Sermons 2010
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009Pastor Tim Muller
I never forgot this Jesus. In fact, I can't see
how anyone who has even come face to face with him can forget him. You
may reject him, as I did at that time, but you cannot ignore him. Pastor Tim Muller
In this time of Lent, we celebrate a waiting God,
a God who gives people freedom, freedom to mess up, a God who yearns
for people to come to themselves, to realize that they are God's blessed
children, even if they, you feel that you don't deserve it. This God
runs out to embrace, to welcome home, to put his robe of righteousness
on you again, that robe given in baptism, and to have a big party of
welcome.
Pastor Tim Muller
People had a very cause and
effect understanding back then. Like on another occasion when Jesus and
his disciples encountered a blind man, and the disciples asked Jesus,
"Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John
9:2) It's still possible to hear similar questions or statements these
days. "God must have sent Hurricane Katrina towards New Orleans to clean
up a sinful city." Or, "The earthquake came to Haiti because of the
sins of a previous generation." That's been said. And easier to say
when the suffering comes to others.Pastor Tim Muller
In our own lives, Jesus calls us to remember his
amazing forgiveness for us, for all, with his constant invitation to
return to him in repentance. And he calls us to let others know that no
sin is too great to be forgiven. February
28, 2010: Is This Gathering, Gathered?
Vicar Bob SwansonYou and I may not
fully understand what God wants from us at certain times in our lives,
but we need to remember that when the dealings are God's they will not
be shaken.
February
21, 2010: Testing Testing
Pastor Tim Muller
Baptism, like with Jesus, puts
people right into the struggle. Whenever we have a baptism we hear the
renouncing of evil, of the ways that are against life itself. We hear
the confessing of faith in a dynamic transforming God. The baptism binds
one with the death and rising again of Jesus, with Jesus defeat of
evil. That's the ultimate reality to hold onto when you feel you are
really being tested.Vicar Bob Swanson
I'm
probably safe in assuming that we all enjoy and appreciate the light,
especially the natural light. But, what about the darkness? The
clouds in scripture are certainly darkness, just as they are in our
lives. Yet it's out of the clouds when we are also exposed to God's
glory. Pastor Tim Muller
Calls can come in
the midst of a sense of powerlessness and shame, like Isaiah experienced
in God's presence. And our gracious God in Jesus covers shame, brings
forgiveness, brings the live coal of God's purifying to the mouth and
heart. Vicar Bob Swanson
What is it that Jesus asks us to remember? Yes -
- - to love one another. Pastor Tim Muller
As one who presides at weddings, there is often a
note of joy as couples set forth with hope, in their partnership
together. For some, that hope and joy continue to deepen, in the midst
of the challenges that come. Pastor Tim Muller
God
says to you, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you
by name. You are mine. And I will always be with you, no matter how
dark things seem." Pastor Tim Muller
I know that Jeremiah
registered a protest at God' call; saying, "But I am only a boy. I
cannot speak." I don't think my protest was quite as loud. God's call
for Jeremiah to be a prophet put him into a hard place. Remember that
God appointed him, "to pluck up and pull down, to destroy and overthrow,
to build and to plant." Vicar Bob Swanson
It's
in darkness where Israel was for so many years - decade after decade
after decade. But now there's the affirmation of God's glory which will
free them from their present oppression. It's that very light we long
to see too, isn't it? It's the very light which can help us out of some
of the darkest places in our lives.
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