Where Are We Headed?

Scriptures: John 14:23-29; Acts 16:9-5; Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

We Christians tend to live in difficult times. We aren’t part of that early church movement that got to experience the ministry of Jesus, like in our John text, or even experience the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and how it moved and shaped the early church like it does in our Acts text. Nor are we at the end, seeing the glorious Holy City where God and Christ dwell among us fully and completely – God’s presence in our lives being a tangible reality.

No, instead, we are – somewhere in between. The church has been well-established for over 2000 years. The vision of Revelation 21 and 22 is something that is yet to come.

Triumph or Tragedy?

Palm Sunday 
Scripture: Luke 19:28-44

Well, this Sunday, the lectionary wanted me to preach on the last supper and the crucifixion of Jesus – but I felt that was getting ahead of ourselves a bit. That to jump to Good Friday the Sunday before would miss the point and impact of Holy Week. We call it Holy Week because there are seven days between now and next Sunday – and there is a lot that happens in these seven days. Today is the start – as we remember Palm Sunday, and Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

The Hometown Prophet

This sermon was first preached January 23/24, 2010 at First Lutheran Church in Kearney, NE.

Scripture: Luke 4:14-30

So how many of you have ever asked, or been asked, the question, “So what’s your favorite scripture passage?” Most of us have some passage that always sticks out to us, something that we always remember – even if it’s one of those “oldies but goodies” like Psalm 23, or John 3:16… I’m a bit of an odd-duck, my favorite passage is from Exodus 33, when God gets irritated with the Israelites and tells Moses: “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

Seems like an odd verse to like, I know – especially to have it be one of your favorites… but I like it because it reminds me that when I get annoyed with people, it’s okay to sometimes be annoyed. Even God got annoyed with the people he loved.

When Bad Things Happen

Scripture: Luke 13:1-9

Shakespeare may have thought “To be or not to be” was the question that preoccupied humanity – certainly was what preoccupied Hamlet, but I’d argue that “Why do bad things happen to good people” is right up there with questions that weigh heavily on our mind.

When people ask me that question, Luke 13 is exactly where I go. In this passage we see that the disciples were keenly aware of both the evils perpetuated by humanity – such as Pilate mingling the blood of a group of Galileean pilgrims with his pagan sacrifices, as well as the random acts of nature, like the tower of Siloam that fell and killed eighteen hapless Jews.

The disciples ask the question: Why do these things happen? What have they done to deserve that?

Transforming the Beast

Scripture: Luke 9:2-36; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2

People frequently ask me – because I used to work for Disney animation – what my favorite Disney movie was. My answer is always simple – my two favorite movies are Mulan and Beauty and the Beast.

And the reason I love these movies is because they’re movies about transformation. Beauty and the Beast in particular, if you remember right, started off with the handsome prince being turned into a horrible looking beast – the point – to make his outside reflect what was on the inside. A beast. An angry, ugly, snarling beast that cared nothing about anyone but himself. And the only thing that was going to change him back was to act in love towards another. His was a self-serving love at first—he wanted someone to love him so that he could change back—but that wasn’t how it worked. The beast soon discovered that unless he acted out of genuine self-lessness—that when he genuinely loved someone other than himself, it perhaps meant not having things the way he wanted them.

Named and Claimed

This sermon was first preached on January 9/10, 2010 at First Lutheran Church in Kearney, NE.

Scripture: Luke 3:15-22

You know, when I was a kid, I used to get called “Thunder thighs.” Yeah, wasn’t one of the best names in the world to be called, and admittedly, once I started being called that – that was really how I began to see myself as well.

What we are called makes a difference in our lives. Let’s face it – people who are called loser, pathetic, no good, etc. all their lives eventually begin to see themselves as that and begin to live as though that were true. What people call us is what molds and shapes who we are. We may say “sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me,” but we know that’s not true. Words – and in particular names – are an integral part of our identity. It’s an integral part of how we relate to one another.

Calm In the Midst of Life's Storms

(The following sermon was preached at First Lutheran Church, Kearney, NE on June 20/21, 2009)

Scripture Lesson: Mark 4:35-41

Well, I don’t think I need to describe to anyone here the fear that goes along with being caught in the middle of a storm. For me, the Hallam tornado back in 2004 was a little too close for comfort. Here in Kearney, strong storms did a number right over in Dryden Park and destroyed a lot of people’s roofs. This past week, we once again were reminded of the power and fury of severe storms and tornados throughout the state of Nebraska – many of us getting to see the fool-hardy people drive essentially straight into that tornado in Aurora.