Sermons by Pastor Gewecke (Page 10)
Easter 5C/Armed Forces Sunday
John 16:12-22 In hearing the Gospel for today it is imperative that we remember the context in which Jesus first spoke those words. He said at the time that there were things his disciples could not bear to hear. But I say to you, you can bear them. Why? Because the circumstances are different now. We are post-resurrection rather than pre-resurrection when Jesus spoke the words. Today we will talk about the things that have changed and that secure our…
Easter 4C/Mother’s Day
John 10:22-30 Mother’s Day and Good Shepherd Sunday share some things. Both have a primary image and secondary image. While one image is dominant, the day can’t exist without the other. For Mother’s Day, it is mothers and their children. For Good Shepherd Sunday, it is the Good Shepherd and his flock. So just as Mother’s Day is primarily about mothers but also involves the appreciation of their children, so Good Shepherd Sunday is primarily about the gifts of the…
Easter 3C
John 21:1-14 In our experience, God is often a hidden God, meaning that we do not or cannot know God and why He does things. That is because we are created beings and God is creator. It is also because of our sinful nature that has stripped us of spiritual discernment. But the good news is that God in his mercy comes to us and reveals himself to us. We see this particularly in the resurrected Christ as he appears…
Easter 2C……. Confirmation
John 20:19-31 Confirmation is all about confession; that which we believe in our hearts, we confess with our lips, and live out in our lives. On this Confirmation Sunday, Thomas helps us with our concession, “My Lord and my God.” This is the cry of every Christian. This is a cry that both confesses who God is and how we relate to him. Sermon Date: April 28, 2019
Easter C ………. Life Out of Death
Exodus 15:1-18 Even before the flames that were ravaging Notre Dame were fully extinguished came the promise to rebuild. Life out of death, a new Notre Dame would emerge. This is a resurrection story of sorts in the making. The story of the burning of Notre Dame as well as the story of the Israelites at the Red Sea remind us of our own journey in life where sin traps us and its consequences ravage us. But God provides us…
Lent 5C ……. Pressing On
Philippians 3:8-14 As with every project or sporting competition, our lives of faith have critical points at which it is important to “press on”. The Apostle Paul talks about our pressing on in the faith. There is an urgency to strain ahead as with a sprinter. But there is also a forgetting of what is past. It is all to know Christ which is about the three Ts of time, talk and trust. Sermon Date: April 7, 2019
Lent 3C …… An Entire Life of Repentance
Luke 13:1-9 “Have you heard the news?” they asked Jesus. A terrible thing had happened. Jesus added another tragic event to their concern. But the question looming behind the question was “Why? What does this mean?” Like them, we want to connect the dots. We want answers. Jesus’ answer is helpful not only in what he says but also in what he does not say. In the end it all comes down to repentance. In fact, as Luther teaches us,…
Lent 2C …….. I Would yet You Would Not
Luke 13:31-35 Jerusalem is a wonderful city. Yet when you are there looking down at it from the Mount of Olives, the absence of the temple is a reminder of Jesus’ words regarding the desolation that would happen. Jesus’ desire was to gather the people of Jerusalem to himself but in so many cases they would not go to him. This gives us pause today to reflect on our own openness or resistance to Jesus. Are there ways in which…
Lent 1C…….. Suffering Before Glory
Luke 4:1-13 The season of Lent is not easy nor is it meant to be. It calls for discipline and devotion. And sometimes that can reveal in us a desire to take the easy way and even bypass discipline or suffering. Lent then teaches us and trains us in the way of the kingdom which is suffering before glory. It was that way with God’s Old Testament people and with Jesus as demonstrated in both his passive and active obedience.…
Transfiguration: The Theology and Experience of Transfiguration
Luke 9:28-36 The account of the Transfiguration is full of wonderful theology. The questions that you naturally ask as you read this account lead into deep theological thinking and meaning. Seven of them readily surface starting with the somewhat unusual phrase “after about eight days”. But we are not done when we have reflected theologically. For theology rightly leads us into experience. Here is how theology leads to experience. Sermon Date: March 3, 2019