Good Friday The crucifixion of Jesus Christ was one event in a sequence of saving events that needed to occur during the Lord’s last week of earthly life. He ate the Last Supper with his disciples. He was arrested and tried. He was crucified. And on the third day, he was resurrected. All of these…
Maundy Thursday – Luke 22:7-20 “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus gave this directive to his disciples on the occasion of his institution of the Sacrament of the Altar. His giving of his body and blood to them, for the forgiveness of their sins, was not going to be a one-time occurrence. This giving…
Palm Sunday – Matthew 27:11-54 Today we begin our observance of Holy Week, and we begin our recollection of all the things that transpired during the last week of our Lord’s earthly life. One of those pivotal events – as today’s reading from St. Matthew recounts it – was Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate. In…
Matthew 27:11-66 A friend of mine who is a retired Lutheran pastor once told a story about a conversation he had many years ago with his college roommate, who was not a Christian. In casual conversation, the roommate said, “I’ll be damned.” And my friend then said, “Yes, you probably will be.” The roommate got…
Lent 4 – Mark 6:32-44 Please listen with me to a reading from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. Mark, beginning at the 32nd verse. This is a parallel text to today’s appointed Gospel from St. John. And [Jesus and his disciples] went away in the boat to a desolate place by…
There is no video for this sermon. Lent 3 – Mark 3:20-35 Please listen with me to a reading from the third chapter of St. Mark’s Gospel, beginning at the 20th verse. This is a parallel text to today’s appointed Gospel from St. Luke. Then [Jesus] went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that…
Video has no sound 📢 Romans 5:1-11 We’re all probably familiar with the well-known Groucho Marx gag, where Groucho is a doctor, and a patient comes to him and says, “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.” The doctor replies, “Then don’t do that.” This is funny as slapstick humor. But we wouldn’t think that…
Genesis 3:1-21 “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” Through the Prophet Isaiah, as God there addresses Israel and the human race, he describes himself in this way: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are…
Job 4:14-20 A well-known African-American spiritual includes these poignant words: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they laid him in the…
1 Samuel 16:1-13 Today’s lesson from the First Book of Samuel includes this very significant statement: “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Samuel had been told by God that he had chosen one of the sons of Jesse…