Sermons

Spiritual Armor

Ephesians 6:10-17
December 2, 2007

Here is a powerful image, indeed. To put on armor – this is to get ready for war! And war is exceedingly serious business. St. Paul offers us instruction (how to get ready for battle and how to fight); he assumes our willingness to fight; and he presumes our need for hope. Of course, he is not talking about wars with guns and bombs – he is talking to us about a spiritual war, a war going on around us, a war of which few are even aware.

Inheriting Eternal Life

Luke 10:25-37
November 11, 2007

“… what shall I do to inherit eternal life”? Is not this the big question? Sure it really does matter whether we find salvation, and it surely does matter whether we spend eternity with God. But what does salvation mean? It seems to me that in the Scriptures and in the life of the Church the idea of salvation looks in three directions simultaneously: to the past, to the present, and to the future.

Trouble in Galatia!

Galatians 6:11-18
October 28, 2007

The churches in Galatia had some serious troubles. St. Paul wrote that, ?I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel?? A few paragraphs later he complained, ?O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?? Again, Paul writes, ?You have become estranged from Christ?? ?you have fallen from grace??

Lazarus and the Rich Man

Luke 16:19-31
October 21, 2007

Hardly anyone is not familiar with this story of Lazarus and the rich man. What was the context in which Jesus told this story? He had been talking to his disciples, speaking about the importance of serving God rather than possessions. Some Pharisees (Luke reminds us that they were covetous) mocked his words, which occasioned the parable. Today I would like for us to consider the parable in terms of several contrasts.

The "Impossible" Commands

2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Luke 6:31-36
September 30, 2007

“God loves a cheerful giver.” “Love your enemies.” “Lend, hoping for nothing in return.” “Be merciful…” Each of these “commands” involves the heart. These commands are easy, if our hearts are right. But if our hearts are wrong – how impossible they seem!