Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I shared with the folks at St.Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches on Sunday, 9/4. The gospel text is Luke 14:25-33.  Have any of you ever joined a book club, cd club or dvd club or another organization without reading all the fine print first? It can be difficult to figure out exactly what is expected in order to get the great bargains. After a while you realize how much money you have to spend in order to save. That wasn’t made clear in the ads, was it?  Unlike slick advertising agencies or those who proclaim a cross-less faith, Jesus clearly spelled out the cost of being his disciple. There was no small print or hidden fees. Please don’t misunderstand; our salvation is a free gift of God and we can do nothing to deserve it. Jesus was talking about the lives of those who are truly his followers. This is about how we are to live out our lives of faith. At times, Jesus was like a rock star. People followed him like groupies of today. The...

This is the message I shared with the folks at St.Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches on Sunday, 9/4. The gospel text is Luke 14:25-33.  Have any of you ever joined a book club, cd club or dvd club or another organization without reading all the fine print first? It can be difficult to figure out exactly what is expected in order to get the great bargains. After a while you realize how much money you have to spend in order to save. That wasn’t made clear in the ads, was it?  Unlike slick advertising agencies or those who proclaim a cross-less faith, Jesus clearly spelled out the cost of being his disciple. There was no small print or hidden fees. Please don’t misunderstand; our salvation is a free gift of God and we can do nothing to deserve it. Jesus was talking about the lives of those who are truly his followers. This is about how we are to live out our lives of faith. At times, Jesus was like a rock star. People followed him like groupies of today. The...

This is the sermon I preached on 8/28 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran churches. The text was Luke 14:1, 7-14 . Are we all familiar with Tupperware? We all know how Tupperware is sold. Someone has a party and invites friends to come to the party and buy stuff. Have you ever been to a Tupperware party? What are your two biggest fears about going to a Tupperware party? The first is that you’re going to be asked to hold your own party and the second is that you know everyone who is at the party is going to have their own Tupperware party later on and you’re going to be invited. Although Jesus is not talking about Tupperware in today’s gospel, he does talk about parties and whom to invite and whom not to invite. And where do we find Jesus in today’s gospel? We find him attending a meal.  Much of the action in Luke’s gospel takes place around meals. Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal. Jesus always appears to be eating. He’d fit right...