Sermons

The Last Sunday of the Church Year November 26, 2023 Matthew 25:31-46 The Time In Between— A Time to Yearn for the End!   31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right…

The Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost November 19, 2023 Matthew 25:14-30 The Time In Between— A Time For Faithful Service!   14“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put…

The Twenty-Fourth Sunday after Pentecost November 12, 2023 Matthew 25:1-13 The Time In Between— A Time For Watchfulness!   1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The bridegroom was a long time in coming,…

All Saints Day November 5, 2023 Revelation 7:9-17 The Time In Between— A Time to Focus on Future Glory!   9After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who…

Reformation Sunday October 29, 2023 Daniel 6:10-12, 16-23 The Time In Between— A Time for Steadfast Faith!   10Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12So they…

The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost October 15, 2023 Matthew 22:1-14 A Story of Foolish Rejection!   1Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.             4“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared…

The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 8, 2023 Matthew 21:33-46 A Story of Reckless Patience!   33“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.             35“The tenants seized his servants; they beat…

The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 1, 2023 Matthew 21:23-32 A Story of Spiritual Insincerity!   23Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?” 24Jesus replied, “I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 25John’s baptism—where…

The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost September 24, 2023 Matthew 20:1-16 A Story of Perplexing Generosity!   1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.             3“About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, ‘You also go and work in…

The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost September 17, 2023 Matthew 18:21-35 The Church God Wants: A Church that That’s Quick to Forgive!   21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.             23“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement,…