Explore past sermons from Peace Lutheran Church. Read a summary, find the scripture references, and download the original sermon manuscript.
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Ultima Thule, Ultimus Rex
As this new year dawned, the New Horizons spacecraft came within reach of the most distant object ever visited by humankind: a small mysterious looking space nicknamed, “ULTIMA THULE” – a place beyond the known world. When it comes to our gospel for this Feast of Epiphany, we’re in the realm of mystery as well;…
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Earthrise to Incarnate Christ
50 years ago on this night, the astronauts in Apollo 8 emerged from orbit around the moon to behold a vista never seen before: a blue marble Earth rising over the desolate lunar landscape. The photo Astronaut Bill Anders took, dubbed Earthrise, showed Earth as a breathtaking jewel of color and life amid the blackness…
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From Shame to Praise
In the gospel reading we come face to face with two women—one married, the other single; one wed into privilege, the other living at the edge of poverty—who, for different reasons, are both subject to shame. As a pregnant but unmarried woman Mary might expect judgment, shame, even ostracism from her older kinswoman, but Elizabeth…
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A Community for the Long Haul
The Center for Disease Control says life expectancy in the USA is going DOWN…and not for the first time but for the third year in a row. It’s the longest sustained decline in a century. Driving that downward trend are the rising numbers of deaths from suicide and the opioid epidemic. What’s driving those causes?…
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Birthpangs
In the language of opera and film it’s called a LEITMOTIF—a musical theme that recurs again and again, with a rhythm and melody connected to a particular person, idea, or emotion. Within the pages of Scripture there are leitmotifs, too—themes that resound throughout the long saga of God’s unfolding salvation story. And today one of…
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The Fate of Widows
On the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that marked the end of World War 1, a war whose casualties ran into millions, our texts invite us to reflect on the surviving widows, and on the way in which systems designed to help the vulnerable can turn against them.
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Tears
There’s a trail of tears linking our scriptures this All Saints Sunday. Two profound images from the 1st and 2nd readings, and yet a 3rd from John’s gospel speak of weeping and tears and the God who will wipe them away. At a vigil I attended at Seattle’s Temple de Hirsch Sinai, in memory of…
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Planting Trees vs. Planting Bombs
There is a well-known story that Martin Luther, when asked what he would do if God’s final judgment were to arrive the next day, replied: ‘Even if I knew that the world were to fall to pieces tomorrow, I would still plant my apple tree today.’ This story is behind the 10 year project to…
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For Such a Time as This
We could all share examples of being on the short end of the power stick in one struggle or another. And perhaps the reverse is also true: we’ve used our position to advocate or protect or benefit someone else. Both the story of Esther and the episode from Mark speak about what advocacy and protection…
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Wicked Problems
A wicked problem is a problem that’s difficult or even impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and ever changing requirements which are often difficult to recognize. Wicked problems resist all attempts at easy solutions, which is why the wealthy man we meet in our gospel today is in a quandary. Holding onto and trusting…