Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts about Sunday's reading from the Hebrew Scriptures that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Any thoughts? First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10 5 Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.   6 They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.   7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.   8 They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.   9 The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it?   10 I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 2/10/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.  Today we are continuing the venture of learning to share our faith by looking at a writing of the Apostle Paul, perhaps the most prolific New Testament author who founded many of the churches of the first century. What Paul is about to say is at the center of Christian faith and life—not at the margins. And it was from Paul that the Corinthians heard the message in the first place. Further in the reading, we find the content of the good news. Here is the earliest existing description of Christ’s resurrection. It sounds like part of an early creed formulated long before the Apostles’ Creed. Paul’s version dates from 54 AD and the Apostles’ Creed from around 390 AD.  “Of first importance” stresses the centrality of the doctrines Paul mentions to the gospel message. In a nutshell, they are Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. His burial shows th...