The Gifts of Christmas, John 1:1-18

St. John tells in the first chapter of his Gospel that the Word was with God, the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. God has become man he declares. And out of that, humanity receives three gifts that John brings forward. Father Jeremiah preaches about these gifts and their importance to our salvation in this Christmas Day sermon.

image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0> no changes made, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_birth_of_Christ;_outside_the_crumbling_cave,_an_angel_an_Wellcome_V0034608.jpg

God Became Man to Redeem, Luke 2.8-16

When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he told them that the Messiah had been born and a whole host appeared and declared the peace had come and was coming because of this birth. This glorious event reminds us that Jesus came to bring true peace and redemption to humanity by being born as a man.

Image: Leonhard Goffine, CC0 (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:An_Angel_appears_to_the_Shepherds.jpg

Quiet Faithfulness in the Coming of the Son, Matthew 1:18-25

How does Joseph respond when he discovers Mary is pregnant? How does he respond when he learns her pregnancy has been caused by the Holy Spirit? He responds with righteousness and faithfulness before God! He is a quiet man who strives to do as God commands and takes on the task of being the earthly father of the Messiah, who he knows to be more than an ordinary man.

Image: An Angel Appears to Joseph in a Dream, uploaded by Martin LaBar, licensed under: CC BY-NC 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/2079380

Storming the Gates of Heaven, Matthew 11:2-19

John the Baptist’s disciples come to meet with Jesus and ask him about his messiahship and Jesus simply points to his words and actions instead of giving a direct answer. Why does he do this? What does he mean when he goes on to say that the violent are laying hold of the kingdom? All of this goes together as we consider the. nature of repentance and who is repentant in most cases during Jesus’ ministry.

Image: Peasants Carrying Sticks, by Camille Pissarro, National Gallery of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Judgment, Repentance, and Peace, Matthew 3:1-12, Isaiah 11:1-10

John the Baptist came preaching judgment and repentance in light of the coming of the Messiah. How does this relate to the idea of peace? How does peace come out of a word of judgment and call to repentance? Father Jeremiah tells about this reality in his sermon today.

Image: St. John the Baptist icon, picture taken by Ted. No changes made. Used under license: CC BY-SA 2.0. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/frted/10181902566

The King who Came is Coming, Matthew 24:29-44

How does Christ’s judging Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD and his future return affect us today? Father Jeremiah reflects upon this and how Christ’s previous coming and his future coming gives us hope for today that he will come to us through Word and Sacrament.

Image: The Falling Stars, from pg 323 of Bible Readings of the Home Circle located at www.projectgutenburg.org. Image location: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/34520/pg34520-images.html#id-6453421722991906772

Holiness and the Saints of God, Revelation 7, Ephesians 1, Matthew 5

What is a saint? What is holiness? What does this have to do with baptism? Father Jeremiah explores these questions in his sermon for All Saints’ Sunday.

Image: Baptism Stained glass window detail, Mountfield church, picture by Julien P Goffogg. License: CC BY-SA 2.0, no changes made. Location: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3912954

Made Christ's Own, Luke 19:1-10

The people grumbled when Jesus went into the house of Zacchaeus. They grumbled because he was spending time with a sinner and having table fellowship. Yet, without Jesus doing this for all of us, none of us could be saved. In fact, Jesus even comes to us in our baptisms that he might have this fellowship with us.

Image: Jesus Speaks to Zacchaeus, who is in a tree uploaded by Martin LaBar License: CC BY-NC 2.0. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/martinlabar/6876656

The Bad, the Bad, and the Atonement for Both, Luke 18.9-14

What was the real difference between the Pharisee and the tax collector of Luke 18? Was one a good guy and the other bad? Or are both bad and one simply recognizes his proper need for an atoning sacrifice before God? Father Jeremiah looks at the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector and considers what this parable teaches us to understand about ourselves.

Image: The Pharisee and the Publican, After Sir John Everett Millais, Engraved and printed by Dalziel Brothers. Public Domain. Image location: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/382281

Justice and the Widow, Luke 18.1-8, Genesis 32:22-30

The widow of Jesus’ parable in Luke 18 is unwilling to give up her cause before an unjust judge. The judge eventually gives in and does what is right. What does this tell us about prayer? What does it tell us about God? How are we to come to God then if we know that he is truly honorable toward his people? Father Jeremiah considers all of this and encourages us to prayer unceasingly to our God who has redeemed us in Jesus Christ.

Image: The Unjust Judge and the Importunate Widow, Brothers Dalziel, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Unjust_Judge_and_the_Importunate_Widow_(The_Parables_of_Our_Lord_and_Saviour_Jesus_Christ)_MET_DP835791.jpg

Gratitude Always Brings You Back, Luke 17:11-19

Bishop Terrell joins with us for confirmations and so he preached the sermon for this Sunday. He walks us through the healing of the 10 Lepers from Luke 17 and directs us toward the need for gratitude toward God as we walk through our lives as Christians.

Image: See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, no changes made. Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_cures_ten_lepers._Woodcut._Wellcome_V0034943.jpg

The Word of God, Faith, Life, and Death, Luke 16:19-31

How powerful is the Word of God? In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, we learn that if the rich man had but heeded what was in the Law and the Prophets, he would have been at Abraham’s side with Lazarus. Instead, he was focused on himself and ignoring the Word of God.

Image: The Rich Man and Lazarus, by Brothers Dalziel and John Everett Millais, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Rich_Man_and_Lazarus_(The_Parables_of_Our_Lord_and_Saviour_Jesus_Christ)_MET_DP835801.jpg

Falling Upon a Generous God, Luke 16:1-13

What did the dishonest steward do that was so commendable? In Father Jeremiah’s sermon, he considers just what the steward’s shrewdness was about. Was the steward depending upon his own shrewdness and ingenuity? Or was there someone else he was depending upon in the midst of his crisis? Listen now to find out more!

Image by: Andrei Mironov, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B0_%D0%BE_%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%BC_%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5._%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0_XXI_%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%B0..jpg

God's Duty, Our Hope, Luke 15:1-10

Image: Marble statue of The Good Shepherd carrying a lamb, c. 300-350, from the Catacombs of Domitilla, Vatican Museums, Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marble_statue_of_The_Good_Shepherd_carrying_a_lamb,_c._300-350,_from_the_Catacombs_of_Domitilla,_Vatican_Museums_(31302117574).jpg

God's Work in Your Cross, Luke 14:25-33

When we think of being a disciples of Jesus, our thoughts often turn to what we must do in our discipleship. But what if we consider what Christ has done to change us into the right kind of disciples? Father Jeremiah speaks to the reality of Christ bearing our cross in his own cross to enable us to carry ours.

Image: Woodcut of Christ carrying the Lamb, illustration from the prayerbook of Martin Luther, Sebald Beham, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Image Location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Luther-prayerbook-Beham-1527.jpg

Humility and Exaltation, Luke 14:1, 7-14

Jesus said that whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. How does this come to apply in our own lives? Who is doing the humbling and who is doing the exalting? The who of that question is more important that we ever realize.

Image: Humility and Pride from BL Royal 19 C II, f. 52, Public Domain. Image location: https://jenikirbyhistory.getarchive.net/media/humility-and-pride-from-bl-royal-19-c-ii-f-52-e57bc8

Striving by Way of Weakness, Luke 13:22-30, Hebrews 12:15-29

When Jesus tells us to strive, do we think of us exerting our own strength? Or do we think of how weak we are and the impossible task before us of entering the narrow door? Father Jeremiah considers how we strive not our strength, but instead Jesus’ enabling strength revealed in our weakness.

Image: pg 164, The Baptistery, or the Way of Eternal Life, by Isaac William. Found at books.google.com. Public Domain.

Division by the Gospel, Luke 12:49-56

What does it mean for Jesus to cause division? What brings about division? In our varying texts from Sunday, we hear that division occurs because God’s truth stands against the world’s lies. And ultimately, Jesus will cause division as he deals with our sins upon the cross. For those who reject the work of Christ, his work stands against them and for those who receive it, they will live with an inner division of the old versus the new that is overcome by faith in the One who has died for them.

Image: The Chaff Cutter, David Teniers the Younger, Dulwich Picture Gallery, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teniers,_David_the_younger_-_The_Chaff-cutter_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Fear and Anxiety in an Age of Faith, Luke 12.32-40

Fear and anxiety are part and parcel of this life in a broken and sinful world. What are we to do about these feelings when they come upon us? Father Jeremiah reminds us that in this Age of Faith we can look to God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus Christ and poured upon us by the Holy Spirit to begin dealing with these responses to the world around.

Image: Anxiety, by Edvard Munch, digitally enhanced by raxpixel. Licensed with no changes under: CC BY 2.0. Image location: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anxiety_%281896%29_by_Edvard_Munch._Original_from_The_Art_Institute_of_Chicago._Digitally_enhanced_by_rawpixel._%2850434737057%29.jpg

Grace Anglican Church, Sundays @ 10 AM, 800 Robinson Rd, Gastonia, NC
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 551081, Gastonia, NC 28054