Grace Alone Online

Rev. Kevin Austin of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Livermore, California is guest preacher.  Pastor Greg will return on November 29, 2020.

Rev. Kevin Austin is our guest pastor for the sermon this morning.  Pastor Greg will return November 29, 2020.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Nothing could be simpler. Easy-peasy, right? Maybe the Ten Commandments really were better than this simple, shortened summary. What was Jesus thinking? Until we even consider this command, we have to consider what love is. A funny question perhaps. Do our emotions define love, or does God define love?

Few opportunities in Scripture lend themselves to talk about politics and religion. But, it is an election year so I think our gospel for today is particularly apropos. According to our constitution, we are instructed not to mix politics and religion. In Jesus’ day, however, this question of separation was particularly difficult

Philippians 4:4-13 - REJOICE IN THE LORD, ALWAYS!!!!!

What?  How is rejoicing even possible today.  From COVID-19 to unreliable political leaders, violence, insecurity, lack of authority, personal depression, etc.  ALWAYS?  Seriously?  What is St. Paul getting at?  How is this even possible?  Join in.....

Rev. Michael Lange, president of the California, Nevada & Hawai'i  District of the LCMS, is our guest preacher.  His message focused on  Jeremiah 52:31-34.  A promise of hope.  There is always a NEXT step and  NEW DAY with God.

We conclude our study of Romans with the final chapter.  To the naked eye it's merely a list of catch-all greetings from Paul to certain individuals in the congregations of Rome.  Are they important?  Is there any historical significance to these otherwise unknown people of the first century church?  These unsung heroes of the faith are the reason the Christian Church is here today.  We are indebted to their witness of Christ even as they were lead to martyrdom.  Find out more about these fascinating individuals as we dig into their lives.....and ours.

This morning, Paul’s words to us are strange. Strange, in that he joins two very different things together. In just a few short verses, Paul moves from talking about food to talking about the return of Christ.

Paul begins by talking about eating. Not eating as in partaking of the Lord’s Supper but eating as in consuming daily food. Some Christians in Rome are eating only vegetables and others are eating all things, without any discrimination. This matter is so small and so specific that scholars today have trouble understanding it. It seems there was an argument about whether or not Roman Christians should keep Jewish food laws. Could they eat meat that was not kosher? If in doubt, should they abstain from meat all together? So, on the one hand, Paul is writing about something small and temporal. He is delving into the details of our daily dishes.

In our text this morning, Paul addresses what is called the Two Kingdoms; that is, the kingdom of the left: the civil kingdom. And, the kingdom of the right: God’s kingdom, which in this world –AT THIS TIME - is not seen through power and glory, but through grace and forgiveness. The physical fulfillment of this kingdom will come when Christ returns. Paul sees the two kingdoms as two ways in which God is at work in the world. Earlier in the letter, Paul has recognized God’s gift of the church. The church is the means whereby God proclaims salvation, gathering for himself a people who share his message of salvation with the world. Now, Paul speaks of God’s gift of civil authority. One looks to such authorities not for a proclamation of the gospel but for an enactment of God’s good rule in the world.

In our text this morning, Paul is not setting out a twelve-step program to “build the better spiritual you” but rather revealing the varied ways in which God is at work in the world. And Paul invites us to consider that vision this morning so that today, in our small corner of this vast world, we too can participate in this ever- living kingdom of God.