Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-24. Today I told a cute story about when my son was young, then talked about the symbolism of the cross across history. Who has used it, and how? What does it mean to you to display a cross now? 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Luke 14:25-33. In worship today we changed a number of things: moved our new chairs for the first time away from being the pattern of the old pews, creating a new center aisle. We also began implementing a new liturgical setting, ELW Setting 4, by doing a full chanted eucharistic liturgy for the first time in a long time. In order to facilitate that, we created all new bulletins of a completely different size, scope, and scale. Jesus' confrontational teaching about hating father and mother, etc., helps us understand how we process and react to unfulfilled expectations, and Comments? Write it on the bulletin and give it back to me!

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Luke 13:10-17. This one was a lot about the congregation itself, Christus Victor in Apple Valley, and about our upcoming Fall Festival and how we welcome people. Also some good themes about what makes this church - or any church - special. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Luke 12:49-56. Jesus says he comes to bring division, because he is trying to divide the people away from the unhealthy patterns that have come to govern their lives. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Luke 12:32-40. After missing last week's sermon audio due to technical difficulties / operator error, we're back this week with some good old fashioned stewardship talk, including a hopefully-humorous diatribe about the perils of sports betting. Treasure, indeed. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Genesis 18:20-32. Conflict! Abraham's disagreement with God is a good place to start a conversation about how we disagree in the church, and the Lord's Prayer in our Gospel lesson from Luke is also helpful here. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Genesis 18:1-10a. Amid stories of my summer in Tacoma, WA 20 years ago for CPE, I talked about hospitality and saying what you mean. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:9-13. After last week's technical difficulties prevented me from sharing sermon audio, this week we're back! Our gorgeous reading from Deuteronomy may not be the very most obvious pair with Jesus' parable known as the Good Samaritan, but it still works extremely well. You already know. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18. In which I figure out that how my own history and assumptions were clouding my understanding of the scripture and the message for the day. 

Sermon audio at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN. Scripture: Psalm 8. In the wake of yesterday's news of the assassinations of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, along with yesterday's nationwide No Kings protests, plus the recent fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and the upcoming 10th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Emanuel Nine, I just.... I needed to say something. It was time to denounce political violence and white supremacy and Christian nationalism and acknowledge our relationship to all of those, then fall entirely on the grace of God.