Pastor Scamman

In observance of Maundy Thursday, the night our Lord was betrayed, many Christian churches are celebrating a Seder meal. This practice first appeared in the 70s as a way to reach out to unbelieving Jews. They were told: “You can still be Jewish and be a follower of Christ.” This is true enough. Salvation…

The temple is the place where God ordained that sacrifices would be made. For without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sins. At this time of the year, the Jewish nation was preparing for Passover. One lamb per household would be slaughtered and its blood placed upon the doorposts…

In the Gospel text for Reminiscere , the Second Sunday of Lent, Jesus calls a Canaanite woman a dog. As you might imagine, this passage causes a lot of trouble for some Christians. I’ve even heard one woman try to preach a sermon about this, saying, “Jesus was having a bad day. He lost His temper and…

Fasting is not an American virtue, and so this biblical discipline can seem very foreign to us American Christians. We’ve been taught to indulge every desire, to scratch every itch, to sate ourselves with food and drink, pleasure and luxury. “Why wait for good things? Have them all now, with no payments…

The Lord Jesus is the Sower who goes out to sow the seed of His Word. And as He does, our enemy the devil uses every scheme in his playbook to keep that seed from taking root and springing up to eternal life. The four types of soil represent four types of hearts upon which the seed falls. There are four…

On this day of the Church Year, we begin our solemn march toward Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the Great Vigil of Easter, and, of course, Easter itself, the Day of our Lord’s glorious triumph over death and the grave. The forty days of Lent that begin with Ash Wednesday are two…

The season of Epiphany is about the revelation of Jesus the Christ. On the day of Epiphany, He is revealed to the Magi who travel from a distant land to bring Him gifts. At the Octave, or eighth day of Epiphany, which we celebrated last night, Jesus is revealed to John the Baptist when the Holy Spirit…

Today is the Octave of Epiphany, that is, the Eighth Day of Epiphany. Many of the great feasts of the Church were celebrated for at least eight days, for a whole octave or more. Such is the case with Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, and a number of other feasts. But if you’ve never heard of the…

Each of the Scripture readings today concerns the office of the Holy Ministry by which God sends out His messengers with a specific task. From the Gospel of Matthew: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You” ( Mt 11:20 ). From the Prophecy of Isaiah: “The voice…

Our Gospel text presents us with a miracle within a miracle: two miracles so intertwined with each other so as to become one account. There is no other story like this in the gospels. It is the account of two daughters, a girl who is twelve years old, and a woman who has been suffering from a terrible…