Christmas Eve December 24, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Churches Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Luke 2:1-20 I. “Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David […]
Third Sunday in Advent December 17, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Isaiah 61:1-11 Mark 1:1-8 I. Isaiah is proving to be a prophet for the physical season and the hope of the season. As the days get shorter and colder and the nights […]
Second Sunday in Advent December 10, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Isaiah 40:1-11 Mark 1:1-8 I. What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday the prophet opens with “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains […]
First Sunday in Advent December 3, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 I. “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence – as when fire […]
Christ the King November 26, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Matthew 25:311-46 I. Christ the King, the date we now end the season after Pentecost, is a hard one for us to get excited about. While Christ as king fits our understanding, there […]
24th Sunday after Pentecost November 19, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Matthew 25:14-30 I. One of my favorite silent movies is 1924’s The Thief of Bagdad starring Douglas Fairbanks. In this The Arabian Nights style adventure I enjoyed the story and was impressed […]
23rd Sunday after Pentecost November 12, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Matthew 25:1-13; Amos 5:18-24; I Thessalonians 4:13-18 I. It is interesting how people can look at the same thing or event and see two very different things. Take those pictures that either […]
All Saints Sunday November 5, 2017 Matthew 23:1-12 St. Jacob’s (Spaders), Trinity Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor I. Today is not only the twenty second Sunday after Pentecost but it is All Saints Day. When I first had some idea of the definition, the word saints conveyed particularly holy […]
Reformation Sunday October 29, 2017 St. Jacob’s and Trinity Lutheran Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor I. In the musical 1776 one scene has John Adams bemoaning that he will be forgotten while others with more flamboyance and physical presence will be remembered. He says, “One day they will […]
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost October 15, 2017 Rev. Kirk Shipley, Interim Pastor Psalm 23 I. One of the more beautiful passages, as well as one of the more popular passages in the Bible is Psalm 23. A liberal political activist theologian of the nineteenth century, Henry Ward Beecher, known […]