Prepare Ye

Its thy will, not mine. On loss and death, I ask why. And I wait, and trust. We are given so many blessings; love and gifts. It hurts when they go. Memories we want. A last, final hug/smile/glance, A little more time. Pain makes us forget We're promised eternity with loved ones and Love. We forget our time Is limited here on Earth. Its thy will, not mine. 3/25/2017

This is my sermon outline for our second Lenten Soupper Service, held on March 15, 2017. It is based upon the Parable of the Leaven from Luke's Gospel. Luke 13:20-21 And again (Jesus) said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God?  It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.” Jesus gives another short parable comparing the kingdom of God to yeast that leavens flour But you’re not wondering about that, you’re wondering about the shirt I'm wearing Having heard me sing, how could I wear an “LTSG Choir” sweatshirt? -- Easy, I ordered it I ordered it because, in the fashion from when I went there, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, is closing at the end of this school year It is merging with the seminary in Philadelphia to form the United Lutheran Seminary It is a new venture which should better serve the church & its students Ordered because one of my favorite professors, ...

Here is the text from my sermon on March 12, 2017. The lesson is Luke 13:1-9, 31-35. --> Last Monday was a day of remembrance for me. Thirty-two years ago, on that day, on March 6 th , I had a cold. I know this because my cold caused me to sleep in my room at the fraternity house I was living in at Alma College. Normally, I would have slept in the unheated attic, along with most of my fraternity brothers. The attic would be whatever temperature it was outside, and we would see who could stay up there and endure the cold. We were in college, but that doesn’t mean we were smart. I had a cold that day, so I slept in my room, along with my roommate. Around 7 am, we heard someone’s alarm clock going off. We assumed that someone got up early, or had hit snooze and had gone to take a shower, and we complained about their insensitivity. Then our door was broken down. It wasn’t someone’s alarm clock. It was a smoke detector. The house was on fire,...

This is my sermon from our mid-week Lenten Soupper Service on March 8. Since we use the Narrative Lectionary, all of the Sunday lessons include a Lukan parable. So, I decided that we would use many of the rest of Luke's parables during Lent.  This is in outline form, which is how I write most of my sermons. I hope it isn't too distracting. Luke 13:18-19       (Jesus) said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” ·       Jesus gives a short parable comparing the kingdom of God to a mustard seed that becomes a tree, providing a home for the birds of the air §   Take a moment – I’m going to use reign of God rather than kingdom of God for the word basileia ·       First, it removes the ...

This is my Ash Wednesday message, based on the lesson from Luke 9:51-62, where Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem. I've always some issues with this lesson, especially the "Let the dead bury their own dead" (see http://prepare-ye.blogspot.com/2013/06/let-dead-bury-dead.html ) So I started writing questions, hoping to have some answers. Then I realized my questions, while not having answers, had a message, and that, I though, was enough. What does it mean to set your face to go to Jerusalem? What does it mean to accept your fate? If Jesus accepted that his fate was to die on a cross for our sins, can we accept that we are sinners? Can we accept that our only hope of redemption and salvation had to come from God, and not from anything that we could do? Knowing this, how do we NOT love the Lord our God with all our heart, and mind, and soul and strength? Can we admit that we are sinners, no better than, but no worse than, anyone else? C...