Author: Bethlehem Lutheran
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Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Isaiah 29:17–24 | 2 Corinthians 3:4-11 | Mark 7:31-37 Text: Mark 7:31-37 How are you doing? How have you been feeling? This is how we greet people we care about. But how do we answer this question? We probably have an ideal that we’d judge by, kind of like if a medical professional told…
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Eleventh Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Genesis 4:1-15 | Ephesians 2:1-10 | Luke 18:9-14 Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 This reading from Ephesians 2 is often a go-to passage for us as Reformation Christians. It beautifully covers the doctrines of original sin, election, God’s grace, faith, and even good works. It’s like the Swiss Army knife of Lutherans. These words, so often…
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Tenth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Jeremiah 7:1-11 | Romans 9:30-10:4 | Luke 19:41–48 Text: Luke 19:41-48 Zeal can be a beautiful thing. I have to say it is exhilarating being at Higher Things in the worship services with hundreds of voices exultantly singing beautiful, poetic meditations on the Word of God. With our voices declaring the mighty works of…
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Ninth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: 2 Samuel 22:26–34 | 1 Corinthians 10:6–13 | Luke 16:1–9 Text: Luke 16:1-13 Luke 15 is one of the most popular chapters in this Gospel. It’s refreshing to hear the parables of the Shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep, “And on His shoulder gently laid, And home rejoicing brought me.” (LSB 709:3). We…
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Seventh Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Genesis 2:7-17 | Romans 6:19-23 | Mark 8:1-9 Text: Mark 8:1-6 What do you think about food? You like it? I do, too. I’m sure we could share some enthusiastic stories about our favorite meals. What would you do to get it? When we’re children, it’s given to us. But when we get older…
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Sixth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Exodus 20:1–17 | Romans 6:1–11 | Matthew 5:17–26 Text: Matthew 5:20-26 For centuries, the first thing those learning the Christian faith encounter is the Ten Commandments. We may think they are elementary, and therefore easy to do. After all, they sound so simple: You shall have no other gods. You shall not misuse the…
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Fifth Sunday after Trinity
Confirmation of Landon Carter & Gwendolyn Zorko Readings: Genesis 50:15–21 | Romans 8:18–23 | Luke 6:36–42 Text: 1 Peter 3:8-15 St. Peter’s first epistle to the Church is beautifully appropriate and informative for the Church today. It was first written to the Christians who were scattered after persecution grew more severe, and it was clear…
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Fourth Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Genesis 50:15-21 | Romans 8:18-23 | Luke 6:36-42 Text: Luke 6:36-42 We are living in what could possibly be the most judgmental period in human history. Despite the efforts of previous generations to teach us not to be judgmental, the pendulum has swung back sharply and made us and the society we live in…
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Third Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Micah 7:18–20 | 1 Peter 5:6–11 | Luke 15:1-10 Text: Luke 15:1-10 There are times in Scripture where we can see the truth of God’s work on the lips of His enemies. Consider how Caiaphas spoke of the Sanhedrin’s plot to kill Jesus in John 11: Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said…
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Second Sunday after Trinity
Readings: Proverbs 9:1-10 | Ephesians 2:13-22 | Luke 14:15-24 Text: Luke 14:15-24 If it wasn’t true before the pandemic, it is certainly true now: We are a people who are at odds with one another. Family members alienated from one another, friendships strained and breaking from sharp disagreements, and a media culture that would rather…