2 Pentecost C—6/23/19 Luke 8:26-39 Pr. Scott Kramer Who is Dylann Roof? Some of us saw the film Emanuel this past Monday. Four years ago to the day, a young man named Dylann Roof walked into Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. He sat through a Bible study before standing up and shooting nine members of the congregation dead. What possesses a 21 year-old young white man who belonged to an ELCA Lutheran Church to commit such a horrific act against nine … [Read more...]
Sermons Archive
The Language of Love
PentecostC19—6/9/19 Acts 2:1-21 Pr. Scott Kramer On Tuesday of this past week I met with my synod diversity team. (“Synod” is the name for the 100 Lutheran churches in our part of Washington state.) Our team’s job is to identify needs and opportunities for raising awareness within our synod concerning issues of race, sexuality and, more generally, power. When I say I “met” with the team, I don’t mean face-to-face. Team members serve in different parts of our synod … [Read more...]
Free Advertising!
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...]
Stand Up!
6 Easter C—5/26/19 John 5:1-9 Pr. Scott Kramer Have you ever believed something, just because “everybody else” believes it? Not because it’s true, or a good idea, but just because that’s what people say, and it feels right, and we don’t have to change. We like to think of ourselves as free and independent thinkers, but all of us believe certain things because…"everybody else" does. Culture is like that! Some of these ideas and beliefs may even follow us from cradle … [Read more...]
Come Closer
2 Pentecost C—4/28/19 John 20:19-31 Pr. Scott Kramer I brought with me this morning a special friend. He doesn’t have a name but I’ll call him Teddy. He’s a bear given to me as a gift from my sister-in-law Michelle, who made him out of one of the shirts my dad wore in the last weeks of his life. This little bear, arms wide open, is a simple way of keeping close to my dad. It’s bittersweet, you know? Both pain and joy. When we lose someone dear to us, … [Read more...]
The “But” Stops Here!
Easter C—4/21/19 Acts 10:34-43; 1 Corinthians 15:19-26; Luke 24:1-12 Pr. Scott Kramer I brought with me today a potted tomato plant. Tomorrow is Earth Day—a happy coincidence with our celebration of Easter today. We see the annual spring miracle of resurrection all around us, and Earth Day reminds us in an increasingly urgent way that our Christian vocation includes stewardship of our home, the Earth. This plant is organic and locally grown. It's a Sungold cherry … [Read more...]
No Wet Blankets
5 Lent C—4/7/19 John 12:1-8 Pr. Scott Kramer (This sermon was delivered to the people of Columbia City Church of Hope) My sermon illustration this morning is a blanket. As you can see, this is no ordinary blanket; it’s a wet blanket! If someone calls you a wet blanket, or says that you threw a wet blanket on a situation, what do they mean? That’s right; you’re no fun—a “spoil sport!” There are lots of opportunities over the course of a lifetime to be a spoil sport. I … [Read more...]
Signposts of Love
4 Lent C—3/31/19 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 Pr. Scott Kramer Back in January two of my buddies and I decided to spend a few days hiking Death Valley National Park in late March. At the time we didn’t know that within three weeks my dad would die and our family would plan his memorial service for last Saturday. But, instead of canceling the hiking trip we decided that my companions would go ahead and I would catch up with them later. We met up in Death Valley on Tuesday of this past week and … [Read more...]
Chicken Wings
2 Lent C—3/17/19 Genesis 1:7-12,17-18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 13:31-35 Pr. Scott Kramer 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Did you know that God is chicken?? Today’s reading from Luke is a story of the fox in the chicken coop. The fox is Herod the king. Some Pharisees … [Read more...]
Better than Special
1 Lent C—3/10/19 Deuteronomy 26:5-11; Psalm 91:1-2, 9-12; Luke 4:1-13 Pr. Scott Kramer If you’ve been baptized, what did you sign up for? For many Christians, baptism is about the beginning and the end. After all, the Bible says, “Those who believe and are baptized will be saved.” Get yourself baptized, and you have it made in the life to come. But is this not faith based on … [Read more...]
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