Category: Sunday
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Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 27A)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Text: Matthew 25:1-13 What a mess the world is. Thank God that we have the Church. Thank God that we can confess, “I believe…in the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” Thank God for that…
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Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist
“The winged bull (or ox), recognized as the animal of sacrifice, was applied to St. Luke because his Gospel emphasizes the atonement made by Christ’s sacrifice of himself on the Cross. The bull (ox) is also synonymous with service and strength, which reminds us as Christians that we should be prepared to sacrifice ourselves in…
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Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Reading – Matthew 22:1-14 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants,…
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Advent Midweek 2: Ruth the Moabite (Ruth 1:6-17)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Advent 2 Midweek – December 7, 2016 Text: Ruth 1:6-17 Ruth was a woman without an earthly family. Sin and its effects had caused her to lose her husband and she also lost her home and inheritance. With Naomi she found a family. Yet with Naomi’s God she found…
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Do Not Despair, the Lord Returns! (Malachi 3:13-18)
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, OR Last Sunday of the Church Year – November 20, 2016 Text: Malachi 3:13-18 At first, there’s righteous anger: How could this world be so godless? Look at what’s on TV! Look at what’s accepted as normal now! Don’t you hear the filthy lyrics in popular music? Don’t you see…
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God's Every Promise Does Not Fail (Matt. 5:1-12)
All Saints Day (observed) + November 6, 2016 Text: Matthew 5:1-12 We live in a world that disappoints because it can never truly satisfy—no matter how much it might promise. Infomercials are notorious for making great promises about products, only to be told later “results may vary.” “Read my lips: No new…
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Christians Abide in His Word (John 8:31-36)
Reformation Sunday + October 30, 2016 Text: John 8:31-36 Celebrating the Reformation is an exciting time in the Lutheran Church. Next year for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we really get to go all out. But it’s important to double check that our excitement is more about being “Church” than it is about being…
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Naked Sinners Clothed by a Gracious God (Luke 18:9-17)
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost + October 23, 2016 Text: Luke 18:9-17 In the age of social media, exhibitionism is at an all-time high. People are sharing everything from their child’s first steps to what they had for dinner. This has invited friends and acquaintances to “like” and comment their way into previously private moments. …
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Praying in God's Faithfulness (Luke 18:1-8)
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost + October 16, 2016 Text: Luke 18:1-8 There’s a lot of material out there about prayer. And most of it is misguided. In much of what we hear about prayer, we’re led to believe that if we get down on our knees enough, or with just the right heart, or…
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God's Blessings Come Through the Cross (Luke 17:11-19)
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost + October 9, 2016 Text: Luke 17:11-19 Today’s Gospel tells us of one of the many healings which Jesus did. The recipients were ten men of Jewish descent. We know this because Jesus directs them to show themselves to the priest in Jerusalem.[1] As people with a Jewish background, they…