Best ericthelutheran Podcasts (2024)

1
Sometimes We Get What We Look For (Christ the King) 16:45

9M ago16:45

16:45

Today’s gospel is one in which we find some stunning decisions. Some lead to great increase and new responsibility; others lead to a no good very bad terrible day. The Gospel isn’t concerned with what we produce, but that we use what we’re given somehow. The talents given are grace-filled opportunities to do what we can with what we have. How will …

1
What God Has Wrought — Reformation Sunday 2023 15:25

10M ago15:25

15:25

Psalm 46 speaks of the desolations God brings to the earth, and it’s our habit to think of floods and disasters. What God desolates is the implements of war — the bow, the spear, the chariots — the M-16, the Tomahawk Missile, the tank. The ongoing work of reforming our hearts is the never ending process of tearing our wars apart.…

1
Kingdom Visions New and Old 14:45

10M ago14:45

14:45

Jesus calls us to see God’s kingdom, not as a place of easy living, but of living together in good times and in bad. What does this vision inspire in you?

1
Grace May be Free, but it isn't Cheap (Matthew 18:15-20) 12:57

11M ago12:57

12:57

Note: I read the Gospel and begin the sermon from one of the pews, rather than from the pulpit. I move to the pulpit after a couple minutes. It may be impossible to know this from the audio context. What does it mean to apologize; to forgive; to reconcile? How do we judge the value of these things, and how do we recognize sincerity? God offers us g…

1
Not On My Watch, Jesus! (Matthew 16:21-28) 17:01

12M ago17:01

17:01

Immediately preceding this reading, Peter confessed Jesus to be Messiah, and Jesus told him "good job!" Well, essentially. This week we see a different side of Peter and a different message from Jesus, who tells Peter in no uncertain terms that love requires sacrifice. God is providing the lamb. Anyone trying to distract him from this is at odds wi…

1
A Sacred Gift (Matthew 10:40-42) 13:24

1y ago13:24

13:24

This sermon takes place the week after a challenging congregational meeting. I don't mean "challenging", as in code for "look, the roof is fire and the floor is fire and everything is fire!". I mean it in the sense that we had a couple of important decisions to make, and a member spoke from the depths of their heart and then left the meeting when t…

1
Enough, but of what? (Pentecost 3) 16:35

1y ago16:35

16:35

Gospel: Matthew 9:35-10:8 The Holy Gospel according to Matthew, the ninth chapter. Glory to you, O Lord! 35Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were hara…

1
Now That's a Story (Pentecost 2) 16:35

1y ago16:35

16:35

I'm experimenting with some different things, and one of them is moving to manuscript preaching after not using them in about fifteen years, except rarely. This sermon focuses on the idea that our own stories and the stories of those around us make a real difference, well beyond what we'd typically consider. December 2020. Now that’s a month to tel…

1
Led Away From Temptation to Take the Hard Road to Justice (Matthew 4:1-11 Lent 1) 19:38

1+ y ago19:38

19:38

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” that his opinion had become that the white moderate was the biggest obstacle to the cause of justice for black and brown people. He defines them, not by their ideology, but by their actions that frustrate the advancement of civil rights and prolong the suffering of black…

1
A Ball of Transfigury Wigury Stuff (Transfiguration Sunday Matthew 17:1-9) 14:58

1+ y ago14:58

14:58

The Transfiguration is a moment that gives a foretaste of completion — not just of the Law and the Prophets, but of an old covenant as the disciples witness the birth pangs of a new one and wonder what they’ve really become a part of in following Jesus. And the voice says, “Listen to him”. And we, as ever, are bad at this. And now here we are, face…

1
Killing in the Name Of, A Story Shared (Matthew 5:21-37 Epiphany 6) 16:59

1+ y ago16:59

16:59

Jesus raises the bar for what it means to love each other and to live in community by saying that words can kill, men can’t wantonly discard their wives, and putting a finer point on our accountability for what we promise and how. Life in God’s community means a deeper consideration of our role as saints and sinners, and what it means to be both. T…

1
No More Waiting 3:43

1+ y ago3:43

3:43

This is a song I wrote for Christmas this year. It’s a rough recording, but love cone down is always a little rough — and even more welcome for its roughness. Merry Christmas! I’ll post the lyrics later.By ericthelutheran

1
Love is Not Fragile (or What Did You Expect? Advent 3) 20:09

1+ y ago20:09

20:09

So often our belief and understanding of love is limited to our own fragile capacity. God’s love is not fragile. What difference can this make?By ericthelutheran

1
Grieving Club Q and a World Made Too Small by Bigotry (Christ the King 2022) 14:05

1+ y ago14:05

14:05

My plan for Christ the King’s sermon was much different before waking up to news of the tragedy at Club Q. This didn’t happen in a vacuum, but it the predictable result of increasingly bigoted rhetoric in our cultural, political, and even religious dialogues. Every day is the right time to say plainly that love leaves no room for any ideology that …

1
Advent 1: Hope in All Times 10:41

1+ y ago10:41

10:41

We spend a lot of time looking up, forward, and backward trying to figure out what will happen in a future we aren’t guaranteed from the perspective of events and pasts we can’t change. Jesus reminds us that God is *here* with us, and knows what to do with us even if we don’t know what to do with ourselves.…

1
Hope Comes After (All Saints 2022, Luke 6:20-31) 8:37

2y ago8:37

8:37

We often think hope to be a function of love. It is. Yet hope in the midst of loss isn't something that always heals. Sometimes it has a dampening effect on our healing because it feels like a gloss over our woundedness for the easing of the present's awkwardness rather than a soothing balm for our wounded heart. Love sits in pain, cleanses the wou…

1
The Miracle of Dignity (Luke 17:11-19) 17:24

2y ago17:24

17:24

Ten lepers were cleansed, one returned to give thanks. There’s something about being sick, either chronically or terminally, that robs a person of an identity separate from that illness. In a world where we often mistake cures for healing, this story forced us to explore what makes the one who returned well in a way the other nine somehow missed.…

1
When Rich People Laugh at the Poor, An Honest Response (Luke 16:19-31) 15:28

2y ago15:28

15:28

“The Pharisees, who we’re lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him.” This was their response to the poorly named Parable of the Dishonest Manager, and was the reason Jesus told this parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man. It isn’t that Pharisees we’re particularly uncaring or insensitive, it’s more that they were comfortable as a soc…

1
A Virtuous Dishonesty? (Luke 16:1-13) 20:14

2y ago20:14

20:14

When Jesus praises a dishonest manager, it brings about an uncomfortable moment that challenges the idea that Jesus brings morality — or at least a morality we understand. This is a chance to reconsider what true currency is, what a proper relationship to wealth, and who God really favors.By ericthelutheran

1
From What to Why 20:37

2y ago20:37

20:37

“What in the world are you doing?!?” are words we often hear during times of trouble. Less frequently, we hear the question, “why?”. It doesn’t end there though, because too often we react to what happens rather than ask with true curiosity why someone might have done it, affording them the best of intentions. Moving from what to why is the act of …

1
Turning Into Pain to Heal 20:44

2y ago20:44

20:44

When we hurt, it’s human nature to shy away, to blame, to react defensively. What we see through the witness of God through Christ, in the account of God’s people worshiping another God, from the example of David who engaged in deep repentance is that it’s only by turning into what hurts us with an open heart and mind that we can heal.…

1
Loving in Conflict: Hope for a Loving Community 20:37

2y ago20:37

20:37

Wherever there are people, there will be disagreements. One of the most unhealthy habits any community can exhibit is letting mean and hurtful comments in community spaces go unchallenged. Safe, loving space means the calling to let the consequences of hurtful words or actions rest on the one who say or do them, because to do otherwise is to comfor…

1
Be Interruptible 15:00

2y ago15:00

15:00

When God shows up, it doesn’t happen at convenient moments. In every instance of God appearing is an interruption. The call to living a life of faith is also a call to be interruptible. We are called to be open to the concept of Sabbath that tells us not to be so concerned South what we want to do that we don’t miss what God is calling us to do.…

1
Imagining Hallelujah (Funeral Sermon for Roberts Apse) 13:53

2y ago13:53

13:53

Roberts was 51, and I never met him but his family made me feel like I’ve known him for years. They wanted something less traditional for music, so we settled on me playing Imagine and Hallelujah For the prelude, Amazing Grace as a hymn, and Three Little Birds as closing hymn. This will be a funeral and family thatI carry for a long time. Thanks be…

1
Warninger and Hopier: Fire that Heals, Water that Frightens 20:57

2y ago20:57

20:57

We hear words of challenge, and often stop listening when it becomes uncomfortable. Jesus says that he brings fire, but it’s a fire that heals and makes whole. How do we encounter and embrace the wholeness that comes from what scares us and recognize the dangers of what it, on its face, comforting?By ericthelutheran

1
Hope in Warninger Times 10:55

2y ago10:55

10:55

This passage begins with a word of comforting hope, but concludes with a warning to remain watchful. Even so, this warning was a word of hope. Where does your hope reside in times of Covidian crap or the griefs that mark every life? In the community of God’s presence and calling. God is most fully experienced together.…

1
Pulse and the Emanuel 9, Hope Amidst Our Grief (Holy Trinity Sunday) 18:53

2y ago18:53

18:53

Today is the anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. June 17 is the anniversary of the murder and martyrdom of the Emanuel 9. Human evil is ambitious in its reach, yet even so, God’s Breath of Life continues to inspire and resurrect what is lost to good purpose. What makes it love isn’t that God jumps into action, but the promise to dwell with…

1
How to Heal Grief 19:34

2y ago19:34

19:34

Uvalde and Buffalo are points of great pain. The disappointing failure of Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton to name as racist the actions of the bishop and leadership of the Sierra Pacific Synod. The joys and sorrows of change. Healing grief requires attention, intention, and community.By ericthelutheran

1
Love With No Buts About It (John 13 Easter 5) 14:51

2+ y ago14:51

14:51

“Love one another”. It’s simple but hard. How do we love like God loves when it feels so foreign to us?By ericthelutheran

1
The Hands of Love (Homily for the funeral of John Sera at Emanuel, Norwood, MA) 8:47

2+ y ago8:47

8:47

It’s okay not to be okay, and where we’re together in God’s love, just because we aren’t okay doesn’t mean we aren’t alright.By ericthelutheran

1
Scents of Love & Jealousy 9:58

2+ y ago9:58

9:58

Whatever we do leaves its scent in the nostrils of those around us. Sometimes it's pleasing, sometimes not. As people of faith, how can we leave God's aroma wherever we go?By ericthelutheran

1
The Mother's Absence (Lent 3C Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32) 19:23

2+ y ago19:23

19:23

Sometimes what's missing is louder to us than what's present. This Sunday, we have the parable often called The Prodigal Son. What I often remember is the insistence of the Father, the looseness of the son, and the hardness of the older brother. This time around, I noticed the absence of the mother, the father's wife. Lent is a time of exploration …

1
The Reverend Speaks - My Third Manuscript Sermon (Mark 10) 18:01

3y ago18:01

18:01

Since this is a manuscript sermon, the text is too long to paste in here. So this is a link to the manuscript in Google Docs! This sermon is my attempt to communicate the most important parts of being the Church together, and address some of the things that hold us up along the way.By ericthelutheran

1
No Going Back (John 6:1-21, Bread of Life 1) 17:49

3y ago17:49

17:49

The next few weeks we'll be dealing with John 6, which is called the Bread of Life series by pastors. In John 6, Jesus feeds five thousand people and drama ensues. Jesus wrestles with what he's really called to do - are the signs and miracles the point, or is it something else? If it isn't the signs that are important, what really is? The disciples…

1
Off-Roading with Jesus (John 6:21-35, Bread of Life 2) 17:16

3y ago17:16

17:16

Here we are again: are we coming to the end of COVID or another beginning? This isn't fun, and I'm done with it. But here we are again in a space of not knowing and wrestling with the anxiety, fear, and anger that go with it. People are struggling. Now what?By ericthelutheran

1
Twelve Long Years (Mark 5:21-43) 0:27

3y ago0:27

0:27

Where were you twelve years ago? Today we hear the story of two daughters who each were in much different positions twelve years ago. One is a daughter of an important temple official, who is twelve years old and dies by the end of the story. The other is a woman who has dealt with hemorrhaging for twelve long years, whose faith makes her well. At …

1
The Nearness (Mark 1:14-20) 20:57

3+ y ago20:57

20:57

Jesus leaves the wilderness and comes to the city to declare, "Time's up! The kingdom of God has come near, so repent and believe the good news!". But the good news about what? What's so good about this news, anyway, in a world beset by greed, anger, violence, death, and all the things that scare us? The good news is that when we recognize the voic…

1
Come & See (Mark 1 4-11) 14:15

3+ y ago14:15

14:15

Can anything good come out of this place? Can anything good come out of me? Jesus answers by inviting us into the heart and mind of God so we can see in us what God sees.By ericthelutheran

1
All Saints: A Ghost Story (Mark 5) 22:13

4y ago22:13

22:13

A different Gospel for this day because this text grew on me this week. All Saints is a day when we commemorate the joyous hope of the resurrection, remember those we love and have lost, and ponder the mystery that God is present at all times and places.By ericthelutheran

1
A Mountain Story Worth Hearing (LCOR, Foxboro Pentecost 20A) 22:24

4y ago22:24

22:24

Jesus held a coin struck with the face of the Emperor and an impossible questions from the good church folks, who knew that whatever he answered would get him in trouble: either with the the crowds who resented spending a dime in taxes to their Roman oppressors, or with the Roman authority who made it very clear that they expected people to pay the…

1
Life in the Shadow of Death, Third Week of Social Distancing (Lent 5,) 19:24

4+ y ago19:24

19:24

We hear a story of Ezekiel, who found himself brought to a valley of dry bones by the Spirit of the Lord and asked the question, "mortal, can these bones live?". We hear of the death of Lazarus, and witness Jesus meeting Martha and then Mary in the road to abide with them in their grief. Throughout Scripture, joy and sorrow messily mingle, yet we s…

1
Scripture & Sermon Only: The Second Sunday of Social Distancing (also Lent 4A) 36:04

4+ y ago36:04

36:04

Phil, Sergey, & Pastor Eric gathered for worship this morning. This is for those who aren’t able to attend worship in person. What do we do when everything is crazy and we don't know which way to turn? We give thanks that even when everything has changed around us, God is with us. Scriptures: Psalm 23 John Chapter 9 (all of it)…

1
The Second Sunday of Social Distancing - Complete Version (also Lent 4A) 33:31

4+ y ago33:31

33:31

Phil, Sergey, & Pastor Eric gathered for worship Sunday morning. This is for those who aren’t able to attend worship in person. Please sing along, pray along, and worship along with us! Scriptures: Psalm 23 John Chapter 9 (all of it) Music: Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone Precious Lord, Take My Hand Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross Join us in giving …

1
Nick at Night (1 of 2): An Openness to Hope (Lent 2A LCOR, Foxboro) 16:41

4+ y ago16:41

16:41

This is Part 1 of a two-part sermon, handily identifiable by the label, “Part 2”. (Here’s a link to Part 2: https://www.buzzsprout.com/132881/2958346) Nicodemus went to see Jesus at night. Part of what he was looking for was whether this was a crazy guy who just drove people out of the temple due to his own delusions of grandeur, or whether this wa…

1
Nick at Night (Part 2 of 2): Born Again, Again (Lent 2A, LCOR, Foxboro) 23:56

4+ y ago23:56

23:56

This is Part 2 of a two-part sermon. While you can listen to either one and have a “whole” sermon, part 1 is handily titled “Nick at Night (Part 1 of 2)”. (Here’s a link to Part 1: https://www.buzzsprout.com/132881/2958247) Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, and he had some hard questions for Jesus. His most significant struggle was how to deal with…

1
The Temptation Triathalon: Love that is not fragile even when we are. (The LCOR, Foxboro Lent 1A 22:39

4+ y ago22:39

22:39

Yeah, I said it: Temptation is tempting. What? It is; otherwise it would be called “the thing that I saw but didn’t feel compelled to take even a second look”; and part of what makes the temptation of Jesus an event worth mentioning is that in order for it to be called “the temptation of Jesus”, temptation has to be something that’s tempting for hi…

1
Living in the Spirit Found in the Letter (830 The LCOR, Epiphany 6A) 18:34

4+ y ago18:34

18:34

Today’s teaching is challenging for those of us who are human beings because it cuts to the heart of the most damaging and lasting effects of Sin and how it affects every aspect of our lives. This is a text where Jesus speaks clearly about divorce, but it’s spoken in the cultural context of his time and place. Jesus speaks clearly about anger and s…

1
I Fought the Law...and Surrendered (830 The LCOR, Epiphany 5A) 18:15

4+ y ago18:15

18:15

Late post...this is from February 9...oops. :) When we hear that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, it can fill us with some rightful dread because usually when someone talks about God’s laws, it isn’t because they plan to regale us with tales of God’s love for creation. Jesus says in the Gospel that he didn’t come to abolish …

1
I Fought the Law... (11am The LCOR, Epiphany 5A) 19:16

4+ y ago19:16

19:16

Late post...this is from February 9...oops. :) When we hear that Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it, it can fill us with some rightful dread because usually when someone talks about God’s laws, it isn’t because they plan to regale us with tales of God’s love for creation. Jesus says in the Gospel that he didn’t come to abolish …

1
Podcast Unplugged: Legacies of Love: Sowing What We Will Not Reap (LCOR 11am Luke 2:22-40, Presentation of Our Lord) 20:11

4+ y ago20:11

20:11

We’re a results-oriented society, and it’s often challenging to think about doing things that we can’t see to completion. This week we celebrated The Presentation of Our Lord, a minor feast day that commemorates the presentation of Jesus to the Temple, and Simeon and Anna were there to see him. Simeon was promised that he wouldn’t die until he saw …

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