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The cross is the chief symbol of our faith, a sign of the saving work of Christ. What does it mean “to be saved?” Some would say it is assent to beliefs. Others point to a religious experience. Those are not, however, works of Christ. They are things we do. In John’s gospel, Christ’s work on the cross is bigger than forgiving sins. It is to judge t…
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We often have an image in our head of what Jesus looks like and how Jesus should act. The Jesus of John’s gospel is not the safe, tame, domesticated Jesus of my childhood. A domesticated Jesus doesn’t have anything to say about how we live our lives and would never flip any tables. This Jesus is the undomesticated Jesus who isn’t afraid to flip the…
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It seems like from the moment we enter the world the effort to find and follow our own way is what we are about. Every toddler at some point says “I do it myself!” To take up one’s cross and follow Jesus however, means not going our own way but following in the way of Jesus. Peter finds that out today as Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan.”…
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In the swift narrative of Mark's Gospel, details may seem sparse, but depth and meaning abound. Baptized by John in the Jordan, Jesus hears the heavens tear open, affirming him as the beloved Son. Driven into the wilderness by the Spirit, Jesus faces real struggles. Mark, unlike Matthew and Luke, leaves the temptations ambiguous. Lent isn't about a…
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There is more to the world than meets the eye. By faith, we see things that others cannot. We see people and the world differently than others might. The Feast of the Transfiguration tells us how God pulled back the curtain of heaven to reveal radiance, glory, and grace in Jesus Christ. We get a glimpse of grace and see as God sees. It happens all …
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The magi come from afar to seek the Christ child. They come seeking and find King Herod more worried about maintaining his power than seeking the newborn king. Herod doesn’t seek, the scribes and chief priests don’t seek either. It seems that God is determined to be found and it takes those who shouldn’t even be looking for the Christ child to find…
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In today's Gospel, we delve into the Annunciation, a moment often overlooked in Protestant circles. Mary, a humble teenager from Nazareth, questions the angel Gabriel's surprising message. Yet, Gabriel points to God's unwavering faithfulness, echoing a history of divine promises fulfilled. 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 | Romans 16:25-27 | Luke 1:26-38…
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The term “woke” has, for some reason, become polarizing. In this season of Advent, it is essential. To prepare for God’s salvation born in Christ, we must be “woke” to the brokenness of the word. We must be “woke” to the ways we participate in breaking the world. We must be “woke” to the fact that our attempts to fix the world are like lipstick on …
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The vision of the “Sheep and Goats” in Matthew’s gospel is a perplexing bit of scripture. On the surface, it reduces inclusion in the reign of God to those who do good works—no room for grace. On the surface, it condemns the unrighteous to eternal damnation and the fires of hell. Neither notion jibes with the story of Jesus very well. So, what is J…
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We tend to create God in our own image. In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about what happens when we do not know who God is. Jesus tells the parable of the talents to show the transformative impact of shaping our lives by embracing a God of boundless grace, joy, and abundance, rather than succumbing to fear and self-imposed limitations.…
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In a world where we constantly look back to the good ol’ days, we can become trapped by that nostalgia. It is easy to look back to our past, especially on Reformation Sunday, when we celebrate Martin Luther and the reformation he ignited, and get trapped with looking back. Christ calls us to be free and then sets us free to live and love and grieve…
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Faith and politics, it has been said by some, should never go together. The truth is that being faithful will lead us into political waters. Jesus says: “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) - a very political statement. Paul calls on the name of the “Lord Jesus Chris…
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'Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice.' In a world marked by turmoil and trials, the call to find joy may seem daunting. It might even seem as an empty platitude, but the Apostle Paul knows there is reason to rejoice – as Jesus explains it in our Gospel reading for today. Isaiah 25:1-9 | Philippians 4:1-9 | Matthew 22:1-14…
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Wild grapes are good for nothing. They are sour and inedible. You can’t make wine or jelly with them. Birds won’t even eat them. The prophet Isaiah declares that God planted God’s people to yield the grapes of justice, mercy, peace, and grace. Instead, they became wild grapes, producing nothing but violence, injustice, and cries for God’s help. We …
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We all have a keen sense of fairness. It is ingrained in us. We don’t like when people get more than us, especially if we do the same amount of work. Jonah and Jesus show us today the generosity of God, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t always like the generosity of God. Jonah 3:10--4:11, Philippians 1:21-30, Matthew 20:1-16…
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Peter asks if forgiving someone seven times is sufficient. Since many of us find forgiving someone once a stretch, Peter was generous. Jesus, however, called for more. He says, “Seventy-seven times” or “Seven times seventy.” Given the symbolic nature of the number seven, the point is to forgive endlessly. Perhaps forgiveness is more than a duty or …
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There I am minding my own business, just trying to get through this thing called life, and I didn’t realize I was supposed to be offended – at least until someone told me that I should be offended. Amidst all the offense, we realize that words matter and words have power. Today, Jesus tells us “for where two or three are gathered in my name, I am t…
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When Jesus encounters a Canaanite woman begging him to heal her daughter his response is, at best, curious. It seems offensive. He calls her a dog who is unworthy to eat at the table. To say this is out of character for Jesus seems obvious. But what if Jesus is not grumpy, but (as he is all the time in Matthew) in teaching mode? What if this story …
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“Being saved” in our age seems restricted to concern over where we go when we die. It is more than that, according to scripture. We’re so concerned about heaven because we are so afraid of death. Faith saves us from our fear and sets us free today, while we live, not just when we die. Elijah is saved from his fear, Peter walks on the water because …
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Jesus retreats to the wilderness to be alone as he processes the death of John the Baptist. It was at a table that John’s execution was decided. A table full of death and chaos. It is a stark contrast to the feeding of the thousands that happen in today’s gospel reading. Here in the wilderness, Jesus feeds the people with five loaves and two fish. …
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It seems we spend a lot of time assuming that the universe is set against us. Fear is the default posture of all of us who are always on defense against the next threat. What if, however, God is for us? That is Paul’s question. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us? This leads to a life that overcomes fear and allows for joy. That is so…
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Jesus uses a parable about weeds and wheat to address the presence of good and evil in the world. What do we do about evil empires, bad church members, and sinful people (weeds)? Jesus says let them be because it is beyond our wisdom to know the difference between good and evil even in our own lives. So what is a person to do?…
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It is easy to focus on the soil in today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower and then explains it. He talks about four different kinds of soil. Human nature is to focus on the different soil types and how they would describe ourselves or others. The good news here is that the parable is not about the soil, but…
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There are a lot of voices in our world that continually weigh us down. There are happenings in the world that can weigh heavily upon us. There are times when the burdens of this life get to be more than we can handle. Jesus has some good advice for those of us that have heavy burdens.By Pastor Travis Segar
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The Church is called to proclaim the Gospel – which means Good News. The paradox is that sometimes the good news can sound like bad news and vice versa. The prophet Jeremiah spent a lifetime declaring the good news, and it always sounded like bad news to the people who listened. He didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear. He declared that judgmen…
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The Israelites were set free from slavery in Egypt by God’s grace. That was not the end of the story. In the wilderness they were formed by faith to be the people God called them to be. As Christians, we are set free from our slavery to the sin, evil, and darkness of this world. Paul says we die to those things in baptism. That is not the end of th…
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus has some challenging words for his followers. It can make us nervous when we read the list of things on our to-do list. Go and cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Go and touch. Go and heal. Go and resurrect. Go and make peace. Go and render believable the compassion of God. But we are not…
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The Pharisees in today’s Gospel lesson ask Jesus’ disciples why he tolerates the presence of tax collectors and sinners at his table. In response, Jesus tells the Pharisees to learn what it this means, “‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” And then Jesus proceeds to show them what mercy looks like…
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The world is a chaotic place. The God of love, the Holy Trinity, brought creation out of chaos and sustains that movement to this day. The God of love, the Holy Trinity, brought peace and joy out of the conflict and chaos of the congregation at Corinth. That same God is at work in the midst of the chaotic world we inhabit today.…
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On this Day of Pentecost, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit upon God’s people through the power of the resurrected Jesus. The Spirit comes in a mighty wind and flame of fire. It also comes as a word of peace and a breath. The Holy Spirit is the source of our life in Christ and it is persistent, powerful, and even pesky. Come Holy Spirit!…
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The struggle to make sense of suffering – and to escape it – is woven into the fabric of human existence. We ask, “Where was God when I suffered?” or “I pray to God, and I still suffer. Why?” The truth is that suffering is unavoidable. Some suffering is of our own making. Some is part of our being. Some happens when we encounter the reality of chao…
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The back wall of our chancel (the place of the altar) is made of limestone. Each stone is unique, stacked into a wall. If those stones could talk, what would they say? But they can’t talk – they are “dead” stones. First Peter says that we, the people of God, are “living stones” built into a temple that lives and breathes. What does that mean?…
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The disciples on the road to Emmaus fail to see Jesus when he is standing right in front of them. I want to think that I would recognize Jesus if he was standing in front of me, but the truth is that I would most likely be like the disciples. My expectations would blind me, or all the things of this world would blind me. Jesus helps them recognize …
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Some might be surprised that a preacher feels the weight of grief, wrestles with fear, and sits in the dreary confines of doubt. You shouldn’t be. Preachers are all too human. Sometimes all a preacher can offer is a path into God’s Word where we find those who grieve, like Mary Magdalene; those who fear like the disciples; those who can’t believe l…
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We all love a good parade. Today, we hear about Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem. At the same time as Jesus’ parade, there is another one occurring on the other side of the city. The Romans are marching in to ensure law and order are maintained during Passover. And just as then, we are faced with the choice of which parade to attend. Which parade do we…
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