Claimed, gathered and sent

This text leaped out at me as a continuation of God's word to the congregation I'm serving, Bethel Lutheran Church in Portville, NY. It's from First Peter .  Here's the message: Our world is full of suffering. We see it in the senseless deaths of university students in California. We see it in the abduction of 200 plus Nigerian schoolgirls by extremists. Parents send their children to school every day fully expecting them to return home safely. But these children in countries separated by language, customs and many miles did not.Many in our own congregation are suffering physically or emotionally with diseases of all kinds. Suffering is pervasive in our world. The letter of First Peter frequently addresses this aspect of the Christian faith. Both ancient and modern interpreters consider this letter to be one of exceptional clarity in the way it articulates the gospel. Martin Luther ranked it among “the true and noblest books of the New Testament.” T...

When I looked at the gospel passage from John 14:15-21 , verse 18 was like a neon sign and I knew that was the message for the folks at Bethel Lutheran Church   in Portville, NY. This is my sermon based on the gospel passage: What comes to mind when you hear the word orphan? Maybe you think of the TV ads for various organizations that ask you to support an orphan who lives overseas. You may be supporting one of those children. The story of Jane Eyre may come to mind or Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Or maybe you know someone who as a child lost his or her parents thereby becoming an orphan. We typically think of children when we hear the word orphans , but any of us can be orphaned at any age. In Jesus’ time, orphan was a common metaphor to describe disciples left without their masters. The phrase “leave you orphaned,” could also be understood as an idiom meaning, “leave you helpless.” One who was orphaned was without the aid and comfort of those who serve as associates or frie...

Here is a link to an interesting post I just read. The author is the pastor of a rural Lutheran congregation.  http://trustngrace.wordpress.com

This is the message I preached to God's people at Bethel Lutheran Church in Portville, NY on Sunday, April 27. The text is John 20:19-31.  Let’s use our imaginations today as we look at today’s gospel reading. We’re going to jump into a time machine and go back to Jerusalem later in the day after the resurrection. How do you think we’re going to find the disciples? Are they going to be ecstatic? Are they going to be boldly walking around the temple area telling the Pharisees, “We told you so. He’s baaaaaaaaaaack.” Were they telling everyone they met that Jesus is risen? Were they spreading the news and the faith?  No. They were hidden in the large room behind locked doors scared out of their wits. Would we be in any better shape? Just a few days before, their master and Lord was crucified. Yes, he rose on that Sunday morning—we know that, the women who went to the tomb know that, but just because some women had told the disciples about it doesn’t necessarily mean ...