Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached today, 6/2120 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Service. If you would like to see the video of the sermon, it is here. The gospel text is Matthew 10:24-39.  Have no fear, little flock; have no fear, little flock, For the Father has chosen to give you the kingdom; Have no fear little flock (ELW 764). YouTube link Jesus says, “have no fear of them.” Who are the “them?” They are the religious leaders of the time that accused Jesus of healing and performing miracles by the power of the devil. They were the ones who persecuted Jesus and arranged for his crucifixion. Jesus is saying, “If they do this to me, they’ll do it to you.” At the time, the disciples didn’t really get what the future would hold. Do any of us? A year ago, could we have imagined months of quarantine or shortages of household supplies like toilet paper? Could we have imagined race riots like we had in the 1960s? “Have no fear of them.” Jesus is preparing h

Here are some thoughts on tomorrow's gospel. What are your thoughts? Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39 [Jesus said to the twelve:] 24 “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!   26 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.   32

This is the sermon I'll be preaching at St. Timothy Lutheran Church's Drive-In Service (hence the reference to horn beeping) on Sunday. The text is Romans 5:1-8. How are you all doing? If you’re doing well, beep your horn. If you’re struggling a bit, beep your horn. Do you find that you fluctuate between doing well and feeling overwhelmed? Some people find themselves breaking down and suddenly crying. We are under a lot of pressure. Not only are we dealing with the Coronavirus, which has gone on much longer than any of us thought it would, but we have come face to face with protests about our own racism. That is not easy to handle. Maybe we never thought of ourselves as racist. Maybe some of us aren’t. Maybe some of us find the whole Black Lives Matter and the mere thought of being accused of racism offensive. But I think deep in our hearts, we have all been infected by this sin which is every bit as rampant and debilitating as the Coronavirus. In the midst of all of thi

Here are some thoughts about this Sunday's second lesson that were sent out to the people of St. Timothy Lutheran Church. What are your thoughts? Let me know! Second Reading: Romans 5:1-8 1 Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope , 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.   6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ

With the outbreak of COVID 19, the church as the community of faith, has had to get creative. Many churches use Zoom for worship while others pre-record worship. St. Timothy has started having drive -in worship services. Here is the article that was in the local paper. https://www.post-journal.com/news/community/2020/06/st-timothy-church-holding-drive-in-services-sunday/