Sermons
Each week, we post Sunday’s sermon by Rev. Eric Anderson. If you can’t join us on Sunday morning, try following #3tweetsermon on Twitter.
Sermon: “Inviting Questions”
March 19, 2017: Third Sunday in Lent John 4:5-42 Among the marvels of the Internet is a web site called, “How It Should Have Ended” (caution: there's some four-letter words sprinkled throughout that site), which offers alternative endings to popular movies. For instance, the characters in the Lord of the Rings might have flown to the…
Sermon: “Please, God: Not a Fresh Start”
March 12, 2017: Second Sunday in Lent John 3:1-17 Starting over. There’s a lot of discussion among readers of this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus about what it meant to Nicodemus, because John, the gospel writer, didn’t give us any sense of tone. As Kathryn Matthews writes: “None of us knows exactly how to read…
Sermon: When the Tempter Quotes Scripture
March 5, 2017: First Sunday in Lent Matthew 4:1-9 Did a quaking pulse accompany You to the Temple’s zenith, Jesus? With the Tempter? Did your sandals slip or grip the cedar of the ridge? Did your mortal soul take hold, just for a moment, To protest: “Tempter, you have lifted me too high”? Temptation has…
Sermon: “Dwellings on the Mountain”
February 26, 2017: Transfiguration Sunday Matthew 17:1-9 If you think back to one class in one grade in your school years, back in junior high or elementary school, there will probably be one name among the other students that you can remember. Because that was the name that the teacher called all the time: “Steven,…
Sermon: “The Hardest Commandment”
February 19, 2017: Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 5:38-48 As I began my year as an 8th grader, I knew on the first day that it was going to be a bad year. On that first day, as I was assigned my seat in homeroom, I found myself sitting right behind one of the class’…
Sermon: Jesus, Wait – You Set the Bar Higher?
February 12, 2017: Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 5:21-37 Many years ago, in junior high school gym class, the teachers introduced us youngsters to some of the basic elements of track and field. We ran short distances, we made long jumps, and we made cautious attempts at going over hurdles. I was not an…
Sermon: “Who Has Called You?”
January 15, 2017: Second Sunday after the Epiphany Isaiah 49:1-7 It never seems to surprise people that I wasn’t selected for, or even a candidate for, Homecoming King in high school. Perhaps if I’d had this moustache in those days, things might have been different, but alas, we’ll never know. Instead, my high school experience…
Sermon: “What Makes a Christian?”
January 8, 2017: First Sunday after the Epiphany Matthew 3:13-17 To the great reformer Martin Luther, this was one of the most precious passages in the Bible: the baptism of Jesus. In a 1534 sermon, he said: “The heavens, previously closed, are now opened, becoming a clear gateway and window for us to see into…
Sermon: “A Long and Winding Road”
January 1, 2017: First Sunday of Christmas Epiphany Sunday New Year’s Day Matthew 2:1-23 I apologize in advance for the fact that I will probably make the following joke at about this time in your hearing for many years to come. The only good thing I have to say about it is that, as my…
Meditation for Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve: December 24, 2016 This feels like a funny moment in our Christmas Eve celebration. We’ve heard the prophecies, we’ve heard about the baby in the manger, we've heard the angels song, and we’ve heard about the wise men and their gifts. We’ve sung at least some of our favorite carols. What remains, at…
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