LCH Sermons—Lent 2024 (Year B)

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Maundy Thursday—March 28, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Exodus 12:1–14 | Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 | 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 | John 13:1–17, 31b–35
Summary: In our Gospel, as Jesus and the disciples eat on the night before Passover, Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in an act of servanthood showing love. Then Jesus tells them to put love into action, as he will do the next day on the cross. What will each of us do to live out that love and, by doing so, be part of Jesus?

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday—March 24, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Mark 11:1–11 | Isaiah 50:4–9a | Psalm 31:9–16 | Philippians 2:5–11 | Mark 14:1—15:47
Summary: We often talk about Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, but this was a parade that leads to death and then to resurrection. As we set out on our procession around the church, let us go out in joy. There is a subversive side to the Gospel that sets prisoners free and transforms us because the powers of this world cannot control God’s love.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Fifth Sunday in Lent—March 17, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31–34 | Psalm 51:1–12 | Hebrews 5:5–10 | John 12:20–33
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how a grain planted in the earth dies and then brings new life. Our modern city life tries to hide death, but for us to understand Jesus, we must accept the cycle of death and resurrection. When we see Jesus throught the cross, we become something new.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Fourth Sunday in Lent—March 10, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Exodus 20:1–17 | Psalm 19 | 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 | John 2:13–22
Summary: Today’s Gospel includes the verse John 3:16, which we see referenced on signs all over, but we need to look at the whole lesson. In our first lesson, God does not take away the snakes; God provides a way for people to be saved when they are bitten. When we become Christians, everything does not suddenly become wonderful. We look to the cross and see ourselves as God sees us. We are invited to come to the light and see ourselves as beloved children of God, redeemed by God’s grace.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Third Sunday in Lent—March 3, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Exodus 20:1–17 | Psalm 19 | 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 | John 2:13–22
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus angrily drives out the moneychangers in the temple. This relates to Jesus’ understanding of Sabbath. The commandment to keep the Sabbath starts out as a guideline for well-ordered society and ends up as a prison of detailed rules. Jesus is reminding us that Sabbath is a gift. When we keep Sabbath, we understand that God has called us to rest in God’s love, and we are free to be

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Second Sunday in Lent—February 25, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Genesis 17:1–7, 15–16 | Psalm 22:23–31 | Romans 4:13–25 | Mark 8:31–38
Summary: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow him. Many people equate their cross with a cause they prefer, but that is not what Jesus means. Jesus is calling us to follow him, not to go where we want to go. The more we follow society’s desires, the more we are apt to lose our lives. We are called to die to selfishness, racism, homophobia, and so on. The love we have for neighbors will reckoned as righteousness and will bring us to resurrection.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

First Sunday in Lent—February 18, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Genesis 9:8–17 | Psalm 25:1–10 1 | Peter 3:18–22 | Mark 1:9–15
Summary: I love the Gospel of Mark because he is concise and gets right to the point. The first lesson from Genesis is full of details of God’s covenant with Noah after the flood, but in Mark, Jesus is baptized and immediately begins to proclaim that the dominion of God is at hand. The details of our divided and contentious world make us wonder how to proclaim the Good News. Jesus is clear that no matter what may come, the dominion of God is near, we have been baptized, we are children of God, and nothing can take the love of God from us.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.

Ash Wednesday—February 14, 2024

Preacher: Pastor Jeff Lilley
Lessons: Joel 2:1–2, 12–17 | Psalm 51:1–17 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b–6:10 | Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21
Summary: What draws us here in ashes to pray to an unseen God? In our first lesson, Joel is surrounded by famine and destruction, and we hear God calling us to return because God is gracious and full of compassion. And Joel says, “Who knows? The Lord may leave a blessing.” We come to worship repenting our part in taking too much, the wrongs we have done, injustice in the world, and so much more. Perhaps God will bring a blessing so that we see the world differently and our hearts can be broken open to love and be loved.

We expect this sermon to be available soon.