Claimed, gathered and sent

Here are a few thoughts on the first part of Sunday's gospel. Please let me know your take on the gospel reading. This was sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.   Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23 12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:  15“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,   on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—  16the people who sat in darkness   have seen a great light,  and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death   light has dawned.” 17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”   18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to...

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The scripture was John 1:29-42. What we have before us in today’s gospel is an action-packed account of the first disciples. John the Baptist proclaims and declares Jesus’ identity as the Lamb of God. Two of John’s disciples leave him for Jesus in response to the message. Jesus invites John’s disciples to “Come and see” (v. 39). They become followers and evangelists themselves as Andrew brings his brother Simon, to Jesus, who calls him Peter. Without this witness of John’s, others would not know the one who was coming and standing among them. Even John needed the divine witness to know who Jesus was. Twice he says that he did not know him. I find this to be curious. After all, Jesus was his cousin, so he knew him in one respect. But he did not know who Jesus was as far as his mission and identity as Messiah, the Son of God. He was so much more than merely John’s cousin. The Spirit remained on Jesus. Thi...

Here are some thoughts on this coming Sunday's gospel reading that were sent to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. I would like your input. What do you see and hear? John 1:29-42a 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” 31 I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ 32 And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” 34 And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’ 35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 an...

This is the message I shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel reading is Matthew 3:13-17 . It has often been said, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” How often do our initial opinions of a person come from our first encounter with them? Here in today’s gospel, we hear of Jesus’ first impression, which he made with a splash with all kinds of great things to follow. Jesus’ first miracle may have occurred at his baptism. The miracle is not so much that he won the argument with John, but that Jesus humbled himself by allowing, or should we say demanding that John baptize him. In this way, Jesus was obedient to God and was in solidarity with all humankind. This is how Jesus’ life was lived as well—he comes down with us all, on our level, identifying with our needs. His baptism foreshadows how his life will end—on a cross. In Matthew’s gospel, we have Jesus’ first words in the New Testament. In his argument about John baptizing hi...

What do you think about this passage? This was shared with the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church.  What is God saying to you through it? Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Three basic things happen in this short telling of Jesus’ baptism: he is baptized by John, touched by the Spirit and publicly identified as God’s Son. Why was Jesus baptized after all? He certainly did not need to have his sins washed away ...

This is the sermon I preached last Sunday, 1/5 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church . The gospel text was Matthew 2:1-12.  What in the world is Epiphany and why do we celebrate it? Epiphany means "showing forth." It names the day that the church tells Matthew's story of the magi from foreign lands who follow the light of the star and "see" Jesus as Christ. This is important because this acknowledges that the greatest gift given by the God who comes down to be with His people, is to be shared by Jew and Gentile alike. The irony here is the wise men who were not Jewish scholars were the first to recognize the sign of the star in the sky and the importance of its meaning. It's commonly believed that the star would have also been seen in Jerusalem and Judea but somehow the Jewish scholars were asleep in the temple. Even if they saw it, they either ignored it or didn't look in the Jewish scriptures to find out what it meant. More importantly, if they did unders...

This Sunday we will be celebrating Epiphany. The text below is the one I'm preaching from. What are your thoughts about this text? Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 1In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:  6‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,   are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;  for from you shall come a ruler   who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”   7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then he sent t...