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Testifying to the Light
Introduction St. Mark’s on the Campus Episcopal Church, Lincoln, Neb., celebrates the Holy Eucharist on Tuesdays at 12:30 p.m. The parish’s rector, Father Jerry Thompson, asked me to lead worship on Tuesday, December 27, 2011. This is the third day in the Octave of Christmas and the Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. Readings…
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Laying Down Our Lives
Introduction The people of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., have organized a Spirit-Driven Task Force, bringing together almost forty members who have committed to a year of study, prayer, reflection, and deliberation to discern how God is calling the congregation to renewal for the sake of his mission. This is the sixteenth…
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So Great a Cloud
Introduction This is a funeral homily I preached at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb., on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010. Readings Revelation 7:9–17 Psalm 34:1–10 1 John 3:1–3 Matthew 6:25–34 Message They are here. They are all around us. Alvina and Fred, husband and wife. Clara Bell, Freida, and Evelyn, her sisters. Ernest and Arnold,…
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Question Box: Speaking in Tongues
Introduction Holy Cross Lutheran Church offers individuals the chance to ask questions about the Church, faith, theology, and the Bible by putting their queries into a Question Box. A question and answer appears in each month’s newsletter. This is the August 2010 installment. Question What is speaking in tongues? Do people still do it nowadays?…
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Keep the Commandments
“For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments.” (1 John 5:3, NAB)
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Hear and Obey
Introduction This is a funeral homily I preached at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Readings Ezekiel 2:8-3:3 Psalm 119:105-112 1 John 1:1-4 Luke 11:28 Message On the day of his confirmation in the Christian faith, Bud selected the verse from Luke’s Gospel that we just heard: “But [Jesus] said,…
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In Confidence
“We have this confidence in God: that he hears us whenever we ask for anything according to his will.” (1 John 5:14, LH)
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Not Burdensome
“The love of God consists in this: that we keep his commandments— and his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3-4, LH) “Therefore we intent to establish a school for the Lord’s service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt…
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God Dwells in Us
“Yet if we love one another God dwells in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us.” (1 John 4:12b, LH)
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Love One Another
“Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God….” (1 John 4:7a, LH)