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“The Word of the Cross, the Power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:12)As many of you know, these past two weeks I was at our seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to take a continuing education course on the life and work of Bo Giertz. Who was Bo Giertz, you ask? Let me tell you. He was a very important churchman, theologian, and author who lived in Sweden during the 20th century. He was born in 1905, and he died in 1998 at the age of 92. When I was in seminary, I read a book by Bo Giertz called...

“Gifted Speakers” (John 1:29-42a; 1 Corinthians 1:1-9) Have you ever heard of the St. Louis Speakers Series? Every year there’s a series of lectures, held in St. Louis, given by famous speakers from around the country. Well-known authors, politicians, broadcasters, and the like are brought in, and they’ll give an hour or so talk, followed by questions and answers. The event is held at Powell Hall, and people buy tickets to hear these famous personalities speak. Often in the advertising for these events, the description will say something like, “So-and-so is a gifted speaker who has delighted audiences around the...

“Who Are the April Fools? How Do You View Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” “On the foal of a donkey”: I thought about that phrase, and then I thought about the fact that this is April 1, and so I considered doing a sermon on “April Foal’s Day” . . . and then I decided against it. But this is April Fools’ Day,...

“O Death, Where Is Your Victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:51-57)“‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is our text. On the ancient Roman calendar, the approximate middle day of a month was called the “Ides” of that month. And so, for March, it was the 15th that was called the Ides of March. And it became a famous date. According to the historian Plutarch, Julius Caesar...

“Advent Is Worth the Wait” (Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 11:1-10)We don’t like to wait, do we? I mean, we Americans. And especially when it comes to Christmas. Wait till the night of December 24 to start celebrating Christmas? No way! So the Christmas catalogues started coming--when, the day after Labor Day? Then came the Christmas movies: “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” came out November 4. The Christmas radio stations: “Santa Baby” was “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” already a couple of weeks ago. And the TV specials: “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” is this Tuesday. Apparently, Rockefeller...

“Then Comes the End” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46)Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. The church year mirrors the life of Christ and the course of history, and so, naturally enough, as we come to the end of the church year, the lessons and themes of the last few Sundays concern the last things, the end times, and the return of Christ the King. So it is today. The Propers of the Day, the Introit, Collect, and Gradual; the Readings, the Old Testament, Epistle, and Holy Gospel; the hymns, “The Clouds of Judgment Gather” and the rest--all...

Ann Coulter + Laura Ingraham = two Ivy League BA holding women w/ law school degrees who at some point in their life, likely dreamt of holding high political office (Coulter almost ran for Congress in Connecticut!)--but neither had the courage to challenge the old boy establishments of which they hail from, so they instead "followed the rules of the system" (as ivy leaguers are trained to do) and settled for the sole outlets by which feminist-minded women (the conformist breed of feminist) can gain the kind of stature they were desiring: This meant settling for something "easier" and less...

“Weak Power and Foolish Wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:18-31)The American Religious Identification Survey conducted a huge, nationwide survey in 2008, the first one since they did a similar survey in 2001. They asked people to identify themselves by their religion, and they included every religion you could think of--Catholic, mainline Protestant, Evangelical, you name it. Perhaps the most interesting result to come out of this survey is the only group they found that increased in number in every state in the union. Guess which religious identification that was. Give up? “None.” That’s right, “none” was the religious identification that increased everywhere,...

1 Corinthians 11:32 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

February 9, 2003Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalm: Sunday Week 9 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel Reading I Jb 7:1-4, 6-7 Job spoke, saying:Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?Are not his days those of hirelings?He is a slave who longs for the shade,a hireling who waits for his wages.So I have been assigned months of misery,and troubled nights have been allotted to me.If in bed I say,"When shall I arise?"then the night drags on;I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;they come to an end without hope.Remember that my...