Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2017| 1 Comment »
I have always loved this Gospel reading today. It is my favorite story in the life of Jesus!
It takes place right after Jesus rose from the dead. Two friends of his are on the road – on their way home. Jesus walks with them but they don’t recognize him at first.
Posted in Uncategorized on April 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »
It is popular among Christians especially at this time of year to offer up what are claimed to be proofs of the resurrection of Jesus. There is a film in theaters right now – The Case for Christ – based on a book by Lee Strobel, a former atheist who set out to investigate the claims of Christianity. I haven’t seen the movie but it is being very well received. Some of these proofs often include:
Posted in Uncategorized on April 18, 2017| Leave a Comment »
In 1530 Martin Luther was hiding out in a castle for the second time in his life. His friends were appearing before the Emperor to defend their beliefs and Luther wanted to be close by, but it wasn’t safe for him to be in public. He had already been excommunicated and at this point he was under what was called “the Imperial ban.” This meant that he was legally considered dead by the empire. And anyone was allowed to rob him, injure him or kill him without any legal consequences. So it was not a good idea for Luther to be on the streets. (more…)
Posted in Uncategorized on April 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »
In the words of the hymn we just sang, words which, by the way, are considered by many to be one of the most beautiful hymn texts in the English language, “sorrow and love flow mingled down” from Jesus’ head, hands and feet. Standing back in wonder, the text asks, “Did ever such love and sorrow meet?”
Posted in Uncategorized on April 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Today’s Gospel is about a resurrection. It is a sad story – even Jesus weeps in it — but it has a very happy ending: Lazarus walks out of the tomb and is reunited with his sisters. But we are not going to talk about resurrection today or the miracle that Jesus performed or the happy ending to this story.
Pastor Jon's Sermon Blog 