fbpx

Category: Sermons

Trinity Sunday

“I understand [the trinity] most clearly when I remember the time before it all became official, when it was just people telling about their experiences of God in the best way they knew how… When we affirm god as three in one, we declare that we see god in all of these ways, and we also declare that god is not contained in just one of them. God is all of these things and much more. God is beyond what we can speak, beyond what we can calculate in a math equation.”

Accompanying scripture:
Romans 5:1 – 5
John 16:12 – 15

Message recorded on Sunday May 22, 2016

Good News
Good News
Trinity Sunday
/
CC0 Public Domain

Vulnerable God – Christ the King

We aren’t too good with vulnerability. When we choose leaders, we look for those who promise power and might. But instead, on this Christ the King Sunday, we get a God who is incredibly vulnerable; who hangs on the cross and will not save himself. And in so doing, invites us into our own vulnerability as a source of life.

Accompanying scripture:

Luke 1:68-79
Luke 23: 33-43

Good News
Good News
Vulnerable God - Christ the King
/
Photo credit: Albert de Bruijn, retrieved from Flickr. License: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Beasts

Daniel’s dream could be something right out of an epic fantasy novel: Four beasts come out of the water to wreck havoc and there’s no telling what will happen. Whatever it is, it won’t be good.
Which is how many of us feel about this election. Pastor Kate explores the election, what beasts may be in our world, and what God’s up to in the midst of all that.
Accompanying scripture:
Good News
Good News
Beasts
/

It’s a trap!

When Jesus tells a parable about two men praying, one a Pharisee who does everything right and the other a tax collector who recognizes his own faults yet asks for God’s mercy, it’s tempting to side with the tax collector. Especially since Jesus ends the parable in a way that basically states we must be humble.

But what if it’s a trap?

Perhaps there’s more to the story.

 

Accompanying scripture:

Luke 18:9-14

Good News
Good News
It's a trap!
/
Contributor: Túrelio, Retrieved from the Wikimedia Commons.

What does faith look like?

Jacob wrestles all night with a holy presence. He cannot win, but he will not let his opponent go until he gives Jacob his blessing.

A widow brings a case of injustice to the attention of a judge who neither fears God nor respects the people he is supposed to serve. But the widow refuses to let go, and returns to the court day after day seeking justice.

Mother Teresa experienced years of feeling that God was absent from her, yet through those years she continued to pour herself out in love for the poorest and most vulnerable people in Calcutta, India.

In times of anxiety, in the face of injustice, and grief, what does faith look like? What does faith look like in your life?

Accompanying scripture:

Genesis 32: 22-31
Luke 18:1-9

 

Good News
Good News
What does faith look like?
/

Exiles, refugees, Samaritans and lepers…

God often speaks through people on the margins.
Are we listening?
Do we have eyes to see the Kingdom of God among us?

Accompanying scripture:
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Luke 17:11-19

 


Artist: Niels Larsen Stevns
Helbredelsen af den spedalske (Healing of the Leper)
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Good News
Good News
Exiles, refugees, Samaritans and lepers...
/

How Much More

When we pray, God promises to respond with God’s presence, whatever the outcome of the situation we are facing in this imperfect, broken world. Very often, we are the presence of God for one another.

Good News
Good News
How Much More
/

Word Five: Resurrection

God can bring new life out of those situations in which it appears that all is lost.  However, that seldom happens without our participation.

Accompanying scripture references:
Isaiah 43:1 – 7
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

Good News
Good News
Word Five: Resurrection
/

Word Two: Grace

As with Mary, God chooses to look upon each of us with favor, with grace. However, that does not mean we are God’s favorites.

Accompanying scripture references:
Micah 5:2 – 5
Luke 1:39 – 55

Good News
Good News
Word Two: Grace
/

Faith Lutheran Church

3313 Arlington Blvd
Arlington, VA 22201

703.525.9283 (Church)
703.525.1375 (Preschool)

Worship Times

9 am Contemporary Worship

11 am Blended Traditional Worship with Livestream

We invite you to join us this Sunday.