Explore past sermons from Peace Lutheran Church. Read a summary, find the scripture references, and download the original sermon manuscript.
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FAUNA
As we re-imagine our place as creatures made in the image of God and related intricately and intimately to the rest of creation, we ask: What does that mean for how we understand our human vocation to be earthkeepers? Hubris is that which keeps us separated from claiming kinship with the rest of Earth’s creatures….
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OCEAN
Our lives are and always have been linked with the life and health of the world’s oceans. The ocean is the lifeblood of Earth, covering more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface and ultimately supporting all living organisms. Yet 95% of this realm remains unexplored and unseen by human eyes. Like the salmon in…
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Opening the Door to Wonder
Psalm 8 opens the door to the contemplation of wonder and mystery, and invites us in. Albert Einstein, Kathleen Norris, Annie Dillard, Thomas Berry, and others invite us to recapture our first vocation as earthkeepers, responding to God’s call not with hubris but with humility.
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Live and Become
Sermon delivered on the occasion of the Rite of Confirmation. When the disciple community experienced the outpouring of God’s Spirit in wind and tongue and flame, they began probing immediately for the meaning behind it all. Their question: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Fast forward 20 centuries and WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? continues to be a…
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What Counts Most?
As we take in the story of Paul and Silas’ imprisonment and release, we ask the question, WHAT IS THE DEEPEST, MOST POWERFUL, MOST PERVASIVE REALITY IN THE STORY? In the midst of dire circumstances, Paul and Silas could have been overcome with fear. But they had learned to anticipate God’s presence and power in…
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Convergence
When we look behind the story of Lydia and her encounter with Paul and his companions, we become aware of what one theologian calls “the inexplicable convergence of human faithfulness and divine guidance.” (Ronald Cole-Turner) This moves us to ask when and where God is at work within and between the lines of our life’s…
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What Love Looks Like
Jesus’ final command to his apprentices, “love one another as I have loved you,” was delivered between the betrayal of Judas and the denial of Peter. In this kind of world, what does neighbor-love look like? Sometimes the church as failed spectacularly to understand God’s call to give the work of God social form. But…
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Shepherd, Sheep, Tears
Shepherds and sheep dot the landscape of our texts on Good Shepherd Sunday, but tears are there too. When we share God’s word of promise with the brokenhearted; and when we share a gesture of caring (such as a quilt, blanket or health kit), we help turn a trajectory from despair to hope.
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Letter to Thomas
One of the apostles who was present in the upper room on Easter evening when the Risen Christ appeared writes a letter to Thomas to share what he experienced.
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RESURRECTION LIFE: The New Job Description
The women who came to the empty tomb found their job description had changed. No longer embalmers, they were witnesses of the resurrection.