Preachrblog

Sermon – September 18, 2016 18 th Sunday after Pentecost Hope Lutheran Church, Warren, Michigan 1 Timothy 2:1-15 “ Hope. In This Place.” What a blessing and privilege to return here for Hope's 50 th anniversary year. I thank you for the invitation, and for your hospitality. Brenda and I lived here in 1997 and 98 when I served as Hope's second vicar. It was a year of great learning for me, in which so many of you showed us great kindness. It's been great to catch up with so many of you. Hope Lutheran Church will always have a special place in our hearts. Now, 18 years have passed, and much has changed, but much is the same. I see that Hope remains a place in which the Gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed in word, and the love of Jesus Christ is shown in deed. Throughout these 50 years this congregation has been blessed, and also been a blessing to many. With that in mind, I'd like us to focus today on our Epistle reading from 1 Timothy...

Sermon – September 11, 2016 17th Sunday after Pentecost Luke 15 “Savior of the Lost” 24-year-old Welles Crowther was an equities trader at the World Trade Center on September 11th. He helped at least a dozen people get out, and then he went back in with firefighters to save more.  They later recovered his body in a collapsed stairwell. Ron Bucca, a 29 year army vet who served also 23 years as a firefighter, entered the burning building to help in the rescue, and was last seen on the 78th floor of the second tower.  His remains were later recovered at the site. Rick Rescorla, a security officer for Morgan Stanley, was responsible for saving more than 2,700 lives.   He sang songs to keep people calm while they evacuated.  He was last seen on the 10th floor of the South Tower, heading upward to look for any stragglers. His body was never found. Why do these stories of heroism strike us so poignantly?  What is it about the self-sacrificial actions of the ...