3 Advent A—12/11/16 Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:5-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 Pr. Scott Kramer Did you know that KFC--Kentucky Fried Chicken--has been licensed to sell marijuana in Colorado? Did you know that loggers in South America have cut down the world’s oldest tree? Did you know that a Texas turkey farm was found to be contaminated with the Ebola virus? Did you know that Facebook is reporting the names of gun owners to the Department of Homeland Security? Did you know that…none of … [Read more...]
Cats and Dogs
2 Advent A—12/4/17 Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7,18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12 Pr. Scott Kramer Today we at Lakeridge Lutheran Church continue our celebration of 70 years; 70 years of being a presence in the neighborhood and, at our best, being Christ to the community, providing a glimpse of God’s unconditional love for the world…and a hint of Christ’s realm on Earth! For me personally, our congregation’s anniversary is one of several opportunities to celebrate. In September I attended … [Read more...]
Keep Awake!
Advent1A—11/27/16 Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Pr. Scott Kramer Anybody remember the 1970 book “The Late Great Planet Earth?” Some of you who are younger might be more familiar with the “Left Behind” series of novels and movies that appeared in the 1990s and early 2000s. These best-sellers used today’s reading from Matthew, with other Bible passages, to describe the “end of history.” The idea is that God will suddenly one day appear in the clouds to snatch away … [Read more...]
Love to the Very End
Christ the King—11/20/16 Jeremiah 23:1-6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Pr. Scott Kramer Last Sunday, you may recall, was the end of the world—as has every day since! That includes today, and it’s a special ending. Christ the King Sunday is the last Sunday of the church year. Today’s gospel reading may seem strange. Although we’re still weeks away from Christmas, today’s reading from Luke is from Holy Week, the story of Jesus’ crucifixion, which we won’t hear again until next … [Read more...]
End of the World
26 Pentecost C16—11/13/16 Malachi 4:1-2a; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19 Pr. Scott Kramer In case you hadn’t noticed, today is the end of the world! Some of you have been feeling that way since Tuesday’s election. If the election had turned out differently others of you would have felt the same way! Today’s gospel reading, as it happens, is about the end of the world. The days will come, Jesus said, when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown … [Read more...]
Short, Changed
24 Pentecost C—10/23/16 (Reformation Sunday) Isaiah 1:10-18; Psalm 32:1-7; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4,11-12; Luke 19:1-10 Pr. Scott Kramer I grew up in the church so I often heard the word “stewardship”--and I didn’t like it. This was before I even understood what it meant! I just didn’t like the sound of the word. I guess to my young ears it sounded too much like the word “sewer,” which is neither a beautiful-sounding word, nor a beautiful thing! What I learned just recently didn’t help those … [Read more...]
Greatness
23 Pentecost C—10/23/16 Jer. 14:7-10,19-22; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-8,16-18; Luke 18:9-14 Pr. Scott Kramer “There but for the grace of God go I.” In response to another person’s misfortune or tragedy, have you ever found yourself saying or thinking these words? “Sucks to be you!” is how we might put it in contemporary language. This is the spirit of the Pharisee in Jesus’ story, a man who has ordered his world into familiar categories of good and bad. I thank God that I am not like those … [Read more...]
Stranger Blessings
22 Pentecost C—10/16/16 Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 Pr. Scott Kramer A couple of days ago I went to the gym and jumped on the treadmill. To me, the treadmill is frankly boring! However, there are TV screens with football games and other sports events, news programs and talk shows to watch. Sometimes I have an audiobook loaded on my phone and I’ll listen to that. All of these things make the time pass more quickly and the treadmill a little less boring. Imagine … [Read more...]
Lessons from Rialto
19 Pentecost C—9/25/16 Job 39:1-8,26-30; Psalm 104:14-23; 1 Cor. 1:10-23; Luke 12:22-31 Pr. Scott Kramer One of the headline news stories this past week had nothing to do with Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. The news is that Rialto has a new home! Rialto, in case you don’t know, is the baby sea otter who was found on Rialto Beach along the Washington coast. This little guy was almost dead when some big-hearted humans rescued him and gradually nursed back to health at the Seattle Aquarium. … [Read more...]
Asleep In The Boat
17 Pentecost C—9/11/16 Job 28:20-27; Psalm 29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; Luke 8:22-25 Pr. Scott Kramer When many people my generation and younger hear the term “U2 incident” we might imagine some disturbance at a rock concert by the Irish band of the same name. Some of you, though, are old enough to know that the original “U2 incident” involved an American spy plane that was shot down in 1960 over Soviet airspace. The 2015 movie Bridge of Spies is based on this event. Some time before the … [Read more...]
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