Grace Alone Online

I hate interruptions.  Don’t you?  Interruptions distract from your final goal and purpose.  Sometimes I get so absorbed in what I’m doing, I just can’t be distracted until I’m finished.  For instance, the interruption of having to go to the garage to find the tool you need, and then when you’re there forget why you’re there.  Man, that’s the worst interruption.  Now you must take time, think and retrace your steps, go back to where you started to jog your memory of what you needed.  You remember and start out once again for the garage.  I hate interruptions.

There is an interruption in our reading today.  It’s the Sabbath, and Jesus takes his first disciples – Simon, Andrew, James and John – to church with Him. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. For all the times that these four men had gone to church, they had never seen anything like what they were about to see on this Sabbath Day.

When you were a child, did you ever play King of the Hill?  Do you remember the game?  We used to play it on the monkey bars at recess or climbing to the top of a mound of freshly plowed snow in the bank parking lot – that’s how we played most of the time.  The rules were, first one who pushed and shoved their way up to top was King of the Hill.  But the game didn’t end there.  It continued because the king had to show his or her dominance by pushing off all pretenders to the crown.  It was a show of strength and power. 

Jesus spoke to a crowd of people on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. For everyone to see and hear Him preaching he asked Peter to let him board his boat and push out a bit from the shore.  With people standing on the shore, and fishermen in the boat, Jesus preaches and teaches about the kingdom of God – to repent and believe for the Kingdom of God was at hand.

Then, in a seemingly random way, Jesus tells Peter, “Push out to deeper waters and let down your nets.” Peter does, and the nets nearly broke from so many fish that they had to call James and John to help them pull in the catch.

We might think, “OK, Jesus did this to show that He was the Messiah so that they would follow Him.”  People look for signs, wonders, miracles to prove things.  But there is something much deeper the way Luke tells the story, deeper than the sea of Galilee.  Jesus links the nets of the fishermen with the preaching of His Word. Let’s revisit the story.

Can anything good come out of Pittsburg? Can anything good come out of Antioch? Or let’s be more specific: Can anything good come out of Grace Lutheran this year? Those may be the kinds of questions in the minds of the people with whom we meet and talk. And the attitude behind the questions would be a rather dubious one. Believe it or not, some people may think of an old Lutheran congregation with an old church building, without a large contemporary music and worship services the way they think of seemingly backward and rural towns…..worthless and out of date. Grace Lutheran?  Where’s that?  And this, in turn, can create doubts and even embarrassment in your own minds. You might become reluctant or even ashamed to speak up for and invite people to our church.

Who is your favorite superhero, or hero? Do you have one? Can Jesus be considered a superhero? What might the difference be? As we remember His Baptism on this day, we understand the reason why God decided to gift us our Baptisms. Our Baptism is meaningless unless Christ goes into the water with us. Find out why.

Timing is everything.  To be funny, the punch line of any joke needs to be said at the right time.  If not, the whole joke is ruined, the point

It's Christmas Eve! Tonight's sermon features Caravaggio's Nativity painting you can find here: https://mwerickson.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/caravaggio-nativity1600.jpg

Arching over the life of every Christian is the great sacred story of the mighty acts of God. This sacred story is highlighted by the displays of power and strength which mark God’s victories over God’s enemies. And in scripture, with God’s victories, God’s people sang in response. The victory songs of the Bible are not rich with personal bravado or chest-pounding strength. They are not even celebrations of nations like a national anthem. Rather, these victory songs all celebrate God—who God is and what God does.

For the next three Wednesdays there will be an ADVENT

“Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming,” Vocal Majority, from the

“Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song),” Amy Grant, from the album Home

“Sleep Precious Babe,” George Beverly Shea, from the album A

“Mary did You Know,” Vocal Majority, from the album The

“What Child is This,” Gaélica, from the album Luz Navidad

Much like being lost in a dead-end trail deep in a forest, David prays for deliverance and rescue from his oppressors by asking God to be is rock and fortress to guide and lead him. He confesses that this is exactly what God is for him, a rock and fortress. He has complete trust that God will lead and guide him out of this situation.  David’s specific plea is that God lead and guide him “for His name’s sake.”  What does David mean; what is it to pray "according to His name sake?"