Sermons

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. Mark 1:1 That sounds very nice and innocent as an introduction, until you realize that the Caesars claimed to be divine, and that the Roman peace they enforced was also proclaimed as good news. At the time...

Am I a sheep or a goat, or part of the great crowd of the needy? Checking back later in the day. In the parable, sheep are nice and get to heaven, goats miss out. A quick reading, with no context, makes it sound like works righteousness rules, so that when we do bad...

In Matthew 25:14-30, the master goes away for a long time, and hands out 5, 3 and 1 bags of gold to servants to use. The 3rd servant can’t handle that, buries the gold in the ground, and will end up having to face up to that with the master. Lucy Tierney is a nun whom...

This is not my favourite parable, and it seems so unfair that the ones who didn’t think to bring spare lamp oil miss out, and that the ones with spare oil refuse to share. That goes against everything else we hear in the gospel. It goes against the Jesus we see always...

Psalm 43  You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. The Psalms have...

The artists Lucas Cranach Senior and Junior, lived round the corner from the Luthers. They ran a thriving art studio and workshop, doing royal portraits, scenes from classical mythology,  and large church pieces. Later, portraits of the Luthers sold very well. They...

Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? (Matthew 22: 17). That was certainly a loaded question asked of Jesus.  If he said ‘Yes,’ he lost popular support. If he said ‘No,’ the Jewish authorities would quickly denounce him to the Romans. They didn’t want an actual...

Have this mind among yourselves. Christ did not grasp at equality with God, but humbled himself, even to death on the cross. Therefore God has lifted him up, and given him the name that is above all names… (Philippians 2:5-11). Our lives usually aren’t just one...

This is such a confronting text. First, Jesus gives her the silent treatment, then he says she has no claim on him, then he calls her a dog. She does not give up on her fierce desire to get help for her daughter. She claims a rightful place at God’s table, Jesus...