Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the reflection that was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . This Sunday will be our Blue Christmas service and I will be preaching from this text. What are your thoughts about the psalmist's cries? Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 1  Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,     you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2      before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might,     and come to save us! 3  Restore us, O God;     let your face shine, that we may be saved. 4  O Lord God of hosts,     how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? 5  You have fed them with the bread of tears,     and given them tears to drink in full measure. 6  You make us the scorn of our neighbors;     our enemies laugh am...

What are your thoughts about this passage from Isaiah? I'm curious, even though I'm not preaching this week. We have a special guest. This is being sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  First Reading: Isaiah 35:1-10  1The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,         the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus 2it shall blossom abundantly,   and rejoice with joy and singing.  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.  They shall see the glory of the LORD,   the majesty of our God.  3Strengthen the weak hands,   and make firm the feeble knees.  4Say to those who are of a fearful heart,   “Be strong, do not fear!  Here is your God.   He will come with vengeance,  with terrible recompense.   He will come and save you.”  5Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,   and the ears of the deaf unstopped;  6then the lame shall leap like a deer,   and the tongue of the speec...

This is the sermon I preached on 12/8/19, the second Sunday of Advent, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Isaiah 11:1-10 Who wouldn’t want to live in a paradise like the one Isaiah describes? It’s an unimaginable world! But it didn’t start out that way for the people of Israel. Judah had been devastated. In Isaiah 6, it’s likened to a tree that’s been destroyed with only the stump remaining. But God had promised that there would be new life that would usher in a new age of righteousness and justice. This would not be limited to Israel alone, but is an ideal world for all people. Isaiah preaches hope in a time of terror and justice in a time of oppression. The stump, which dominated the political situation, was the dynastic reign of King David’s family, which was believed to be the carrier of God’s goodness and faithfulness in the world. But the royal family disappointed its people and left them in despair. God’s Spirit enters into this malaise. God’s wind has come to...

Here are some thoughts about this Sunday's first lesson. What do you think? This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. First Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10 1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.   2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord .   3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord . He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;   4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.   5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.   6 The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fat...

This is the sermon I preached for the First Sunday of Advent, Dec. 1, 2019, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Matthew 24:36-44. When on a road trip, do you find yourself being just a little antsy—wondering how much longer it will take to get to your destination—checking your watch? It’s hard to wait. I don’t like to wait either. When I’m on a road trip, I frequently check on my phone just how much longer it will be until I arrive at my destination. I enjoy watching the minutes and hours decreasing. And I do take a certain perverse pleasure when traffic is flowing along well and I make good time. After all, I do have a lead foot. Just ask Ray. This is one type of waiting, but there are other, less pleasant types of waiting. It’s not easy to wait for medical test results, especially if something is wrong. My daughter, Sarah, has spent the last two years having every kind of test imaginable to find out why she is tired all the time. Finally…there’s a diag...

It's hard to wait. Let's talk about this coming Sunday's gospel lesson. What are your thoughts and insights? This was sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   Gospel: Matthew 24:36-44   [Jesus said to the disciples,] 36 “About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39 and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42 Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had k...

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church for Christ the King Sunday, 11/24/19. The text was Colossians 1:11-20.  Being part of our household can be quite an adventure, especially lately. You just never know where it may lead. With two wagging puppy tails, a cat and then of course, the humans: a woman who is not particularly coordinated or graceful and a blind guy. Inanimate objects suffer the consequences of getting bumped, knocked over, dropped and sometimes broken. We keep a good supply of duct tape, glue and other adhesives in stock. Things can be repaired or replaced. Super Glue is a wonderful invention! But what about our hearts, our emotions, our families, our church? These are not as easy to fix. Super Glue is fine for things, but what about OUR brokenness? Who can rescue us? The second part of our reading from Colossians is an ancient hymn. Here we learn about our rescuer, Jesus—who he is and what he does. The focus is on the supremacy of Ch...