Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are some thoughts on Sunday's Processional Gospel that were shared electronically with the people of St.Timothy Lutheran Church .  Processional Gospel: Luke 19:28-40 28 After he had said this, [Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.   29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the roa...

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, 4/7/19 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The text was Philippians 3:4b-14 .  Today’s second lesson exudes God’s overwhelming grace. That grace called the Apostle Paul and turned his world upside down. God’s grace is poured out upon us to that we may grow and go to proclaim the good news to all. The last paragraph is a picture of running a race. I can identify with this because my son, Christian, ran from middle school into college. I have watched innumerable races all over our state. Together, let’s look at Paul’s running strategy as he competes in the race of living a life in and for Christ and others. The entire section is directed at those who thought they were already perfect and could not expect anything new from the future. First of all, Paul writes that he has not yet made it to the finish line. The beginning of the first two verses of this section express this in parallelism: he hasn’t ...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday 3/31/19. Sorry for the late posting. Had trouble with Blogger.  In this chapter of Luke, Jesus answers the Pharisees’ complaint about how he welcomes sinners and even eats with them. This could mean that Jesus was host to them as guests. It was an issue of table fellowship—breaking bread together being the sign and seal of full acceptance. How scandalous! Jesus uses three parables illustrating something lost and then found: the lost sheep, the lost coin and today’s parable, the lost son. Jesus begins the parable with these words, “There was a man who had two sons,” (v. 11b). The role of the father is primary. In the parable, the focus is on his relationship with his sons. The father is featured in both the return of the younger son and in the reaction of the older son. The brothers are referred to as “sons “of their father, but not as “brothers.” This focuses on their relationship to their fat...