Article: The Mood of Christmas

This is the text of my Thanksgiving Eve sermon at Bethel… I don’t know if you saw the tragic news this morning but a Lutheran pastor in San Francisco was arrested for having many pornographic images of children on his computer. It is just unbelievable and it is sad. It is just another thing in…

“Cursed is the person who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!” Deuteronomy 27:26 In chapter 27 of Deuteronomy we find a litany of  “calls and responses” of all of the things the Israelites should be about. After each proclaimed instruction the people…

This might seem a little odd but let’s talk about evil. There are many within the Christian community who would deny the existence of Satan, the devil and demons. They often claim that references to such things in the Bible are myth and not to be taken literally. I was curious about how many times…

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;             I will counsel you and watch over you.                                     Do not be like the horse or the mule,                                     which have no understanding  Psalm 32:8-9 Which part of the week are you spending learning about God outside of sitting in worship…

St. Paul writes, “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven….

The earliest writings in the New Testament come from Paul’s first letter to the church in Thessalonica. We commonly call it 1Thessalonians. Most agree it was written somewhere close to 50AD. Less than 20 years after the resurrection of Jesus. If you read this short letter, you will see the affection Paul has for the…