Claimed, gathered and sent

Today I had the privilege of leading worship and sharing a devotional on Proverbs 3:13-18 with the other Lutheran churches in and near Jamestown, NY. This is the message I gave.      Have you ever had a serious conversation with someone about what they want out of life for themselves or their children? You might hear answers such as “ I ’ d like them to be rich and famous, being popular or a leader in fashion, or an actor or a rock star? Others might say, "I'd like them to get a good education, get a good job, buy a nice house, get married and have a nice family. If we get down to the basics, don't most of us just want our children to be happy? What about ourselves, don't we all want to be happy?       Our reading from Proverbs begins and ends with the word "happy." Apparently, this was something the sages of old thought about as well. The Hebrew word that was translated as "happy, ” reflects the inner joy and heavenly bliss whi...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy's and St. Mark's . The gospel text is John 2:13-22.              Last week we talked about grumpy Jesus and his exchange with Peter. Today in John's gospel, we see Jesus and he is beyond grumpy, he's downright angry and aggressive. Last week it seemed like he needed an attitude adjustment. This week, Jesus needs an intervention in anger management. Did Jesus let his emotions get the best of him? Is Jesus overreacting? Is John's purpose of including this story to emphasize Jesus' humanity? There are lots of questions we should be asking about this passage of scripture.           One very important question is, why would Jesus do this? What is Jesus really up to?"...in the temple he found people selling" (v. 14). No wonder Jesus reacted in the way he did. Can you imagine what it would be like if we found our sanctuary full of...

Something I have really been enjoying is preparing an emessage for each Thursday for St. Timothy Lutheran Church . Each week it's about one of Sunday's upcoming lessons. This exercise has helped me to focus my thoughts regarding the text. This Sunday it is John 2:13-22.  This is what I shared today regarding the above gospel reading. John 2:13-22 The Message 13-14 When the Passover Feast, celebrated each spring by the Jews, was about to take place, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. He found the Temple teeming with people selling cattle and sheep and doves. The loan sharks were also there in full strength. 15-17 Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling coins left and right. He told the dove merchants, “ Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father ’ s house into a shopping mall! ” That ’ s when his disciples remembered the Scriptu...