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Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 – November 2017

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 – November 2017 14 For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.  15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.  17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!  18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;  19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.  20 So we are ambassadors for Christ , since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled

Reflections from the Pastor

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …   Matthew 28:20 I had planned to use this space for some reflections on the Eclipse and the beginning of the school year.   But the events of the last few weeks have been so disturbing that I feel that I cannot ignore them and must address them in some way.   The white supremacist/neonazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, VA seem to be a culmination of a wave that seems to be sweeping the country.   That these demonstrations resorted to violence and that at last count several innocent people were killed is both tragic and deplorable. It seems to me that this needs to be a wake up call for us all.   I don’t like to think of myself as racist.   But because of my upbringing and the experiences I have had in my life I know that there is inside of me a tendency to sometimes react in ways that are in fact racist.   In fact, we all struggle with this whether we are aware of it or not.   Anthropologists called it “ethno-centrism” and it is

Lutheran Theology 101

As you all know by now this year – 2017 – is the 500 th anniversary of the Reformation.   Specifically it is the 500 th anniversary of Luther’s posting of the 95 theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg.   As I stated in an earlier article, (see below)   even though we trace our faith heritage back to that moment in time there are plenty of other events yet to come.   Even so, the events in history that we call the Reformation have certainly shaped our world and our culture and our nation, and continue to do so. Over the summer I am taking the opportunity during worship to focus on various theological issues that became a part of Reformation or Lutheran theology. For many of these Luther capsulated them in a brief saying – such as “Justification by Grace through Faith;” or “the Priesthood of all Believers,” "simil justus et peccator," or “Theology of the Cross.”   There are others.   These sayings were designed to make these concepts and understandings avail

Death & Darkness – Easter 2017

Based on Matthew 28:1-10 It is still dark outside this morning.   Though as I look at the windows I can see just a hint of light and I know that it will not be long before the sun will rise in the sky and light will flood through these windows.   But inside we have our lights on and we are comfortable.   The candles we have lit are for symbolic use since they have no practical use anymore.   We do not need these candles to see!   I think that we take light for granted and that we really don’t take darkness seriously any more.   After all we are dependent and comfortable with our electricity, our lamps and industrial lighting and so forth.   The fact is that we can get up at any time of the night and turn on a lamp and essentially create day in order to do whatever we want at any time. But, can you imagine a world where that is not the case.   A world where there are no artificial electric lights and instead the world is lit only by fire?   This is the world of antiquity: of the