11 Pentecost C—8/25/19 Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 71:1-6; Luke 13:10-17 Pr. Scott Kramer [Bewick's wren song recording] Yesterday I was at home working on this sermon, when I went upstairs for a break. There in the dining room was something I’d never before seen inside our house. A Bewick’s wren, one of the great songbirds native to the Pacific Northwest, somehow had slipped through our flimsy screen door and was frantically, desperately trying to fly out through the plate … [Read more...]
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7 Easter C—6/2/19 Acts 16:16-34 Pr. Scott Kramer Our church, as you know, is not necessarily easy to find. I like to tell the story of how I got lost the first FIVE times I tried to find it—this was before GPS—and those five times were even before I was called to be pastor here! From a marketing point of view, we are at a disadvantage. We’re not on the main drag, not near shopping and major services. Over the years, I’ve heard of neighbors who did not even know … [Read more...]
Rest for the Slave
3 Pentecost B—6/3/18 Deuteronomy 5:12-15; Mark 2:23--3:6 Pr. Scott Kramer I’ve noticed over time that one of the most common conversations I have with you is related to work: How do I transition from a lifetime in the work world to the world of retirement? How do I find a job that matches my gifts and skills? Or, how do I simply make ends meet? How do I decide when it’s time to move on to a different job or even a whole other career? How do I manage the multiple responsibilities of … [Read more...]
The Spirit of Truth
6 Easter A—5/21/17 Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:8-20; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21 Pr. Scott Kramer If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. The “Spirit of truth.” Was there ever a time when we were more in need of the Spirit of truth? Was there ever a time more than now when the world could not … [Read more...]
Birds of the Air
Epiphany 8A17—2/16/17 Isaiah 49:8-16; Psalm 131; Matthew 6:24-34 Pr. Scott Kramer (Preached at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Seattle) "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" This past week I’ve been thinking a lot about the “birds of the air.” My wife and I just returned on Friday from a few days in Arizona, which included some fine bird-watching. It’s too early for spring … [Read more...]
Perfect In Weakness
6 Pentecost B-7/5/15 Ezekiel 2:1-5; Psalm 123; 2 Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13 Pr. Scott Kramer “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Wow! Such a big family. If you’re in the habit of imagining the Christmas Eve version of Jesus’ family—Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus—this passage might come as a surprise. Jesus may have been the firstborn but according … [Read more...]
Manhattan or Mayberry?
Reformation Sunday 14—10/26/14 Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36 If you don’t commute to work every day you may not know it but traffic has gotten worse in recent years. In his Seattle Times column this past week, Danny Westneat wrote that “Seattle’s got the traffic of a big-time city, but the spirit of a small town when it comes to doing anything about it.” In another article he says we’re like Manhattan, but when it comes to traffic we act like Mayberry. “We’re … [Read more...]