Today’s gospel, Matthew 4:1-11, tells of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. His forty-day fast becomes the basis of our Lenten pilgrimage. Temptation comes to us every day in our thoughts, words and actions. We become less than what God created us to be. Inside us, our soul becomes emptiness which we try to fill with…
A Place of Grace
Sermons (Page 55)
Ashes are a rich symbol rooted in ancient customs and practices. On Ash Wednesday, the ritual of making the sign of the cross on our forehead with ashes, is a symbol of our mortality, repentance, cleansing and renewal that reminds us of our dependence upon God. Pastor Eric shared with us a story that talked…
Today is the Transfiguration of our Lord and it is a bridge between the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle that comes to a close today and the Lent-Easter cycle which begins in several days. According to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John up a high mountain on which he underwent some mighty big changes.…
Not only was Sunday, Feb. 23, the 7th Sunday after Epiphany, it was PLU Sunday! PLU is Pacific Lutheran University, located in Tacoma, WA. We hear a discussion between Pastor Beth and our own Dr. David O about why being a PLU Partner Congregation is beneficial to St Mark and our congregation. Dr. David also shared…
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts his followers to embrace standards of righteousness that exceed legal requirements and traditional expectations. The Sermon on the Mount is all about relationships. Murder and adultery being expressions of anger and lust. Anger is an expression of passion which should lead to compassion. Lust is a yearning…
Pastor Beth reminds us that our faith is a gift from God and through our baptism we are sent into the world to shine with the light of Christ. Matthew’s gospel talks about how Jesus tells us the way to attain heaven. Jesus said we are the light of the world and to let our…
Pastor Eric began today’s sermon by singing “I Love to Tell the Story” and asking… “What’s your story?” The Bible is God’s story…but it is our story too. In Genesis, Adam and Eve became aware of their shame, guilt, and sin. They talked directly to God and soon realized they were (as we are) human.…
After John the Baptist was imprisoned by King Herod, Jesus called his disciples to become ‘fishers of men’ which is a lot like fishing for fish. When fish fishing, you need to be persistent and not give up because you never know where, when or how the fish will get on your hook. God’s Grace…
During this time of Epiphany, in John 1:29-42, John, the writer of the Gospel, testifies about John the Baptist, who testifies about the coming of Jesus Christ. John says “Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”…Pastor Eric says “takes away the sin of the Cosmos!”. That sin is…
When asked to name the biggest problem humans have, Mother Teresa said, “We draw the circle of our family too small. We need to draw it bigger everyday.” Like the ripples formed when a pebble is dropped into a pool, we are asked to open our hearts and widen that circle. We do that by being generous, with…