Called to be fishers of people not keepers of the aquarium. Matthew 4:12-23 tells how Jesus begins his public ministry by calling fishers to leave their nets and follow him. ‘What’s the deal with fishing?,’ Pastor Eric asked. You throw out the net and hopefully get good fish. You can catch and release fish. Jesus…
A Place of Grace
Sermons (Page 32)
In today’s Gospel (John 1:29-42), upon seeing Jesus, John the Baptist declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus was the Lamb slain as a sacrifice, and in doing so Jesus saved the whole world. Pastor Eric asked if we are the people of the Lamb, then…
According to Matthew 3:13-17, before Jesus begins his ministry, he is baptized by John the Baptist, touched by the Spirit and identified publicly as God’s child. Pastor Eric brought up three questions from today’s gospel to Vicki L. and was surprised that she had answers to all three. So he asked Vicki if she would…
This Sunday, the Epiphany of Our Lord, we celebrated the revelation of Christ to all nations with Lesson and Carols. New angels joined Gabriel on the Art Wall, heralding, “Jesus is here!”. A bright and perfect image of Jesus appeared as well. Each member of the congregation was shining like a diamond, wearing or carrying…
On this First Sunday of Christmas, our service was filled with Lessons and Carols that told the story of the birth of Christ Jesus through scripture readings and music. We lifted our voices to celebrate the fulfillment of what was spoken through the angel Gabriel, whose image was presented on the altar wall for all…
For those of you who may have missed our Christmas Eve Services, here is the Audio of the complete service, including all music and all readings. The audio runs through to the final dismissal “Go in peace. Be kind. Share the good news – Christ is born! Thanks be to God!” Be patient as you…
This Sunday’s Gospel reading was Matthew 1:18-25 which is the story of Jesus’ birth focusing on the role of Joseph, who adopts the divinely-begotten child into the family of David and obediently gives him the name Jesus, which means “God saves”. Pastor Eric read a story he had written of the birth of his two…
In today’s Gospel from Matthew 11, John the Baptist from his prison cell wonders whether Jesus is the one who will bring God’s judgement upon the earth. Jesus told his disciples to let John know that God’s work is already being done through healing and restoration. In fact, “the way is being prepared for you”.…
Today was a John the Baptist Sunday. At the heart of our Advent preparation stands John the Baptist, who calls us to repent and make a new beginning. Just before Jesus begins his public ministry, John the Baptist appears in the Matthew 3:1-12 Gospel, calling people to mend their ways and speaking of a powerful…
Our Gospel from the 24th chapter of Matthew tells how the Son of Man will be coming at an unexpected hour. And so we must wait. On this First Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that waiting is what the season of Advent is all about. Pastor Eric began his reflections by singing a song…