Explore past sermons from Peace Lutheran Church. Read a summary, find the scripture references, and download the original sermon manuscript.
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Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How Seeing Changes Our Perspective
The verb “see” is used over and over and over again in this text from John’s gospel. And each time the text uses the verb “to see,” action follows. Nowhere in this morning’s Gospel can someone simply “see” and stop there. This text is perfect as we commemorate Martin Luther King. He accepted Jesus’ invitation…
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Beloved
Psalm 29 uses powerful images from nature to celebrate the awe-inspiring VOICE OF GOD: The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees… the voice of the LORD splits the fames of fire; the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe… and in the temple…
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Hope in the Face of Death and Exile
The scene, on many levels, could be ripped from today’s headlines. • Anxious refugees leave their homeland for fear of what might happen if they stay. • Innocent children become victims of a madman. • Tyrannical leaders take violent action to preserve their power. We’ve watched these scenes play out over the past weeks and…
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A New Point of View
Emperors are good at decrees. Kings, governors and governments have been crafting decrees for millennia, and of late, corporations have joined their ranks. When Luke says, A DECREE WENT OUT, he puts his finger on what we all know to be true about the way the world operates: ? Events of consequence are set in…
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Bringing the Dream to Birth
On this final Sunday of Advent Isaiah’s broad strokes become pointed and specific, and we see how two passages—Isaiah 7 & Matthew 1—though centuries apart—are inextricably bound together by a name that has become synonymous with this season: EMMANUEL. As always, when we open the Scriptures, we enter a room in which a conversation has…
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The Way Home
We are on a journey together. And every step we take, every act of mercy, every offer of friendship, every gesture of compassion—plants our feet more firmly on that Holy Way. Our culture gives us the message that we’re on this journey alone. But Isaiah tells us, and Jesus shows us, that we are not…
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Stump Speech
Advent began last week with Isaiah—the great poet/prophet of the Scriptures—announcing God’s dream for the world. A dream grounded in four texts from four chapters: Isaiah 2, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 35 and Isaiah 7. Last week we learned of the power and reach of God’s dream for SHALOM; how the gravity of this dream pulls…
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How Big is Your Dream?
What are the dimensions of your dreams? The season of Advent is a season for hoping; a season for dreaming. And this year, these four Sundays bring us the reverberant echoes of Isaiah’s voice announcing God’s Dream for the world. This Dream of God’s is grounded in four texts from four chapters this season: Isaiah…
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From Kennedy to Jesus to Jordan
Where were you when you heard the news? It’s a question people have been asking and answering all last week on the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death…Something was taken from us that day, and whether that “something” was based on myth or reality, it seems we’ve spent the better part of 50 years trying to…
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When the World is Falling Apart
It seems like so much is up for grabs these days. The long awaited FEDERAL HEALTHCARE ROLLOUT has been one incredible bungle; then, in spite of Washington State leaders’ efforts to extract a long-term commitment from BOEING that would guarantee jobs for decades to come, Wednesday’s NO VOTE by machinists once again raises the question…