Month: September 2017

  • Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 20:1-16)

    Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Matthew 20:1-16)

    Bethlehem Lutheran Church & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon and Sweet Home, OR Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Baptism of David Timothy Miller) + September 24, 2017 Text: Matthew 20:1-16   The dictionary defines grace as unmerited favor from God. So, we sing praises of God’s grace in Christ.  We name congregations after it and we sing…

  • Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Romans 13:1-10)

    Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Romans 13:1-10)

    Bethlehem Lutheran Church & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost + September 10, 2017 Text: Romans 13:1-10 People love to be free of the burden of authority.  School kids count the minutes before the bell on the last day of school.  College freshmen rejoice to be free of their…

  • Christians United: A Brief Commentary

    Christians United: A Brief Commentary

    On August 29 of this year, a group of conservative Christian leaders released a biblical statement about LGBT matters called the Nashville Statement.  A little over a day later, a dissenting group who is strongly in favor of LGBT inclusion in the Christian Church released a statement under the name Christians United. The Church has…

  • Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Romans 12:9-21)

    Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Romans 12:9-21)

    Bethlehem Lutheran Church & Bethel Lutheran Church, Lebanon & Sweet Home, OR Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost + September 3, 2017 Text: Romans 12:9-21 Christians are strange people in the world.   On June 17, 2015, a young man came to Bible study at a church in.  The rest of the group welcomed him, even though…