Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Pastor Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where last year I retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In my retirement I’ve been doing some substitute preaching in other churches - this episode is the sermon I preached on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at The Ministry Center of Hosanna and Faithwalk Lutheran Churches in Columbia Station, Ohio, and at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Pleasant City, Ohio.

The Christmas season begins on Christmas Day (December 25) and goes for twelve days (just like in the song). The Christmas season ends on January 5, and the church calendar designates the very next day (January 6) as the day to remember that after Jesus was born, the Wise Men came to worship him and give Him precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Even though Sunday January 4 was still in the Christmas season, I took this opportunity to talk about your favorite kind of cake and what St Matthew’s Gospel tells us about the visit of the Wise Men, and I suggested a new and exciting way for you to greet each other when you come to church this year!

This week’s readings from God’s word were Isaiah 60:1-7 and Matthew 2:1-12

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. I may be retired, but I’ve been doing some substitute preaching in other churches - this episode is the sermon I preached on Sunday, November 16, 2025 at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Malvern, Ohio.

These recordings may not be uniform in quality because the acoustics and audio systems in the churches will not be uniform, but I’m game if you are.

For churches and denominations that follow a “church year calendar,” the new church year begins soon after Thanksgiving. That means that in November, we’re getting close to the end of the year! The focus on the assigned Scripture readings for the month is the end of time itself, when Jesus will return in glory to bring this current creation to an end and usher in the New Creation promised in the book of Revelation. 

Whenever Jesus talks about that coming time, it always seems like something dreadful - in fact, in chapter 21 of Luke’s Gospel it seems like Jesus gives his disciples a big bullet list of things to be afraid of. But along with that list, He tells them and us what He himself will do for us, and He coaches us on what we can do to face that time with faith instead of fear.

You can read Luke 21:5-36 HERE>>

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

The weekend of November 1 & 2 was interesting, and a bit complex - not only the observance of  All Saints’ Day, but also the 21st Sunday in the Pentecost season. The Gospel lesson for the former was the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12); the Gospel lesson for the latter  was the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). 

As I was working on the sermon that I would be preaching both at Calvary Lutheran Church in Parma, Ohio, and at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Pleasant City, Ohio, I wrestled with questions like What makes a person a saint? If you can tell a person’s a saint by their behaviors, what do saintly behaviors look like? and Is it possible for a person whose life doesn’t seem to be very saintly, to be a saint anyway?

The result was this sermon titled “All Saints and Ragamuffins”, which I preached at Calvary Lutheran Church on Sunday morning, November 2, 2025.

Here are some bonus links for this episode:

Matthew 5:1-12 (the Beatitudes)

Luke 19:1-10 (the story of Zacchaeus)

The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

On Sunday, October 19, 2025, I had the privilege of preaching at The Ministry Center in Columbia Station, Ohio. The Ministry Center is the home of two congregations, Hosanna, and FaithWalk. Their pastor, Rev. Phil McClelland, has been walking with them through Saint Paul’s First Letter to the Christians in the city of Corinth in his sermons, and asked me to continue with chapters 8 and 9. 

Here’s a link to the sermon notes / outline:

https://app.box.com/s/a27vwxzm0u7gp8khyupvjsa03z1d7b12

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

On Sunday, September 21, 2025, I had the privilege once again of preaching at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Malvern, Ohio. The Gospel lesson for that Sunday was a parable Jesus told, a story that gives us a little glimpse into the kingdom of God. This one is in Luke’s Gospel, at the beginning of Chapter 16, and on the surface it’s a story about a business man, his office manager, and how people act under pressure. 

But what if there’s more to that story? What if the parable that begins Chapter 16 is actually one of a quartet of parables that began in Chapter 15? and what if the common theme of all four parables is about the determination of God the Father to forgive your sins, to restore you to His love, and to celebrate you and welcome you into His eternal family for the sake of Jesus, His Son?

You can read the sections from God’s Word that were read on September 21 at these links:

Amos 8:4-7

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Luke 16:1-15

And you can read the three parables in Luke 15 HERE>>

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

On Sunday, September 7, I had the privilege of preaching at St. John Lutheran Church in Massillon Ohio, on Luke 14:25-34 with the theme "Counting the Cost."

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Now that I’m retired - but substitute preaching in other churches - I’m hoping to post many of these new sermons to the Basin and Towel podcast as I go along. These recordings may not be uniform in quality because the acoustics and audio systems in the churches will not be uniform, but I’m game if you are.

On Sunday, August 17, I had the privilege of preaching on Hebrews 11, “Heroes of the Faith? Really?” at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Malvern, Ohio.

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more at the Basin and Towel website -bit.ly/bnt2025

You can also follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook @thebasinandtowel and on YouTube HERE». I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Welcome back to the Basin and Towel podcast!  I’m your host, Chris Cahill.  I live in Lodi, Ohio, where I recently retired from 45 years of pastoral ministry in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It’s been a while since the last Basin and Towel podcast. I’ve been focusing on my Route 42 podcast with sermons from the church I retired from, Christ the King Lutheran Church in Lodi. Now that I’m retired (and substitute preaching in other churches) I’m hoping to post many of these new sermons to the Basin and Towel podcast as I go along. These recordings may not be uniform in quality because the acoustics and audio systems in the churches will not be uniform, but I’m game if you are. 

On Sunday, July 13, I had the privilege of preaching on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. 

The Basin and Towel podcast is written and recorded by Rev Chris Cahill, Ministerial Care Coordinator of the SELC District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. You can find out more about Pastor Cahill and the Basin and Towel website, and follow the Basin and Towel on Facebook and on YouTube at https://bit.ly/m/revcahill. I'd love to hear from you, especially if you have a question or some topic you'd like to hear about.

Unless otherwise indicated, any Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV), Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed through www.biblegateway.com

Basin and Towel Theme by cliveromney from Pixabay

Today is called Palm Sunday in the church year. It’s the last Sunday in the season of Lent, and the beginning of what we call “Holy Week.” 

Centuries ago, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem for the last time before His death on the cross, surrounded by His disciples and an excited, cheering crowd. But that was only the start of this awesome week that also includes the Passover meal that He transformed into the Lord’s Supper on Thursday, and His death on Good Friday. 

You can view, download, or print the text of this service by clicking the link here or by copying and pasting it into your browser: https://bit.ly/250413PalmSunday

You can read the transcript of all the episodes in this series as they become available at the Basin and Towel blog here: https://thebasinandtowel.wordpress.com/

• Zach Zehnder is author, program leader, and President of the Red Letter Challenge at https://redletterchallenge.com/; along with Chris Johnson, Zach cohosts the Red Letter Disciple podcast at https://redletterchallenge.com/red-letter-disciple-podcast/
• Mark Zehnder recently retired as the senior pastor of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and currently ministers at https://www.alwaysforwardministries.com/ to pastors, boards, staffs, and churches as they work through periods of leadership transition.
• The book “NEXT: Pastoral Succession that Works” by William Vanerbloemen and Warren Bird is available at Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Next-Pastoral-Succession-That-Works/dp/080100571X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=SF9EGP9KPD3&keywords=next+vanderbloemen+bird&qid=1681756932&sprefix=next+Vand%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1

1. You can c...