2 Easter A—4/12/20 John 20:19-31 Pr. Scott Kramer I’d like to share with you a story I heard from a friend of mine this past week. Since stay-at-home orders began some weeks ago, her adult daughter has come over to visit and the two go on a walk through the neighborhood every day. One day my friend wasn’t quite ready when her daughter arrived. When she finally was ready, she went looking for her daughter and found her running from corner to corner through the back yard. My friend … [Read more...]
Rewriting the Story
Pr. Sara Yoos, Guest Pastor and Preacher Lakeridge Lutheran Mark 8:27-38 9/16/18 You may have noticed that I’m pregnant. Now, the first few months, people were really cautious about asking. But after 4 months, it was pretty obvious this was more than just a big lunch. But once it was obvious that I am pregnant, it became especially awkward around strangers. See, I’m a foster parent as well to an eleven month old baby girl. So when people see me carrying around a baby – then notice that I’m … [Read more...]
Superheroes
4 Lent B—3/11/18 Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21 Pr. Scott Kramer Three weeks ago I drove down to The Landing movie theaters in Renton. I was hoping to be among the first to see Black Panther, the latest of the Marvel superhero movies. I couldn’t get in; it was sold out! Apparently, this movie is not only a big deal here. In only three weeks, worldwide Black Panther has grossed $1 billion. I read in the paper this morning that it is now the all-time greatest superhero movie, … [Read more...]
Saving the World
2 Easter A—4/23/17 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31 Pr. Scott Kramer (Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Seattle) A couple of weeks ago I was in the checkout line at our local hardware store and overheard a conversation behind me. It was between a store employee and a young man and woman who are fairly new to the area. When he learned that the young woman works in a local research lab, this store employee said, “Oh, my daughter works in the city as an epidemiologist.” And then he chuckled, “She’s trying … [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...]
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...]
The Father’s Love
4 Lent C—3/6/16 Joshua 5:9-12; Psalm 32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Luke 15:1-3,11b-32 Pr. Scott Kramer Our bank statement came in the mail a few days ago. This month, just like every other month, we need to check to see if the bank’s figures and our checkbook figures agree. You do this, too. We call it reconciling the checkbook. The word “reconcile” shows up in some form no fewer than five times in today’s short reading from 2 Corinthians. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: … [Read more...]
Saved to Save
3 Lent C—2/28/16 Isaiah 55:1-9; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9 Pr. Scott Kramer Three weeks ago yesterday, on February 6th, at 4:00 in the morning, my wife and I were awakened by windows rattling and the building shaking. I looked at her and she said, “Earthquake”, and…we both fell back asleep! Maybe not the safest response to an earthquake (!) but the next morning we heard news that she was right. It was an earthquake—the same one you read about in the news--on the … [Read more...]
Everyday Salvation
During the forty days of Lent we ponder in a more intentional way our stories of salvation. "Being saved," we remember, is not merely some religious or other-worldly drama. Following Jesus means celebrating God's power where it shows up unexpectedly in the ordinary and everyday. Here's a sweet story of salvation from today's paper. … [Read more...]
Word(s) to Live By
2 Christmas C—1/3/15 Jeremiah 31:7-14; Psalm 147:12-20; Ephesians 1:3-14; John 1:1-18 Pr. Scott Kramer Week after week we hear these words: Word of God. Word of Life. And the people respond: Praise to you, O Christ. This morning when you hear “Word of God, Word of Life…” your response is: Thanks be to God! As we conclude the Christmas season, what is the word of God for us? What is the word of life that will feed and sustain us as we move forward into this New Year? Each of the readings for … [Read more...]