Luke 5.1-11 and Isaiah 6.1-8
We continue with our Epiphany Sermons, and this Sunday, the lectionary places before us the familiar account of the calling of the first disciples. In this account Peter and his friends have been fishing all night and Jesus is now sitting in Simon Peter’s boat teaching the crowd. After his teaching, Jesus turn to Peter and invites him to put out into the deep water, and let down his nets for a catch. Peter, with apparent skepticism, agrees to do so but the catch is so large that the nets begin to break. In that epiphany, Simon realizes and is overcome by being in the presence of God! He falls to his knees in front of Jesus and says, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter’s words echo those of the prophet Isaiah who, finding himself in the presence of God exclaims, “Woe to Me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the king, the Lord almighty.” This is precisely the posture needed to receive the grace of God. And that is what Peter experiences. He hears the grace-filled words of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid.” These are the words we all need to hear in the face of our sin. Like Isaiah, who hears the wonderful words, “… your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for,” so we find relief in the gospel. And it is our encounter with the grace of God, in the face of our sin, that prepares us to enter into the mission of God.

Luke 4.21-30 and Psalm 71.1-14
We continue with our Epiphany Sermons, and this Sunday, the lectionary places before us the continuation of last week’s reading where we find Jesus in the synagogue, in Nazareth.  He has read a prophecy from Isaiah, then declares to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Today’s text picks up the account saying, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” But the people’s opinion changes radically by the end of this account. There we read, “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to through him down the cliff.” What could have enraged them so? This sermon will explore the answer to this question.

Luke 4:14-21 and Psalm 19
One of the goals of human history is the fulfillment of scripture in our experience. The fulfillment, of which the scripture speaks, is not so much a prediction of events coming true, but more like the completion of a plan coming together. Prophecy was concerned with revealing the plan of a salvation that God was bringing to the whole of creation, earth and humanity. Luke 4 records that the plan is fulfilled during a gathering of God’s people, around his word, with Jesus being present. Jesus proclaimed this to his audience at the synagogue. And it is what Psalm 19 said is experienced when we see the phenomena of the heavens from day to day. Each day we hear the plan of God’s salvation in the speech of the heavens. It’s where the merging of the glory of God, his works, and the word of God occur. Amazing! The heavens have been announcing the plan! 

Jesus, like the heavens, is a merging of the glory of God, his works, and word. He is the embodiment of Psalm 19. His life, death and resurrection on our behalf, by faith, brings the fulfillment of the scriptures to our experience. God’s desire is for us to experience his goodness and glory in a variety of ways, as Jesus and the Psalm describes, but it only happens through faith and submission to the scripture. We can experience this goodness and glory of God at the Table of our Lord. For here, Jesus, the Living Word, presents us with that same, bold assertion of the scripture being fulfilled in our hearing today. 

Matthew 2.1-12 and Psalm 72.1-11 
In this sermon we return to Epiphany, which is actually a season in the church year, lasting from January 6th until the day before Ash Wednesday.  Today, we return to Matthew 2 so as to look at the Magi’s gifts to the Christ-Child.  In this account we see three characteristics of their giving, which are instructive and inspirational to us all.  Those three characteristics are that the Magi’s giving was Worshipful, Joyful and Intentional.  As we begin this new calendar year at Grace, may we follow the guidance of the Magi in our giving even as they followed the guidance of the star that led them into the very presence of the King where they presented him with gifts.

Acts 16:6-15
1) A closed door may lead to a new opportunity and 2) A conversation can change a continent. The first point will develop the way God guides mission and the advance of His Kingdom by His Spirit. Being ready to follow a call to missions entails being attuned to the guidance of His Spirit as to when and where He leads. Of course, this has broader application to all of life, as well, whether we are engaged in pioneer missions or not. The second point makes an observation in the way a conversation with one woman, Lydia, paves the way for the first church to be planted on the European continent. Thus a gospel conversation can have an immense impact on the lives of others we know and meet.

Matthew 2.1-12 and Isaiah 60.1-6

On this Epiphany Sunday, our Lectionary readings place before us the glorious promise of the nations coming to Christ, a promise given through the prophet Isaiah.  The beginning of the fulfillment of that promise is found in Matthew’s account of the coming of the Gentile Magi who follow a divinely given star, and find Jesus, the Light of the World. They were the first Gentiles to recognize Jesus as the divine King of the Jews, and they embrace Jesus as such, bowing in worship and offering their precious gifts to him.  Little did they know the profound significance of their actions, but as we look back through the eyes of Scripture, they are demonstrating the great and wonderful truth that the Gentiles are included in the Kingdom of God, under the rule of the Savior-King, Jesus Christ. It is this glorious promise of the world-wide kingdom of Christ and its transformative power, that gives us hope and confidence as we strive, by God’s grace and power, to extend the Kingdom of Christ in our community and world.

John 6:28-29 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Galatians 4:4-7 and Isaiah 9:1-7

Hebrews 10.5-10 and Micah 5.2-5a 
On this Fourth Sunday of Advent our Lectionary readings place before us the promise of peace.  It’s curious that the First Reading in Micah presents just three and a half verses, skipping the first verse of the chapter and stopping half-way through the fifth verse.  It’s hard to know why this choice was made, but it begs the question, “What is the context?”  And therein lies the significance of this text, because our text is found in the middle of dark predictions of Israel’s impending military defeat and the suffering that would follow.  It is against such darkness that the promise of peace becomes so bright.  And so it is in our lives.  The gospel shines brightest in the darkness of the pain and suffering of our lives.  And there are few times in the year when this could be more true than at Christmas.  As at no other time, we celebrate the light of Christ in the darkness of our world.  This is why we must not gloss over the darkness.  We must not fall prey to the fake brightness of a Hallmark Christmas. Christ came, incarnate, into our real world.  Jesus, who is our peace, entered our darkness and has given us hope; a hope that begins with a peace with God which he secured through his body, and the hope of peace that will “reach to the ends of the earth".

Luke 3:7-18 and Zeph. 3:11-20

When I was a child one of the things I would love about Christmas would be a  big basket of fruit that would always be present. All year long we didn’t have the  apples, oranges, and tangerines and nuts, around the house like we did at Christmas time. (I loved to eat one of those red delicious apples!)

On this third Sunday of Advent, the Lord is looking for some fruit too. He is looking for the fruit that is in keeping with repentance.

Repentance, according to John the Baptist, is to produce fruit. But what causes repentance? What is the fruit that is in keeping with repentance? Who ensures the fruit is “ripe"?

The answers to these questions will be the focus of this sermon. 

And we might add, said answers are also the cause for the singing and shouting of our Old Testament reading. God sings and causes his people to sing. He sings because he loves the fruit of their repentance! Fruit that Christ labors to produce since he himself is the King of Israel that has taken away our punishment, and is with us, and is the one who makes everything right. This is the true joy to the world! (Zeph. 3:15-20)