Preachrblog

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, the saying goes, but teach a man to fish and he eats for his whole life. Teach a man who is a fisherman, we might say, and if you’re Jesus, you make fishermen into fishers of men. Disciples, apostles, crowds, healing, exorcisms and especially preaching – the beginning of Jesus ministry as described in Matthew’s Gospel is what is set before us today.   It’s a natural Sunday to talk about the doctrine of vocation. There’s plenty to talk about, and we will.   But before we consider the beginning of Christ’s ministry, we can say a few words about the conclusion of service for a beloved worker here at Messiah.   Vicki Main has served as director of music here for 18 years and retires today.   Most of you know her, though some not as well because she’s quite busy on Sunday mornings.   We have appreciated all Vicki’s kindness and dedication, her quiet and humble service.   If you are in one of the choirs and g...

Isaiah 49:1-7 “From the Womb” Today we really have two threads to weave together.  On the one hand, it is the season of Epiphany.  The readings for the Epiphany season draw us to consider the identity of Jesus as he is revealed to the nations.  He is the Son of God, as declared at his Baptism.  He is the Bridegroom manifested at the wedding of Cana.  He is the Lamb of God declared by John the Baptist.  He is the one born to be King – worshiped by the wise men.  And of course there is much more we could say about him, who he is, and what he does. The other thread today is our annual Life Sunday emphasis.  As a traditional congregation, we are not too keen on overshadowing the church calendar with various special interest Sundays – in fact, we could easily lose the historic church year if we emphasized every pet ministry and cause – all of which may be good things to support in and of themselves.  But each in its place. We make one clear...

Romans 6:1-11 “Baptism:  Death and Life” There are many things that we share in common with other Christians.  Depending on the denominations – most recognize the Trinity.  Most believe the Bible is, at least in some sense, God’s word.  Most still believe in heaven, some still believe in hell.  And many would share our beliefs about creation, Jesus’ birth to a virgin, and his resurrection. But one of the doctrines of Scripture that seems to be a real dividing line for many Christians, a real watershed, if you’ll pardon the pun, is Holy Baptism.  Just what is it, and what does it do?  What does it mean? For starters, we deny the idea that baptism is merely symbolic.  That it is an empty and outward act which simply recognizes or signifies some spiritual change within us.  Scripture never speaks of it this way, but rather, always talks of baptism as actually DOING something.  You just have to look at the verbs.  Moreover, cl...

“The Things of My Father” Not two weeks from Christmas and we already see Jesus as a boy of 12 years old.  It is a precious passage which gives the only real glimpse into his childhood.  Luke’s account of the boy Jesus in the Temple is fascinating, instructive, and engaging. We may identify with Mary and Joseph, and the anxiety of a parent who’s every temporarily lost a child.  We may wonder about the reaction of the Jewish teachers, and imagine the kinds of questions and answers Jesus shared with them.  We mind find ourselves in awe as we “sit at the feet of Jesus” and as he teaches us, even today, from his word.  We may even see in Jesus himself, the example of learning and growing in our faith.  Let’s take each of these in turn as we pay attention, with Jesus, to the “Things of the Father”. One of the moves Martin Luther made with this passage was the idea that Mary and Joseph had “lost” Jesus.  Imagine if we would ever “lose” Jesus. ...

Sermon – New Year’s Eve – Luke 12:35-40 "The Master Knows the Times" You can spend time, you can waste time or you can even kill time.  We say “time is money”, “time waits for no one” and “a stitch in time saves nine” (whatever that means!). It is only natural that at this time of the year, the very end of the year, people’s thoughts turn to time itself.  All the more at the closing of a decade, as the 2020’s are about to begin.  We look back, and we look forward – in fact the Roman god “Janus”, from which we get “January” had two faces – one looking forward, one looking back. We Christians are not immune to thoughts of time.  We live in the world, even though in some ways we are not of it.  We have a set number of days, a limited amount of time in this world.  We mark the days, the seasons, the years of our life with various calendars and systems.  And yet time is still somewhat of a mystery to us.  We can’t control it, stop it or revers...