5 Easter B—4/29/18 Acts 8:26-40; 1 John 4:7-21 Pr. Scott Kramer Years ago my wife and I went on a hike in an area south of here called Indian Heaven Wilderness. This is a beautiful, remote area in south-central Washington near Mt. Adams, and we decided at one point to drive on a forest road through the wilderness to see where that would take us. Well, we thought we knew where we were but there were no road signs and after a while we knew we were lost. It was getting late in the day and … [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...]
Salt of the Earth
5 Epiphany A—2/5/17 Isaiah 58:1-12; Psalm 112:1-10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16; Matthew 5:13-20 Pr. Scott Kramer I remember a time as a young adult when I had just turned legal age. Wine and beer were familiar to me but cocktails were completely foreign. One day I was out to dinner with an older and more experienced friend, who explained some of the drinks listed on the menu. I settled on a Mai Tai. When the drink was served I took a sip and exclaimed, “That’s really salty!” My friend … [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...]
Deep Waters
16 Pentecost C (Season of Creation: Ocean Sunday)—9/4/16 Job 38:1-18; Psalm 104; Ephesians 1:3-10; Luke 5:1-11 Pr. Scott Kramer This past week’s Seattle Times reported that life on earth may have begun far earlier than we thought. Scientists in Greenland found a fossil that they believe is 3.7 billion years old, which is more than 200 million years older than the previous fossil evidence suggests. Our readings for this first Sunday in the Season of Creation (Oceans) speak of ancient things. … [Read more...]
Whitewater
14 Pentecost C—8/21/16 Isaiah 58:9b-14; Psalm 103:1-8; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17 Pr. Scott Kramer It seems appropriate that Aidan’s baptism is today. He is the son of athletes, and the Olympic Games closing ceremony is today. Some of my favorite events over the past 16 days have been water sports: swimming, diving, water polo. Of course, there’s rowing and sailing. And, yes, kayak! Michelle and Derek, you are runners and rock climbers, but you are also water people! Today’s worship is … [Read more...]