Just as Jesus was reminded at his own baptism at the voice of his Father who told him, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased,” it is good for us to also remember our baptism each day as a reminder of how much God loves us. This then allows us […]
While the concept of the Trinity can be one that is hard for us to comprehend – we have one God, but that one God is made known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is something about the Trinity that we can all relate to, that we all can get, and that is an […]
While our human nature would have us judge the worthiness of others and whether we should offer them friendship, apathy, or hate, today the divine nature in Christ Jesus is calling us to instead love the world. In Christ we are called not to condemn the world, but rather to rejoice in the salvation that […]
We know that Christ was the Son of the Living God. Therefore we know what God is like because of Jesus. This being the case, we then know that we have a loving, grace-filled God who has compassion for his whole creation. Who could ask for anything more!
Today as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we are reminded that our God is three in one. Over the ages people have tried to explain how exactly that takes place, however it ultimately is beyond our human understanding. What we do know from the Trinity however, is that we have a God that is about relationship. […]
Sometimes as Christians we can get caught up with our denominational affiliation to the exclusion of others who also call themselves Christian. We have many more reasons to honor one another than to dishonor one another. And how we interact with other Christians from other denominations speaks to the world about how Christians are as […]
As we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we are reminded once again that despite all the ways that we grow in our knowledge of God, there will still always be some things that we can’t fully understand. Yet thanks be to God that we continue to hear the familiar voice of Christ speaking to us through the […]
For this sermon, Pastor Smail uses a story entitled “The Lonely Lady of Blairstown Park.” It was originally written by Dr. Richard Jenson, a past professor at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and was adapted by Pastor Ed Markquart and now has been adapted by Pastor Smail for this sermon. Today Jesus teaches […]
Sometimes things are hard for us to see or hard for us to hear, because we can’t see beyond that which is in front of us. Today’s Gospel lesson is a primary example of this. Jesus goes back to his hometown, and instead of being proud of this homegrown boy, they are astounded and offended […]
As I was preparing to preach for Trinity Sunday I came across an interesting thought which had not really occurred to me before. Someone mentioned that it is in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, that we are brought into the family of God in baptism, and it is also in […]