Sermons on Luke
The Waters of Baptism
The Waters of Baptism Isaiah 43:1-2; Luke 3:21-22 Sunday, January 12, 2025 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Today is the Sunday that we remember the baptism of Jesus, that He insisted in being baptized along with many others as part of the Ministry of John the Baptist. John had tried to talk Him out of it, saying that He should be the one baptizing John, not the other way around. John had a point, but…
Pondering Things in Our Hearts
Pondering Things in Our Hearts Christmas Eve December 24, 2024 Luke 1:1-20 Introduction Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember reading something about an Italian philosophical group who maintained that our perception that life goes quickly is pervasive but untrue. I was startled by the claim, because it has always seemed to me that life speeds up as we age. Life crawled when I was in junior high school. In seventh grade my freshman year of high…
The Song of Mary
The Song of Mary Luke 1:46-55; 1 Samuel 2:1-10 Sunday, December 22, 2024 The Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1:49 “For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.” Introduction: Seeing the Holy Spirit’s work in the midst of challenging circumstances. The gift of discernment One of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible is the gift of Discernment. People with this gift can see through phony spirituality and can see clearly…
Watch
Watch Luke 21:36 Sunday, December 1, 2024 The First Sunday of Advent First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: The Titanic had six watchmen on board and two of them, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, where on duty on the fateful night. It was very dark and the water was so calm that it made it hard to discern where water stopped and air began. Though too late to completely avoid it, Fleet was the first to see the…
Maidservants Sunday, May 12, 2024 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:35-38 The Seventh Sunday of Easter and Mother’s Day Introduction The Rev. Dr. Ashley Cleere, the Executive Director of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches, is taking leave of her work to respond to a call to ministry with the Center Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut, the oldest church in New Haven. The current building was constructed…
An Open Understanding
An Open Understanding 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; Luke 24:45 Third Sunday of Easter April 14, 2024 First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: Sheldon, come home There’s an old story about a lady from the East Coast of the United States, who traveled to the farthest reaches of Tibet and there came to a remote monastery. She inquired about having a conversation with the chief monk and was told to wait at the gate. This she did for some time…
The Fullness of Time
Scriptures: Luke 2:25-32; Galatians 4:4-7 Sunday, December 31, 2023 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa As recorded in Luke 2, Joseph and Mary came to the temple in Jerusalem, and two people met them. One was Anna, a prophetess who lived near the Temple. The other was Simeon, a godly man who learned from the Holy Spirit that he would see the Messiah before he died. He recognized that the time had come, and that this baby was…
A Fork in the Road of Life
The Fork in the Road of Life Luke 5:11 “So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.” Sunday, July 30, 2023 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Luke 5:1-3 1One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.…
Our Father’s Business
Our Father’s Business Luke 2:45-52 Sunday, June 11, 2023 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction Our sermon today is called, “Our Father’s Business” and while I do not presume to exhaust the subject in one little sermon, I’d like to share some of what it does, and does not, involve. First a story about someone who has the wrong idea about the Father’s business. Son-in-law joins the family business A successful businessman sat down with…
The Last Thing He Did Was Bless
The Last Thing He Did Was Bless Luke 24:51 Sunday, May 21, 2023 The Seventh Sunday of Easter at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: after graduation, a new chapter for a person Across the country people will be graduating from high school or college or something similar and it is almost always the end of a chapter and the start of a new chapter in a person’s life. For high schoolers, it is the end of taxpayer…
Hearing the Voice of God
Hearing the Voice of God Sunday, May 14, 2023 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa 1 Samuel 1:8-18; Luke 1:35-38 The Sixth Sunday of Easter Introduction I started putting together this sermon with the idea that I would feature two women in the Bible who heard the voice of God, and hopefully draw some inspiration from them that we can relate to our own life experience. What I found is that attitude is vital when it…
Watchers – Christmas Eve
Watchers Luke 2:8-14; Daniel 4:13 Christmas Eve Saturday, December 24, 2022 at The First Congregational Church of Marshalltown, Iowa Introduction: Is it worth buying a baby monitor? Earlier this week I did a Google search on the importance of a baby monitor, and this was the response I found. “ Baby monitors are considered an essential tool for most parents of little ones. After all, it’s simply not possible to keep an eye on your baby 24/7, and having…