Explore past sermons from Peace Lutheran Church. Read a summary, find the scripture references, and download the original sermon manuscript.
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Our Longing – God’s Longing
We see examples of longing all around us and in Genesis and Luke this week we are privy to two examples from scripture. Jesus expresses the desire that lies at the very heart of God: HOW OFTEN HAVE I LONGED TO GATHER YOU AS A HEN GATHERS HER BROOD UNDER HER WINGS, AND YOU WERE…
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To Be So Loved
What do the art of glass blowing, Neanderthal DNA, and Jesus facing down the tempter in the desert have in common? Lessons learned from watching maestro Lino Tagliapietro work with glass yield insights into the wilderness workshop Jesus entered after his baptism and the affirmation: YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON.
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Mountain Revelation
A journal entry found in an alpine hut, describing a snowshoe rescue experience during a winter blizzard reveals something about the nature of God’s accompaniment with us. “Mountains are fickle places. One moment it’s clear and bright, and the views are endless. And another, all visibility is gone. Mountains are dangerous places. The experience of…
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Love Beyond Limits
Singer and songwriter Brittany Howard of ALABAMA SHAKES says: “If energy is never destroyed, then anyone you’ve every loved and anyone who’s ever loved you—none of that love ever goes away, it never disappears, it’s always around you.” St. Paul says: “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love…
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Under the Surface
Water, whatever form it takes, matters. Every baptism and thanksgiving for Baptism in this space celebrates that fact. But it’s not just the water. It’s the promise God makes to be in, with, and under the water; God’s promise to take this Spirit-infused water and mark us forever as beloved sons and daughters—mark us permanently…
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Seeking through Mystery
Could the astronomical sign seen by the Magi of Matthew’s gospel have been a comet? A supernova? An unusual conjunction of two or more of the most visible planets? While evidence has been explored for many scenarios, all that astronomers can offer are possibilities; the mystery remains. And mystery is an essential part of these…
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Beyond the Numbers: Love Overcomes Fear
Our world is preoccupied with numbers: Economic numbers; Polling numbers; Sales numbers; Population numbers. Our world is obsessed with numbers—and for good reason. For numbers—data—can tell us a lot about the state of the world in which we live. Every government, business, and educational institution; every for-profit and non-profit entity uses numbers to break down,…
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Space for God Within
These scenes we’re privy to this morning in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel are so personal and the scale is so intimate; and we love Luke for that. Our longing to see God on a human scale, to get close enough to touch him, is insatiable. And Luke feeds that appetite. In her essay,…
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The Way Forward: from Pain to Joy
The song of Zechariah on this REJOICE! Sunday is a powerful antidote for people who have passed through bleak, desert times. And we seem to have entered such a time ourselves, have we not? Many are living with fear—and having that fear stoked further by prominent figures who claim to be truth tellers. As a…
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Is God Fixing This Or Not?
After another mass shooting–this time in San Bernardino–the point was made by one media source that “GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS.” This sermon, reflecting on that statement and the questions it raises about prayer and God’s purposes, speaks about the God who, in Jesus, meets us in the wilderness places and empowers us to make our…