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LCH Sermons—Time after Pentecost 2010 (October and November)
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Reign of Christ—November 21, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Jeremiah 23:1–6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11–20; Luke 23:33–43
Summary: As children we learned about kings from stories about evil kings like Herod, who lusted for power, and good kings like Aslan, who gave himself up to save a child. In today’s text, we have Jesus on the cross, showing us the way Christ chooses to be king. We are called to reign with Christ in the same way. When churches turn inward, they lose sight of the cross. God is on the loose and is raising up new shepherds—leaders who will follow Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 33—November 14, 2010
Lessons: Malachi 4:1–2a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:6–13; Luke 21:5–19
Peter R. Hallock’s The Last Judgement took the place of the children’s conversation and sermon.
All Saints Sunday—November 7, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Daniel 7:1–3, 15–18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11–23; Luke 6:20–31
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges the accepted definition of a saint by calling the poor blessed and pronouncing woe on the rich. Jesus goes on to call us to love our enemies and do unto others as we would have them do unto us. This is yet another example of God loose in the world, and it calls for a complete transformation of how we live. Jesus is not speaking in metaphor. God does not call us as saints; God does remake us in radical love in order to send us out as saints to change the world.
Reformation Day—October 31, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31–34; Psalm 46; Romans 3: 19–28; John 8: 31–36
Summary: Throughout history, people have thought that God created the church with a mission, and the church gathers people and resources to do that mission. But there is another vision that understands that God has a mission and that God is loose in the world doing that mission. The role of the church is to discern God’s mission and do it. Luther understood that the church of his time was out of synch with God’s mission, so he asked questions and helped to reform the church. God calls out to get out of organizations and into God’s mission. Let us be reformed.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 30—October 24, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Phyllis Hormann
Lessons: Jeremiah 14:7–10; Psalm 84:1–6; 2 Timothy 4:6–8,16–18; Luke 18:9–14
Summary: As Paul writes in Timothy, our lives can be like a race. God transformed Paul’s life, and he ran trusting in God’s faithfulness. At first, it may seem that Paul is boasting, but remember that he is writing from prison, it is amazing he did not loose faith. Some of us can feel trapped by the economy, politics, bullying, or other stresses, but we can learn of God’s grace and mercy through others, and we can embody the same grace and mercy to them. God stands with us and gives us strength to keep the faith, to proclaim mercy, and to finish the race.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 29/Children’s Sabbath—October 17, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Genesis 32:22–31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5; Luke 18:1–8
Summary: I love today’s first lesson about Jacob, who cheated his brother out of his birthright and ran away. In the story, it is the night before he meets his brother again, and he wrestles with God. This shows Jacob’s intimate relationship with God that was so different from the modern choice between “buddy Jesus” and a distant, irrelevant God. Like Jacob, we need to struggle with God and see God in a more complex, relational manner. As Luther writes, we must fear and love God, as we are called to live in this Sabbath of grace.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 28—October 10, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: 2 Kings 5:1–3, 7–15c; Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2:8–15; Luke 17:11–19
Summary: I love today’s first lesson about Naaman. He should have been ostracized for his leprosy, but he was a great leader led to healing by a slave girl and his servant. He looked for a difficult task and was healed by the simple act of washing in the Jordan. In the Gospel, ten lepers are healed, and the outsider responds. Why do we make it so complicated for people to come to God? All God asks is that we be baptized, and God pours out grace and transforms us.
Time after Pentecost • Lectionary 27—October 3, 2010
Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Habakkuk 1:1–4; 2:1–4; Psalm 37:1–10; 2 Timothy 1:1–14; Luke 17:5–10
Summary: In today’s Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. He says that with a tiny bit of faith they can do anything. We often use the excuse of our lack of faith to avoid truly being the church. But Jesus has taken that excuse away. We just need a little breath of the Spirit to turn our small spark of faith into a fire. Then, like the slave in the Gospel, we can do the work that is expected. You do have faith. Grow in your life together, be fanned in your faith, so you can do nothing less that pour it out in the world.
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