Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, May 12 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Rev. 7:9-17.  The book of Revelation is one that is easy to shy away from. We get side-tracked with beasts and horsemen on different color horses, an apocalyptic end of the world as we know it and on bad theology we pick up in movies and books. The thing is, the title of the book is not the Revelation of JOHN, but rather as its first few words say, “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This book is all about Jesus, so rather than avoiding it, say a pray before reading and embrace it. John wrote this book much later than other New Testament books were written. It was a time of great persecution for Christians under the Roman emperor Domitian. Many were martyred; thereby being added to the heavenly court. Revelation is a book of symbols, filled with hope to encourage these beleaguered Christians. Who are these gathered for worship in Revelation? They are an assortment of people from...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, April 15 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text is  Luke 24:36b-48 . Today ’ s gospel reading is the third resurrection appearance and yet, the disciples are still afraid and doubtful. How in the world can God use these people to spread His word throughout the world? The good news is that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Jesus did not reproach his doubtful disciples, but empowered them to witness to all God had done.    No matter how bright and learned one may be, it does not mean that he or she is ready to share the faith. We see that Jesus here commissioned his disciples and that ’ s really exciting. However, they still needed more preparation. You would think the three years they had spent with Jesus would have been more than enough to make them ready.    Before Jesus sends his followers into all the world, he proves that he is risen from the dead, he opens the disciples ’  min...