Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the message I preached on Sunday, Oct. 22 at St.Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The text is Matthew 22:15-22. I had to laugh when I first read today’s gospel reading. You see, this year we got sticker shock when we received our tax return back from the accountant. Previously we owed a little, but this year it was a LOT. On top of that, because we had to file for an extension while I was in the hospital and rehab, we found this out just about a week ago. Now the taxes spoken of in this lesson are nothing like any of our taxes. Instead it was a flat-rate personal tax on all men from age 14 and up and women from ages 12-65. It was levied at around at least a day’s annual wage. Later it was combined with a percentage tax on property as well ( The Oxford Companion ). The tax was a painful reminder that the land of the Jewish people was occupied by foreign powers who worshipped false gods. There was only one way to pay the tax; with Roman coins which served...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, Oct. 15 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church . The scripture text is Philippians 4:1-9 . “Celebrate God all day, every day…revel in him” (v. 4). Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! How can an attitude like that make any sense in today’s world of violence, fires and storms that devastate people’s lives and property? Additionally, it seems like we are on the threshold of war. Does such an attitude seem callous or fanatical? What was Paul thinking as he wrote this to the Philippian church? For one thing, Paul had been through the school of hard knocks. He wrote this letter from prison and had experienced beatings and all kinds of problems for the faith. Remember that before becoming a follower of Jesus, Paul was a well-respected Jewish leader. He was zealous for his faith to the point of persecuting believers in Jesus. The Philippians themselves were experiencing persecution, so you c...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church on Sunday, 10/8/17. The text is Philippians 3:4b-14 . This passage begins with a recitation of Paul’s pedigree. He came from the best stock. Paul goes into great detail about his heritage. He not only speaks of his lineage by birth, but that which made him tower head and shoulders above other men by virtue of his accomplishments. Today, DNA testing kits and family lineage sites like Ancestry.com are becoming more and more popular and accessible. We like knowing where we come from. It helps to give us perspective on where we came from and who we are now. Paul’s point in reflecting on his own personal history is that his personal history and even his historical religious identity did not define him in the same way as his relationship with Christ. (Sundaysandseasons.com). In the second paragraph, the great exchange Paul is referring to is exchanging good for the best. Paul’s pedig...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 10/1/17 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church. The scripture text is Philippians 2:1-13 .  Paul ’ s letter to the Philippians is one of my favorites. It is full of positive, uplifting theology, like “ Rejoice in the Lord always ; again I will say, Rejoice (Phil. 4: 4 ) . It ’ s a feel-good kind of letter. Today ’ s passage from Philippians is chock full of great stuff and I could get at least 10 sermons out of it, however I will settle on one.   The first four verses, in which Paul piles up the ifs, are one long conditional sentence in Greek. When we hear if , we think then . We are much more linear in our thinking than were the early Christians. If could be translated since. Another way to look at these verses is “ If you ’ ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ (and you have), if his love has made any difference in your life (and it has) and so forth. This makes for a more per...