Claimed, gathered and sent

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 oft

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 as others did b…

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 understand…

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 them to Bethl…