Note: You can subscribe to these sermons on iTunes! Go to your iTunes and type in "Pastor Rob Myallis" as the author. Sermon for May 17, 2009 Americans love choices, especially when it comes to religion. Yet Jesus isn't up for our consumer mentality: "You did not chose me, I choose you," He says. Instead of a consumer metaphor of choice and options, he gives us another way to think about our relationship with him: "I am the vine, you are the branches." Christ is Risen! The news seems too amazing, too good to be true. The first disciples a hard time believing as well, but Christ sends his angels and finally himself to tell them the good news that He is Risen. Death, his death and our death, has been defeated. This is news that we and the world need to hear again and again and so God appoints us as his messengers to tell this to the world. Sermon for March 29, 2009 Sermon for September 23, 2008 This week is the third in a series of sermons on what is means to be the Church of Christ in today's world. Essentially, the church is the place, is the community where God gathers us, grows us into little Christs and then sends us out to share our gifts with the world. Gather, grow and share. Two weeks ago we focused on growth and how God works through the church to grow us into little Christs. This past week we focused on sharing our gifts and how this can be both wonderful but also challenging. This week we are to focus on gathering. In fact, today we have three Baptisms. Baptism is the primary way in which God gathers us into the body of Christ. Now today, we have people of different ages getting baptized. This brings up the question -- what is the proper age for someone to be baptized. In the Lutheran church and in many others, we baptize infants. Today I would like to focus on why we baptize, indeed, why we can baptize infants or children of any age, and finally what baptism means for us, even when we cannot remember the day on which we were baptized. We baptize first of all, because Jesus told us to do so. At the end of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "Go, ye, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." So, we baptize because Jesus told us to do so. Many of you thought might ask the new question -- why does Jesus consider baptism so important! I think the answer is found in the name in which we Baptize: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, sometimes called the Trinity, is at the core of why Jesus wants us to be baptized. Indeed, in Baptism, God claims us in his name and promises us to be our God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for us. Today I will baptize you in the name of the Father. In Baptism, God promises to be our eternal Father. Sometimes when we hear the word Father, we think of God's strength and might. This is true that God is strong, however, what I want to emphasize today is that when God promises to be our Father, what is emphasized is really the permenance of the relationship. Once someone is a father, there is no changing is. Once a father, always a father. This is a permenant relationship. Indeed, even if someone dies, they are still a father; even if the son dies, the father is still the father. (The same would be true of a mother as well.) So when you are baptized you in the name of the Father, God promises to be your divine Father, your God forever. In life, so many relationships are so fragile, so vulnerable. In Baptism God promises you a permenant relationship, one that you can build you life around. In Baptism, you are also baptized in the name of the Son. The Son of course here is referring to Jesus Christ. In Baptism, Jesus Christ and you become bound together. As St. Paul writes in Romans, in Baptism you are bound to both Christ's death and his resurrection. This binding is vitally important. You see, when Jesus was baptized, God's voice echoed from the heavens, this is my son, in whom I am well pleased. Now, if you have been bound to Jesus Christ in Baptism, this means that when God looks at you, God sees Jesus Christ in you and says, in you I am well pleased. Before I told you that Baptism promised you a permenant relationship with God. But now I can also tell you that on account of your binding to Jesus Christ, that this relationship is one of mercy and love. God is not just with you, but God is for you. This is also why, in Baptism, the sign of the cross is put on your forehead, to remind you that indeed, there is nothing, not even death on a cross, that Jesus will not do to make you his own. Jesus is the reason we baptize infants or people of any age. Today Jesus says baptized all nations. He adds no limits, no warnings about waiting until people are spiritually or emotionally or physically ready. He simply says, baptized all nations. Moreover, Jesus welcomed little children to him. In fact, he even says that we must be like children to receive the kingdom of God. Moreover, we baptize infants because the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ is precisely this, a gift. Baptizing children is how we humble ourselves to remind ourselves and our children that their salvation is not their or our work, but rather it is a gift. We did not get up on the cross and raise ourselves up on Easter morning to defeat sin, death and the devil, Jesus Christ did. Much in life we must earn, but salvation in Christ, which comes to you today in Baptism, is a gift. In Baptism, God as claimed us, forgiven us so that we might grow and share with the world. And so you might be asking, well, what about discipleship, what about our end of the bargain! This is true, that today Jesus connects being disciples with baptism. This is an important connection to make. As he says, "Make disciples, baptizing them..." This entire church must be a place where we teach and make disciples. This is why we will install and pray for our Sunday School teachers for this year. This is why we have confirmation which starts today. Here is the thing though: Baptism is not a diploma from discipleship school; Baptism does not mean you no longer sin and are the perfect disciple. Rather, Baptism how God gathers us in so that he might make us disciples; it is the primary step on this journey of following Jesus; it is not the last. And this is why I also baptize you in the name of the Holy Spirit. The reality is that our whole life we will struggle with sin; we will struggle with doubts; we will struggle with the burdens of this life. When you are baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit, God promises to send you the Holy Spirit, time and time again, to forgive your sins and call you again and again back into relationship with God, back to newness of life. And just as the Holy Spirit does this for you, the Holy Spirit does this for believers, bringing us back, time and time again from the grave of our sins, our doubts and our sufferings and reuniting us again with Jesus Christ. But to really make this concrete, let's think about what this means for everyday life. It means when you get up in the morning and you wash your face, you say, ah, yes, there is the water, the water that reminds me that I am baptized. Today God, I pledge to be your disciple, to try my best to love my neighbor and to love you with all my heart. I will need strength for this, so be there for me, as you have promised. And then when the day is done and you again wash your face, you can say, ah, yes, the water, the water that reminds me I have been baptized. Today God, I have tried to be your disciple, to be a Christian. Somethings went well but in other ways, I failed. I did not trust you as I ought. Thank you for your mercies throughout the day. Thank you for this water, that reminds me that I am baptized and that nothing can separate me from your forgiveness and love. It also means that once a week we gather for worship Our Baptism binds us to our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God delights today that God can gather three new people to him this day. Three people who are certainly no strangers, indeed, three people whom God has loved for a number of years. As we prepare for this, we will sing a song about Baptism, a song that goes back to the 5th century, a song written by St. Patrick, the person who God sent to grow the Church of Jesus Christ in Ireland. This song speaks precisely of this binding, binding ourselves, to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Sermon for March 7, 2010
Lent III
Sermon text: Luke 13 and the parable of an unfruitful fig-tree; also parts of Rev 3:14-22
This week we hear a parable of a master, a servant and a fig-tree. Where is Jesus in the midst of this perplexing story? Some images of Jesus are easier to deal with than others...
If you would like to listen to the sermon and it is not here, check out Pr. Rob's blog: http://pastorrobsermons.blogspot.com/ (Occassionally Go-Daddy, the website provider, has been having trouble creating the sound box)
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Sermon for February 28, 2010
Lent II
Sermon text: Luke 13:31-35 (an admittedly obscure text!)
Jesus this week is healing people. How does Jesus heal us? What about when people don't get better?
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Sermon for February 21, 2010
Lent I - Temptations of Jesus
Sermon text: Temptations of Jesus (Luke 4)
We spend a lot of time taking care of our bodies. What about our souls? Lent is a time for spiritual exercise...
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Sermon for February 14, 2010
Transfiguration of our Lord
Sermon text: Jesus's Transfiguration (Luke 9)
Today Jesus takes his disciples up the mountain where he, while praying, is transfigured before their very eyes. It is a powerful and haunting experience -- how can we have a mountain top experience in our world.
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Sermon for February 7, 2010
Sermon text: Jesus calls Peter, Luke 5:1-11
Jesus calls Peter to be his disciple. In this story Peter does three actions that we can learn from: First, he shares the boat with Jesus; second he casts out his net into the deep; third, he confesses his sinfulness. These are actions that Jesus calls us as individuals but also as a church community.
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Sermon for January 31, 2010
Sermon text: Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13
Love is patient, love is kind. Familar and beautiful words that become even more powerful when we hear the context in which they were written.
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Sermon for January 24, 2010
Sermon text: Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12
Paul talks about how the body of Christ has many different members but still is united in Christ. At our church, we have many different members, yet we are united in Christ. What does this unity look like?
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Sermon for January 17, 2010
Sermon text: John 2:1-11, Jesus turning water into wine
Today Jesus uses common things (water and jugs) and common people (the servants) to do extraordinary things. This is Jesus first miracle, changing water into wine, but Jesus ministry then and today is all about using ordinary, common people and things to work his wonder.
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Sermon for January 10, 2010
The Baptism of Jesus
Sermon text: Luke 3:15-21 (The Baptism of Jesus)
Today Jesus is baptized. We as Christians are also baptized. Why? What does this mean? Today we are baptizing a baby at our church. Why do we do this?
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Sermon for January 3, 2010
Visit of the Magi
Sermon text: Matthew 2:1-11 (1st Corinthians 1:18-31)
Did you get what you wanted for Christmas? The magi bring three gifts that seem like "wants" and not "needs." A closer examination reveals that actually they are just the gifts Jesus and we need...
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Sermon for December 25, 2009
Sermon text: Luke 2:1-20
It can often feel like Christmas depends on us. The good news is that God shows up at Christmas and always to remind us that our lives depend on him!
Note: The first few seconds of the sermon are not on the clip.
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Sermon for December 20, 2009
Sermon text: Luke 1:41-56
Mary's magnificat has inspired faith, hope and joy over the centuries. Mary's words teem with joy. But what about joy -- the Christmas season seems to be focused on joy, but where does joy come from?
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Sermon for December 13, 2009
Sermon text: Luke 3:1-16
John the Baptist is a voice crying in the wilderness. What does his voice say to us today?
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Sermon for December 6, 2009
St. Nicolas Day
Sermon text: Luke 1:39-45
Today is Saint Nicolas Day. What can we learn from this messenger...the angel Gabriel...and the singer sting. Its a day of love songs and children.
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Sermon for November 29, 2009
Sermon text: Isaiah 2
My mom is fond of saying, "Sometimes I wish God would just send an email telling us what to do..." We all hunger to hear God's message. God has sent messengers in previous times and God's message still speaks to us today. Yet, the Bible often seems a mystery. So when we turn to the words of the prophet Isaiah, how can we figure out what God might be saying to us?
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Sermon for November 22, 2009
Sermon text: A brief look at Psalm 145; John 18:33-38, Jesus before Pilate.
Psalm 145 speaks of God's greatness. As children we confess this faith. But life happens. As adults it can harder to give God praise as we encounter life's difficulties. The trial scene of Jesus before Pilate reveals how we as humans move through this doubt.
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Sermon for November 15, 2009
Sermon text: Book of Daniel
People often think the book of Daniel is a book about doomsday dreams. The book is much more about what it looks like for us to be faithful in an unfaithful world. If you have ever had to make a decision that your group, your company, your school, your town, even your church or nation disapproved of because you believed it was the right thing to do, then the book of Daniel is for you.
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Sermon for November 8, 2009
Sermon text: Elijah and the widow (1 Kings 17:8-16); Jesus and the widow's two pennies (Mark 12:38-44)
Today is about generosity. Why be generous? How can we be generous? What difference does Jesus make?
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Sermon for November 1, 2009
Sermon text: John 11
The "DTR." That's right, the DTR, the "Defining the Relationship" conversation. Boy meets girl...they begin as friends, feelings develop..and finally the ambiguity becomes too much and the DTR must happen. And in the DTR, objections are raised..."I like you, but just as a friend." Sometimes, in special DTR's, those objections are met.
Strange as it seems, the DTR can serve as a helpful metaphor for Baptism. Jesus declares the relationship: I am savior, you are my saint. Let the objections begin...
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Sermon for October 25, 2009
Sermon text: Mark 10:46-52
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the Castle Church door. This opened the door to the Protestant Reformation, which changed the church and the world. The past two months we were looking at the Spiritual Journey with Jesus. Today we reflect on how the Reformation changed the "Who, When and Where" of our life with Jesus.
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Sermon for Oct 4, 2009
Sermon text: Mark 14:1-9
The journey with Jesus is not one we do alone, but in fact is one with we take with everyone all around the world. Indeed, we are on a global mission. Today's sermon addresses how our congregation is involved in global mission, what global mission is all about and what are some challenges and blessings of global mission in the 21st century.
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Sermon for September 13, 2009
Sermon text: Mark 8:30-9:9
We often begin our Spiritual journey with the question: "Who am I?" Jesus begins his disciple's journey with a different question: "Who is Jesus?" Once we have this question answered, then our spiritual journey begins...but still, where are we going on this journey? Tune in to find out...
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Sermon for August 30, 2009
In honor of the Consecration of Emily Renee Myallis
Sermon text: James 1:17-28; John 13:1-12
James warns that those who hear but do not do the Word are like people looking in the mirror. We live in a mirror culture -- how many mirrors are in your own house?! All too often in our culture we spend too much time looking at ourselves in the mirror...often instead of looking to our neighbor. Jesus though offers us another tool to think about our discipleship -- the basin.
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Sermon for July 19, 2009
Sermon text: Mark 6 and the feeding of the 5,000.
The disciples are tired -- tired of working, tired of other people's problems. When they see a huge crowd, they want Jesus to send everyone away. But instead Jesus asks them "What do you have," and then multiples what they do have to feed the 5,000. God multiplies what we have to help the world, even amid our compassion fatigue.
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Sermon for May 31, 2009
Pentecost and Confirmation
Sermon text: Apostle's Creed, which tells the faith into which the children, now confirmands, were baptized
We say it so often that the unusual nature of the Apostle's Creed does not strike us. But on this confirmation day, we will ask our youth to confess that God created them, that Jesus is their lord and that the church is holy because of the Holy Spirit. That is not something that average person on the street believes!
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6th Sunday of Easter
Sermon text: John 15:1-17
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Sermon for April 12, 2009
Easter
Sermon text: John 20:1-20
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Lent 5
Sermon text: John 3:1-17 and John 4:1-21
This week we see Jesus meeting two very different people...Although the conversations go in different directions, it is clear that Jesus is meeting them where they are. Jesus meets us as well -- in our Baptisms.
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Sermon for March 22, 2009
Lent 4
Sermon text: John 3:1-17 and Ephesians 2:1-10
Do you ever wonder what your purpose in life is? Ephesians tells us that our purpose are the good works that God prepared before hand for us. How do we discover these? We can learn about this from Nicodemus, a prominent teacher of the Jews who comes to Jesus by night.
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Sermon for December 28, 2008
4th Day of Christmas!
Sermon text:
Luke 2:22-40
"Another Year Older" sings John Lennon. As we look back on 2008 and look ahead to 2009, disappointment is likely one of our realities. How do we deal with disappointment? Where does our hope come from?
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Sermon for Christmas Eve
Sermon text:
Luke 2:1-20
An Authentic Christmas Story! A real us and a real God.
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Sermon for November 23, 2008
Christ the King Sunday
Baptism of Audrey Renee Myallis
Sermon text:
Matthew 25:31-46
Today's sermon talks about the hiddenness and beauty of faith. What does faith look like? Where does Jesus show up?
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Sermon for October 26, 2008
Reformation Day
Sermon text:
Romans 3:19-28
John 8:31-36
Today's sermon tries to proclaim a generous Lutheranism, a Lutheran thinking that realizes we are Christians first and that the 16th century is over. However, a generous Lutheranism confesses that there are some fundamentally true and relevant things about God and humanity that the Lutheran Reformation offers us today. The chief of these convictions is that salvation in Christ is a free gift...to appreciate this gift though we might have to start thinking again of God as judge...which is actually good news!
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Sermon texts:
Matthew 28:16-20
