ when we are feeling incomplete. Even on Easter, this day of days. Who are you looking for? What part of our lives is still missing? 

It seems like nothing more than a silly debate. Either you like this car or that one. This kind of movie or that. Either that team or some other one. On a surface level, its all for fun. Either/Or Thinking is a cultural tenet, however, and it runs deep into our biases and assumptions. Either/Or Thinking is built on a perspective that one side is inherently right and the other must get in line. Or assimilate. Or be silent. It drives us from each other and drives us from God and even Jesus is not immune to our attempts at defining the parameters of his ministry. Peter even gets in Jesus' face about it. Which compels Christ to note, rather publicly for all to here, that his place is not on one side or other, and he is not here to serve one ideal over another. Our Lent series on Restoration continues.