Podcasts about texts luke

Texts: Luke 8:4-15, Hebrews 6:4-9, Jeremiah 4:3

Texts: Luke 2:22ff, Malachi 3:1ff

As Mary and Joseph participated in the unique miracle of Jesus' birth, they experienced deep blessing mixed with profound personal sacrifice. But, they willingly accepted the certain risk of scandal and rejection in order that God's loving purposes for the world might be perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. Texts: Luke 1:26-45; Matthew 1:18-25 By Keith Beebe

​Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Jesus encountered two rich men, one after the other. One could not set aside the idol of wealth in his life; the other devoted himself to God over everything else, including his wealth. Jesus warned us that it is very difficult for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God, though even then all things are possible with God. This lesson examines the temptation of wealth, the Lord's call to submit our wealth to his rule in our lives, and what we can do to use the measure of wealth God has given us for his glory. Texts: Luke 18:18-27 & 19:1-10, 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Texts: Luke 2:41ff, Romans 12:1ff, Matthew 2:1ff.

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Was there anything better in the story of Jesus' birth than the glorious appearances of the angels? As wonderful as they were, yes, there was one thing even more glorious: the birth of the Son of God himself. Jesus is superior even to the angels, and in all the distractions of life we do well to keep our focus on him. Texts: Luke 2:1-20, Hebrews 1, and other selections

Speaker: Rev. George Edubaa  

Sunday Sermon by Phil Diaz — God has given us so many commands and instructions. How can we keep them all? How can we even remember them all? To help us do what God teaches us, we focus in on a single command that encapsulates all the rest, a command we can carry with us every day and everywhere we go. Texts: Luke 6:31

Speaker: Rev. Dr. Delali G. Bodza   Theme: Moving Boundaries ( Barriers,  Seals, Obstacles) Into Your Now.      Texts:    Luke 5: 17 - 26   Mark 2: 1 - 12   Matthew 9: 2 – 8         Introduction:      " Now Is My Time " Is The Theme For Our 100 Days Prayer Festival.    Jesus Christ Is Your Now. Your Now Has Existed In Christ Since The Day You Genuinely Gave Your Life To Jesus.          What Do We Mean By " Now " ? The Immediate/ Sudden Display Or Manifestation Of Your Deepest Expectations.    As A Covenant Child Of God, You Have Every Right To Access Your Now      • Your " Now "  Even Though Already Exists In Christ Never Manifest Easily.      • Accessing " Your Now " Comes With Confronting Boundaries/ Barriers/ Limitations       • But Accessing Your "Now " , Comes By Moving Boundaries/ Removing Barriers/ Breaking Limitations          Scriptural Background:   Certain Elements To Consider In This Passage    1. Jesus Christ       2. The Crowd He Was Addressing       3. The House Where The Meeting Was Taking Place      4. The Paralytic Man      5. The Four Friends       6. The Roof Of The House         A. Jesus Christ Was The Main Focus Of The Four Friends = If Only They Could Get Their Paralytic Friend To Jesus       They Saw Jesus Christ As Their All = If Only...   They Had No Plan B      They Harnessed All Their Effort / Energy To Get Their Paralytic Friend To Jesus          • They Were Not Prepared To Compromise       • They Did Not Yield To Distraction      •  Who Hears Your Problems And Issues First         B. But There Were Two Major Boundaries/ Barriers/ Obstacles To Conquer       1. The Crowd    2. The Tiles At The Ceiling Of The House          C . Note That There Were Certain Major Boundaries/ Barriers/ Obstacles Within These Four Men Before Even The Two Above      1. Mental Boundary = Can This Be Possible    2. Emotional Boundary = Fear Within          3. Their Belief System = How Sure Were They That Their Faith Or Belief In Jesus For Sending Their Friend To Him Will Work / How Sure Were They That Their Expectation Will Be Met / What About If It Does Not Work.      4. Tradition Of Men / People's Opinion      D. The Resolve Of The Four Men      1. To Break Through The Boundary Of The Crowd      2. To Break Through The Boundary Of Courtesy Of The House Owner         3. To Break The Boundary Of The Ceiling   4. Lowering Their Friend To Where Jesus Was Standing          E. Three Qualities That Led Their Actions    1. Determination    2. Faith Focus   3. Perseverance          F. Jesus Reaction   1. First Jesus Saw Their Faith V 20 Ie Their Actions Demonstrated In Breaking Through The Crowd/ The Lifting Of The Man To The Roof / The Breaking Of The Tiles / Their Lowering Of The Man         2. Secondly He Addressed The " One Thing " Needed To Be Tackled V 20 = To This Man It Was Sin         3.  That Means This Man Was Not Born Again Hence His " One Thing " Was Sin.   Sin Was The Boundary/ Barrier/ Obstacle To What The Man Needed Now.         4. Jesus Said To The Man  " Get Up, Pick Your Mat And Go Home " V 24    Immediately...V 25         G. Addressing The " One Thing"   Why Is Jesus Christ The Surest, The Shortest And The Quickest Way To Getting The Best Of God And The Best Of Anything In Life ?      Because, Only Jesus Knows And Has The Power Of That " One Thing " Boundary,  Barrier, Obstacle          Application    • There Is Always The One Thing To Your Now   •  Where Jesus Addressed The " One Thing "      1. Mark 10 : 21 - 22   2. Luke 10 : 42         H. Lessons From This Strange/ Remarkable/ Wonders/ Unaccountable /Incredible/ Marvelous Happenings V 26      1. Every Challenge/ Difficult Situation We Face Reveales A Dimension Of God To Us = Job 19 : 25 - 26      2. Reveals Our Level In Faith And Maturity       3. Positions Or Qualify Us To Become Reference Points         I . Prayer :   Oh Lord, Which Dimension Of God Are You Revealing To Me In This Challenge You Have Permitted To Come My Way.      Oh Lord, What Is That " One Thing " In My Life To My Now   Oh Lord, What Is The Boundary That I Need To Remove For My Now

Theme:  Holy Spirit Level Changer, Bring It To An End. ( Part 2 ).   Texts:  Luke 24: 49,  John 16 : 5-16 ,Acts 1:8,Acts 2:1-4          Introduction:   = The Greatest Advantage The Believer And The Church Has Over This Fallen World/ Evil And Wicked Systems That Rule And Satanic Power Is The Holy Spirit.          In John 16 : 7 According To Isv Translation, Jesus Said " It Is For Your Advantage That I Am Going Away = So The Holy Spirit Is Indeed Our Advantage.          Again The Holy Spirit Is Called In This Verse 7, The Helper ( Greek = Parakletos = Comforter, Advocate ( Defender In Court ) , Aid, Intercessor.         He Was The One Who Helped Jesus To Fulfil His Mission Among Men Here On Earth.          A Life Without The Holy Spirit Is Empty/ Hopeless/ Dry/ Failure/ A Serious Disadvantage.         A Life Without The Holy Spirit Is Incomplete          The Holy Spirit Is A Level Changer Ie          He Changes You First From Within ( Inside )    He Changes Your Mindset     He Changes Your Lifestyle And Attitude           He Changes Your Taste    He Resets You          He Resets You To Suit Gods Standard     He Rebrands You.    He Changes Your Perception About Things Around You.   The Holy Spirit Is A Person , A Being Not A Thing .         Why Are Many Christians Falling Into Traps/ Wrong Marriages/ Wrong Choices/ Wrong Decisions.         Why Do We Take Steps Before We Regret It.      Why Do We Make Choices Only To Regret It.          Because We Have Ignored Or Negleted The Holy Spirit     We Dont Give Him Time To Interact With Us          Our Egos Are Too Strong    What The Holy Spirit Told Me About Emotional People And A Certain Tribe = The Always Miss The Perfect Will Of God.         Can You Imagine A Spirit Filled Christian:   Entrepreneur    Teacher/ Professor    Student    Business Man Or Woman    Designer    Farmer   Mechanic         The Visitation Of The Holy Spirit Today Is For:   1. Fresh Baptism    2. Fresh Infilling    = The Holy Spirit Is The Level Changer         He Has Come To Make Us To Become Witnesses           A Witness Is Somebody Who Testify About What He Has Seen, Heard And Experienced About Christ, About The Power Of God, About The Effect Of The Word.         A. The Holy Spirit Descended On The Day Of Pentecost To Change To Levels Of The Disciples.          1. From Fearful Peter  Who Out Of Fear Denied Jesus Christ 3 Times Before A Small Girl ( Matthew 26 : 69 - 75 ) To A Bold  And Fearless Peter ( Acts 4: 1 - 12 )         2. When We Say Level Changer;   He Changes Our Outlook/ Countenance    He Grants Us The Ability To Do What We Couldn't Do         He Changes Our Condition    He Changes Our Situation          Today 04/06/2023         3. Examples Of People Who After Encountering Gods Power Became Testimonies/ Testifiers / Witnesses Of What They Have Experienced    ( I ). Abraham  = From Abram To Abraham = Genesis 17 : 1 – 5         The Parents Gave Him Abram ( Exalted Father )= Note That In Those Days Names Were Prophetic           Names Were Giving By The Expectations From The Parents Of The Future Of The Child           Names Were Giving By The Prevailing Circumstances           Hence Abiram ( Hebrews Root Of Abram = My Father Is Exalted / Father Of Heights Ie He Who Is Highly Set Up / Lofty One          But In Genesis 17 : 5 - 8, God Changed The Name Abram To Abraham = Father Of Many Nations At The Time He Had No Child.          God ( By His Spirit  ) Gave Abraham A New Identity/ A New Image Per What He Wants To Accomplish.           This One Abraham's Parents Could Not Do But God Did         Application:    In Christ Our Names Have Been Changed    2 Corinthians 5: 17 = You Are A New Creation     Colossians 2: 10 = You Are Complete In Him          1 Peter 2 : 9 = You Are A Royal Priesthood/ A Holy Nation / A People Belonging To God          Live By Your New Identity In Christ       ( 2 ). Joseph  = From Prinsoner To Prime Minister = Genesis 41: 37 - 49      ( 3 ). Moses = From A Stammerer To An Eloquent Leader = Exodus 4: 10 – 14         ( 4 ). Hannah = From A Childless Woman To A Mother Of 6 Or 7 = 1 Samuel 2: 5 & 21      ( 5 ). Peter = From A Fearful Disciple To A Fearless Defender Of The Gospel Of Christ = Acts 4         From Simon To  Cephas / Peter ( John 1: 42  , Acts 15 : 14, 2 Peter 1: 1 ) To Peter ( Hebrew/          Greek To Aramaic  )      ( 6 ).Saul /  Paul = From A Persecuter To A Preacher / From A Murderer To A Missionary = Acts 9         The Three Things That Satan Dreads So About The Believer In Christ For Which The Holy Spirit Has Been Sent To Teach Us And Confirm To Us         1. He Dread Us Having Knowledge Of What Christ Has Accomplished For Us On The Cross Ie Not Just As Knowing It In Our Head But We Really And Daily Living It ( Living In Daily Awareness  )         2. He Dread Us Knowing Who We Are In Christ ( Our New Position In Christ  ) = Ephesians 2: 6 / Philippians 3: 20         We Are Here On Earth In That Family/ Office/ Tribe / Community To     Represent Heaven / God          As Channels Of God/ The Holy Spirit           As Gatekeepers = Blocking Evil And Allowing Good Ie No Evil Or Wickedness Can Thrive In Your Presence           As Level Changers         3 . He Dreads What We Have Inherited In Christ = Romans 8 : 14 - 17         o Note : For All The Above, It Is The Duty Of The Holy Spirit To Make Us To Know. For That Is Why He Was Sent To Teach You = John 14: 26            4  . Application:    In Genesis 3 This Was The Trick He Played On Adam          Who Was Already Carrying The Image/ Identity Of God But Did Not Know  V 5 If Adam Had Replied Satan, I Am Already The God Over Creation Satan Would Have Backed Off          V 22 God Wanted Adam To Reach Here Through The Process          Note This Is The Strong Point In Occultism, That The Serpent Made Them To Become Like God ( That The Serpent Opened Their Eyes ) Which Is Falls. Rather The Serpent Opened Their Eyes To A Counterfeit Spirit/ Personality/ Power And World That Will Them In Eternal Damnatiom.         B. We Must Desire Fresh Filling Of The Holy To Those Who Already Have         But The Baptism To Those Who Have Not Received          Note: Both Baptism And Fresh Filling For:   Effective Christian Lives   A Fruitful Christian Lives   A Life And Ministry With Tangible Results          C. Both Fresh Infilling And Baptism To Change Levels And End Eras   D. Prayer And Declarations/ Impartation          Today Is The Day To Lift Embagoes And Break Sieges    To Lift Permanent Embagoes And To Break Sieges   o Holy Spirit, Level Changer We Need You Today          Take Charge And Change My:      Level Of Faith In You   Level Of Understanding    Level Of Commitment    Level Of Dedication         Level Of Obedience    Level Of Sacrifice    Level Of Service          Holy Spirit, Level Changer, Bring It To An End:   Bring This Era Of Unfulfilled Dreams And Prophetic Words To An End   This Era Of Stagnant Growth To An End   This Era Of Lack Of Progress To An End         This Era Of Slowness To An End   This Era Of Spiritual, Economic And Financial Dryness To An End   This Era Of Loneliness    This Era Of Singleness          This Persistent Attacks From The Enemy To An End   This Persistent Battles To An End   This Recurring Cycles And Patterns To An End         This Recurring Situation To An End   This Ill Health To An End         o The End Must Come For:   Carrer Instability    Economic And Financial Instability    Marital Instability      

Speaker: Rev. Dr Delali G. Bodza

Speaker: Rev. Franklin E. Idan  

THEME: Decoding and Encoding God's Calendar for 2023.   TEXTS: Luke 19:43-44 Hosea 13:13

How can your life make a difference in Christian terms? Is Christian life about mission?Fr. Goodrich preached this sermon to a live congregation of St. John's Episcopal Church, Dubuque, Iowa. Texts: Luke 10:1-11,16-20 Subscribe to the Father Goodrich Newsletter

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Like ancient Israel, Jesus experienced an "exodus": God gave him escape from the power of sin and death. By his death and resurrection, Jesus offers us an "exodus" too, setting us free from sin and the fear of God's judgment and leading us to the promised land of life in God's kingdom. Texts: Luke 9:28-36 and selections from Luke 23-24

Texts: Luke 19:28-30 and Luke 22:14-23:56Sunday marked the start of Holy Week in the Western Christian Church. We've included the texts that we used in worship on Sunday for your reflection this week. In addition, Pastor Amy refers to a writing the Rev. Katie Murchison Ross. The entire article was printed in the April 6, 2022 Christian Century. https://www.christiancentury.org/article/first-person/bleeding-pulpitSupport Our MinistryMore information about Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Fairport, NY

Orchestrated Sermon Sacred Tenderness: Love, Home Sacrifice An Orchestrated Sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC March 27, 2022. “Roots of Resistance” series.         Texts: Luke 15:1-3, 11B-32 https://foundryumc.org/archive  

Untwisted Perspective A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC March 20, 2022, Third Sunday in Lent. “Roots of Resistance” series.         Texts: Luke 13:1-9 From a recent article in the New York Times highlighted the news that people in Russia are receiving about the war in Ukraine. “The narrative disseminated online through state-run and unofficial channels has helped create an alternate reality where the invasion is justified and Ukrainians are to blame for violence.” For many in Russia, this is the only story they receive, the only perspective given for what is happening. In our own context, we have more perspectives to sort through than we can manage. If we're wise, we are careful about the mix of our sources for news of the day, finding some semblance of balance about what's really going on.  But a balanced diet of perspectives doesn't keep us from losing the most important one. As people of faith, there is always a larger perspective, a more profound frame through which to read the headlines. And it's easy to lose that larger vision and “get twisted” in our perspective. I believe that keeping a nuanced faith perspective in times of crisis and challenge is among the most important spiritual practices we can nurture. Without it, we become unmoored from the story of God's mercy, compassion, justice, and love. We lose the assurance that we are part of a great cloud of witnesses who continue to participate with God who is always at work for good in the world. We forget that we have a responsibility to participate in God's good work. And that, as in every other time of crisis, from the beginning of all things, God will help us. The classic liberal protestant notion is that we should read the newspaper in one hand and the Bible in the other; that is, read the headlines of our lives and of our day with a Spirit-led, Jesus-focused lens so that we might find some guidance about how we are called to respond.  Today our Gospel gives us an example of how Jesus reads the news. Jesus responds to two headlines of disaster:  both were news stories of people who died unjustly and tragically, one in a political massacre and the other through a tower collapsing. One way our ancestors—and many in our modern world—try to make sense of these painful and confusing events is by assigning cause and effect. For example, those folks who were brutally killed by Pilate must have been worse sinners than others or must have done something to deserve that kind of punishment. According to this way of thinking, if you are killed unjustly or randomly or tragically, it's your fault.  God is punishing you.   Jesus reads it differently, saying, “do you really think these people were being singled out because of their sins, or that they died because they're worse than anyone else?  Of course not!” With both examples, Jesus unequivocally denies the cause-effect nature of the deaths. But there is also a “but…” But if you don't repent, if you don't change, then you can expect consequences. When Jesus says that unless we repent, we will perish just as those in the Biblical examples did, he is not saying that God is out to get you and is going to make you a victim of some awful tragedy if you don't shape up. After all, he has just rejected that kind of response. So what is Jesus talking about?  Just before what we receive today in Luke, Jesus teaches about the need to trust God and to live a life according to the love, care, mercy, justice, and humility of the Kin-dom of God (Luke 12:13-48). Jesus tells the story of a rich man building bigger barns to store his crops and then dying with no “treasure stored in heaven.”  Jesus teaches about attendants who need to be ready, keeping their lamps lit, as they await the bridegroom's return. Jesus teaches about the servants who have been given responsibility for their master's possessions, but who are cruel and frivolous and thoughtless; the master will show up when they least expect it and will see what they are doing (or not doing). In all of this, the teaching is: do what matters most today; live a life of deeper trust and surrender today; do justice today; be prepared to meet your maker, be ready to come face to face with God. This is what leads up to Jesus's reaction to the news in our passage today.   The people who perished died in different ways—one was an act of brutal violence the other a “natural” catastrophe. The thing that both scenarios have in common was that the deaths were not expected—they came upon people unaware. When Jesus says that unless we repent, we will perish just as those in the Biblical examples did, it seems to me that the point is that no matter how long we live and no matter how we die, we might very well come to the end of our days without being ready to go.  Perhaps some folks will hear this as a fearful message.  But it is really an invitation. Jesus is calling us to repent—to turn away from—anything that keeps us from living each day as one who is “ready to go,” as a person who has their relationships cared for, who has as little unfinished business as possible, as one who is living a life they wouldn't be embarrassed to lay before God. Jesus encourages us to “read the news” of crisis or challenge in our lives and world not with an eye to placing blame, finding a scapegoat, and identifying upon whom our vengeance should fall (common responses!). Instead, Jesus wants us to take responsibility for our own selves. We are challenged to respond to the injustice, pain and need in the world with honesty and conviction about what we can or should do, about where things need to change in our own lives, about what we need to learn from what has happened so that we might incorporate that learning into our lives.  Jesus follows up the questions about untimely deaths with the parable of the unfruitful fig tree. A couple of notes about fig trees: fig trees absorb an especially large amount of nourishment and therefore can drain the earth of nutrients, depriving other plants of sustenance. Further, according to Levitical Law (Lev. 19:23), fig trees were given three years' growth in order to become “clean.” We are told that the gardener has been looking for fruit on the tree in question for three years. That means it's been six years and this tree has produced no fruit. It is alive, but it's not doing anything much or being anything much. It's just taking up space, wasting the soil. Japanese poet and Christian peace activist, Toyohiko Kagawa wrote: I read In a book That a man called Christ Went about doing good. It is very disconcerting to me That I am so easily Satisfied With just Going about. The fig tree is “just going about” and, therefore, is in danger of being cut down before it has really lived the life it was created for. This tree, all of a sudden, becomes a symbol of us in all the ways that we waste our chance to flourish, the ways we live that may leave us at our end not being “ready to go.” But does the tree get destroyed by a vengeful God? The story Jesus tells here is one of grace. The tree is not destroyed, but rather is given a second chance and more—it is given “fertilizer,” given what it needs to be able to bear fruit. As we confront difficult realities in our lives and in our world—imagine reading the news through the lens of the Jesus who tells this and so many stories of grace, who reminds us that every day—every moment—of life is precious and an opportunity live with love and care. Read the news with the Jesus who came to preach good news to the poor and to set the prisoners free, who broke religious rules for the sake of love, who crossed all the boundaries of race and tribe, who hung out with those whom others despised, the Jesus who was himself unhoused and an asylum-seeker from a murderous political tyrant. Read the news with the Jesus who loved children, who railed against the tyranny of empire, who saw the gifts and potential of every person, who practiced what he preached, who forgave even those who had betrayed, denied, and killed him. As we “read” the painful and troubling headlines of our lives, look through the eyes of Jesus. Doing so will not only highlight the need for repentance in our lives and in the world, but it will also ground our response in the grace and mercy that flows from God's self-giving love. God's grace and mercy enfolds us through every circumstance of our lives, giving us strength and courage to persevere, to change, to hope, to go about doing good, to live each day “ready to go.” And that is Good News after all… https://foundryumc.org/archive

Rooted In Love A sermon preached by Rev. Kelly Grimes at Foundry UMC February 13th, 2022. “Shine On!” series. Texts: Luke 6:17- https://foundryumc.org/archive  

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — How should we think about one of the scariest things in human existence: the end of the world? Jesus foretold that heaven and earth will indeed pass away, and Peter prophesied that the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire on the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes again. But we actually look forward to that otherwise terrifying day, because we know what comes next. And so we live for God as we await that great day. Texts: Luke 21:25-36, 2 Peter 3:3-14

Sunday Sermon by Kevin Jensen — Some fears are healthy, others are unhealthy. And to have no fear at all can be dangerous! Jesus taught us not to fear human beings and what they might do to us, but to fear God—and he also assuaged our fears by teaching us to have confidence in God's love. Texts: Luke 12:1-12 & Philippians 4:4-7

Sunday, October 31, 2021 – 10:00AM "Worshipping" Texts: Luke 7:36-50; Galatians 1:10 Jon Sherrill, preaching

Texts: Luke 19:41-48, Isaiah 56:3-8

Texts: Luke 6:12-16 and Luke 8:1-3 Description: Jesus called a variety of people to follow him and become his disciples. Through their relationships with him they also were formed into relationship with each other, a community of disciples. A faith community is one of the few spaces in our lives where we’re called or even COMMANDED to love people we may have nothing else in common with. What does the way of Jesus teach us about growing relationships with each other in a faith community?

Texts: Luke 9:28-45 Subject: The Transfiguration Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Rev. Jacqui Pagel, Associate to the Bishop

Texts: Luke 9:28-45 Subject: The Transfiguration Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Rev. Jacqui Pagel, Associate to the Bishop

Sunday sermon by Kevin Jensen — Following Jesus requires a cross-centered attitude, an attitude of selflessness. This attitude sets the self aside, rejects pride and practices humility, and gives full devotion to Jesus as Messiah and King. Texts: Luke 9:18-26 & 9:43-62

Sunday sermon by Kevin Jensen — Three times in Luke's gospel, Jesus heals someone on the Sabbath, knowing that doing so would arouse criticism. Yet he did so intentionally, to show his love for people and to help us learn how to prioritize the commands of God. Texts: Luke 6:6-11, 13:10-17, 14:1-6

Texts: Luke 3:1-22 Subject: John in the Wilderness/Baptism of Jesus Baptism of Our Lord; Jan. 10, 2021; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Matt

Texts: Luke 3:1-22 Subject: John in the Wilderness/Baptism of Jesus Baptism of Our Lord; Jan. 10, 2021; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Matt

Texts: Luke 1:26-45 Subject: The Birth of Jesus Christmas Eve; Dec. 24th, 2020; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV

Texts: Luke 1:26-45 Subject: The Birth of Jesus Christmas Eve; Dec. 24th, 2020; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV

Texts: Luke 1:26-45 Subject: The Birth of Jesus Foretold Second Sunday of Advent; Dec. 20, 2020; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

Texts: Luke 1:26-45 Subject: The Birth of Jesus Foretold Second Sunday of Advent; Dec. 20, 2020; Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

This is the sermon preached at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vallonia, IN, on Sunday, July 12th, 2020, which was the 5th Sunday after Trinity. Texts: Luke 5:1-11 and I Peter 3:8-17

Texts: Luke 11:14, Ephesians 5:1, Deuteronomy 6

Texts: Luke 2:22, Malachi 3:1 for the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple

Texts: Luke 2:1-14 Subject: Birth of Jesus Christmas Eve; Dec. 24, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

Texts: Luke 1:5-13, 57-80 Subject: Zechariah’s Song 4th Sunday of Advent; Dec. 22, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

Texts: Luke 15:11-32 Subject: The Welcoming Father Second Sunday after Pentecost; June 23, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

Texts: Luke 10:25-37 Subject: Where is My Neighbor? Holy Trinity Sunday; June 16, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV

Texts: Luke 10:25-37 Subject: Where is My Neighbor? Holy Trinity Sunday; June 16, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV

Texts: Luke 10:25-37 Subject: Where is My Neighbor? Holy Trinity Sunday; June 16, 2019, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Matt Metevelis

A guest homily by the Venerable Cleo Kukeya, our regional archdeacon. Texts: Luke 18, 1 Corinthians 13.

Texts: Luke 2:22-40, Malachi 1:1-11, Leviticus 12, Exodus 12

A homily for the 17th Sunday After Trinity. Texts: Luke 14; Ephesians 4

Texts: Luke 12:13-21; Psalm 51:15-17 Subject: The Rich Man Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost; September 2, 2018, Reformation Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Jason Adams

7th in a series of 8 sermons on the theme, "Unrepented Rebellion." Texts: Luke 16:19-31, Luke 23:32-43  

A sermon preached by Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli at Foundry UMC, December 24, 2017, the fourth Sunday of Advent (and Christmas Eve). Texts: Luke 1:46b-55, Luke 1:26-38    Time is a funny thing.  I remember the feeling as a child that summer break or even a week at my grandparent’s home was such a long stretch of time…And having to wait for something for a month? Well, that was an eternity!  Somewhere along the line, I heard older folks talk about how, with every passing year, time seemed to fly by faster and faster.  As I’ve aged, I’ve learned I’m not a fan of flying time.  My equilibrium goes haywire when I realize that something I think happened last year actually occurred three years ago!  How can that be?!  Time seems to fold in on itself, to dissolve, to collapse.  At some point, I hope I have the time to read more about the experience of time at different ages and stages of human development.  My guess is that with so many responsibilities and distractions as we age, the minutes get so filled up that they seem smaller—less space in them to linger and breathe…   In preparation for today, I took at stab at reading about the science of time—the space-time continuum, relativity, and the like.  Maybe it’s just because it’s the end of such a challenging year, but I didn’t get very far.  My sense is that there’s something about how all time and space are somehow always “there” at different points on a kind of existence continuum.  Instead of time moving in a forward trajectory, all time exists in some sort of circle of eternal “now.”  Or something.  Maybe? I know there are profound spiritual insights to be had from physics on this topic.  Maybe I’ll have time in the next year to glean them more adeptly.  For today, what I know is that we’re experiencing another kind of “time collapse.”  The fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve exist in this time and space, in this “now.”  This doesn’t happen often and, for me, it feels a bit like we’ve been cheated out of our last week of preparation.  Normally, we’d have at least some days between lighting the fourth candle on our Advent Wreath and the big event.  But not today.  It’s all happening at once.  It’s all happening today.    But maybe it’s not really a cheat, but instead a gift, an appropriate illustration and ending to our Anacrusis series here at Foundry.  We’ve been exploring the Christian understanding of time throughout the season of Advent using Anacrusis as our creative metaphor.  Anacrusis is a musical term describing the notes preceding the first full measure of a composition; it’s the beginning, the entry point. Advent may be the metaphorical “opening notes” to the Christian year, but the stories and spiritual preparation that mark the season are infused with both the past and the future.  Our vision of God’s intended future is informed by what God has done and revealed in the past.  The future vision is carried upon the wings of Spirit who nudges us in the present moment toward God and God’s way of love.  We breathe in the vision and it gives us life, it gives us guidance, it gives us energy to respond in concrete ways, to scatter seeds of God’s Kin-dom NOW.  You see, even though Advent is known as a time of waiting, a season when we are more aware of time than most others, using daily Advent calendars and weekly lighting of candles on the Advent Wreath, this season is really one in which time collapses—God’s promises and prophecies of generations past burst into the present, into the NOW with Jesus’ birth; and the way of life and love revealed in the flesh-and-blood Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s future.   In today’s familiar story, we hear echoes of past, present, and future in the words of God’s messenger to Mary.  “Now you will conceive,” Gabriel says. The child will—in the future—be great, be called the Son of the Most High, will sit on the throne of his ancestor David without end—eternally.  References to the “house of Jacob” and the “ancestor David” point back in time and history, energizing Gabriel’s visit with stirring memories of God’s activity and presence in the past. This is a moment when time collapses or—perhaps better and more theologically stated—when time becomes full.  The past, present, and future fold in and exist powerfully in one place and heart—in this case, in the heart of a young woman named Mary.   Every time this story comes up in our annual cycle, I stand amazed before Mary. What was her experience of time and space and reality?  I can only imagine the way that time must have stood still when this word came to her from God.  We don’t know about Mary’s past, her life prior to this moment.  But we do know a bit about Mary’s response.  Perhaps we’ve heard this story so many times that we don’t even think about the possibility that Mary could have said “NO.”  I mean, Mary was not like Elizabeth or other women in the Bible who had been praying and longing for a child.  Mary wasn’t even married yet.  However, when given the news by Gabriel, Mary—claiming her own voice, freedom, and agency—says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  Mary couldn’t have known all that would transpire in the future; though she surely must have imagined that her acceptance of this baby would mean losing Joseph, her betrothed, and that saying “Yes” to this pregnancy would mean being shunned from her community.  And even though tradition tells us that Joseph went through with the marriage and cared for the child they named Jesus, we would do well to remember that receiving this new life from God meant hardship for Mary for the rest of her life.    But even in the midst of all the potential hardship and heartache, Mary’s response in the moment is full of courage, joy, gratitude, and deep faith.  Luke records Mary’s song of praise and prophecy—a song we call the “Magnificat.”  She sings:  “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for God has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed…” (Luke 1:46-55)   Mary’s song acknowledges that God is doing something new in and through her life.  But in many ways, what God is doing is nothing new.  History shows that God has a habit of doing extraordinary things through unlikely people.  King David wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth and wasn’t the obvious choice for that role—he was the youngest of his brothers and a shepherd.  God tends to do the unexpected, to turn things upside down and around so that the world might see things in a new way, so that we might begin to see and understand that what is most powerful just might be the small thing, the simple thing, the least expected…  Mary’s song and story highlights the way God works:  the powerful are brought down and the lowly are lifted up.  Those who are hungry and seeking are filled—and the rich, comfortable folk with full bellies are sent away empty because they already have enough.  (if I had more time this morning, I might elaborate on the point that God’s economy doesn’t include fattening up the rich so that more crumbs might fall from their table to the poor…)   God, the creator of the universe, the Word without whom no thing was made, begins life as a human creature in the womb of a young woman of no standing or account according to the world.  What we learn today is that our God, historically, has chosen to work in the world among lowly handmaids and barren women.  God sees those the world ignores; God knows and God sees gifts and strength and wisdom and power others miss.  It seems this has been true across time, eternally true. God delights to turn things around and to see the world surprised by the gifts of those who respond and bear the vision of love and justice into the world.   So, while much has changed in our world since the time of Mary, the way God comes into the world likely remains pretty much the same.  In a culture that values strength and control and wealth and confidence, in a culture that prizes “having it all together” and nearly constant activity, consider this: that God works in the world not through that part of us that swaggers and struts through life, confident and self-sufficient, but rather that God is most present in those empty places that need to be filled, in the quiet places that can’t find the words.  Perhaps part of the message for all of us is that God has a habit of coming to us in ways and places that we don’t expect—in the broken places, the fragmented places, the places that are weak and insecure and vulnerable to intrusions of the Spirit…  Recently, our nation has experienced the power of women and some men giving voice to the truth of their lives from places of deep pain and fear, naming the pervasive reality of harassment and abuse.  This brave truth-telling, saying “Here I am!” is powerful and has the capacity to turn some things around.  Rich and powerful men who think they can touch anyone and are, themselves, untouchable are thinking twice today—because through the prophetic witness of the abused, “God has shown strength with his arm/ God has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts./ God has brought down the powerful from their thrones,/and lifted up the lowly.” (Lk 1:51-52)  So in the place that feels like a weakness in your life, how is God trying to do a new thing?  What are you being asked to learn, to receive, to offer?  In the broken places in your life, how can your faithful, loving response bring about healing or new life for someone in the world?  How is God trying to use what is or has been difficult for you as a resource or a gift for those around you?  Do you have something to teach?  To share?  How might your own experience of vulnerability or need be directed by the Spirit toward a new ministry or relationship?    Mary was vulnerable in many ways.  She was, after all, just an ordinary human being, just a woman preparing to be a mother for the first time.  But in her vulnerability, she became strong.  Because she was open to God—she received God—who recognized her strength and her grace and came to her when she least expected such a visit.  She was open and allowed herself to be filled.  Mary’s “Here am I” resounds through the ages, across all time:  Here am I.  I’m just me, but here I am.    We, like Mary, are called to be bearers of God’s new life in the world.  I don’t know what this might mean for each of you.  But I trust that God’s messengers will visit you to help you figure it out in the fullness of time.  What I can say now is that, because of brave, faithful women like Mary, we are assured that we, in all our imperfection and insecurity, are worthy and probable participants in God’s wild and wonderful work in the world.  Because of Mary, we know that God chooses to use ordinary folks to make things new.  As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be.     

April 2, 2017, sermon by Rev. Chris Deacon. Texts: Luke 18:31-43; Luke 19:1-10

He is Risen! Nothing is more central to the Christian faith than the facts that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again. Because of this all who believe in Him do not perish but have eternal life. Thank you for celebrating Easter with us today. This morning we will be looking at Luke 24:14-32 in a messages entitled "Unconfused." Texts: Luke 24:14-32, John 18:36-37