The argument that Paul is making throughout most of First Corinthians is about a conflict between knowledge and love. We often hear about and think about a conflict between faith and science. Or between religion and science. But Paul is talking about a struggle in the community between knowledge and love... when he puts knowledge in contrast with love is how a basic religious fact or truth can be used as a club to bully and beat other people.

Dove of Peace Lutheran Church Sermons

January 28, 2018 / Epiphany 4 B 2018 / 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

God in flesh made manifest. Somehow in those early days in Galilee, people grew enthusiastic about Jesus. They knew, somehow, that whatever he was up to, it was indeed good news for their lives, and that in Jesus– God in flesh made manifest– their own lives could be transformed and renewed.

January 21, 2018 / Epiphany 3 B 2018 / Mark 1:14-20

What the beginning of Jesus’ ministry tells us, according to Mark, is that the boundary between heaven and earth is being opened. A portal is being opened. Actually, is being torn open. Because of the persistent, tenacious love of God for the human race. And that’s a potentially happy thought for us.

January 14, 2018 / The Baptism of Our Lord (Observed) B 2018 / Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1: [1-3] 4-11 [12]

There is definitely a sense of wonder and magic in the Bible’s original presentation of the Christmas events. Even the name for these wise men, these so-called kings from the east– the Persian word magush became the Greek word magos, whose plural form is Magi. From which we get the word magic. So there is wonder and magic in the holiday season.

January 7, 2018 / Epiphany Observed 2018 / Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6

Our light has come. A light we have beheld with our own eyes. And a light that promises to be for all people. With that thought in mind, we can say goodbye to 2017. The good and the bad. We can depart in peace. Knowing that history and our lives are in the hands of this God who has come to us as a baby in Bethlehem.

December 31, 2017 / First Sunday of Christmas B 2017 / Luke 2:22-40

God is normally in heaven, where things are good. And humankind is normally on earth, where things vary (at best). On Christmas, the drawbridge is down, the highway is open, between heaven and earth. Because God comes down to be with us.

December 24, 2017 / Christmas Eve 2017 / Luke 2:1-20

Luke wrote the Gospel that bears his name, and he wrote the Acts of the Apostles. And there is exactly one person who occurs both in the first chapter of Luke. And in the first chapter of Acts. Mary the mother of Jesus... Mary would be continuity and memory. All of these strange and wonderful things that happened when she was young would not come together until she was old, and widowed, and had watched her son die.

December 10, 2017 / Advent 2 B 2017 / The Magnificat; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Luke 1:46-55

Elijah lived in a time of failed institutions. He was an outsider. In a time when the political order and the religious order had both fallen into corruption and decay. Elijah lived in exile. He lived hand to mouth. And he was an opponent of corrupt kings and queens who tried to murder him. It is no wonder, then, that John– who lived in the wilderness– and who stood on the opposite side of the border, the east side of the Jordan beyond the reach of princes and law enforcement– John was seen as Elijah.

December 3, 2017 / Advent 1 B 2017 / Malachi 4:5-6

The judge– Christ– is all around us, 24 hours a day. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.” Members of this church and others regularly speak to me about the difficulty of encounters with homeless people. The difficulty is that the homeless person is a judgment. A judgment on us, and on our society. Understanding THAT is the first step. We push them away, sometimes, because they smell bad, or because they lack good manners. But we really push them away because they make us uncomfortable. They remind us of the vast work of the kingdom of heaven. They remind us of this parable. “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family you did it to me.”

November 26, 2017 / Christ the King Sunday A 2017 / Matthew 25:31-46

Our treasure, our talent is this congregation. In some ways, we are surely tempted to bury this talent in the ground. To preserve what we have by receding behind walls. That is what is happening to many congregations. And not only congregations, but many social institutions... We at Dove of Peace are not doing that. Every day we sweep the steps, we raise the flag, we turn on the lights, and we open the doors. And we invite all to come. Come and find hope. Come and find connection. Come and taste that the Lord is good.

November 19, 2017 / Lectonary 33 A 2017 / Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

The writers of the Bible understand holiness to be a condition that is decreed by God and created by God. And Paul– who used the word “saint” far more than any other writer of the Bible– for Paul, saints are decreed by God and created by God. Sainthood is not something to boast about. But sainthood is conferred because God sets us apart. For special good. Just as on page one, God set aside the seventh day and hallowed it... so God sets us aside, for special good.

November 5, 2017 / All Saints' Sunday 2017 / 2 Corinthians 7:8

Paul was telling the Christians in Corinth– as he sought their help in reaching out to the others– Paul knew that they knew the first grace, Martin Luther’s grace– the free gift of God’s unconditional love. NOW, Paul said, Abound in THIS grace also. Live abundantly in this project of kindness and generosity toward those who are not kind and generous.

October 29, 2017 / Reformation Sunday 2017 / 2 Corinthians 7:8

This is the promise… that comes true in today’s reading, Isaiah 45. When Babylon is defeated by Persia. And the Persian king, Cyrus, decrees that for the Jews, the exile is over. That they can return, rebuild, and recreate their city and their temple. Our English translation shows how God calls Cyrus his "anointed” one.

October 22, 2017 / Lectionary 29 A 2017 / Matthew 22:1-14

And so whatever you make of it, whatever your opinion is, the facts are that the Jesus in Matthew’s gospel says a lot more about judgment and condemnation and hell than any other gospel writer... The architecture of Matthew’s gospel assures us that judgment is God’s, and God’s alone. And there is a strong imperative that we quit trying to separate ourselves into saints and sinners and get on with the business of discipleship.

October 15, 2017 / Lectionary 28 A 2017 / Matthew 22:1-14

Most Americans, most American culture, and most American Christianity is extremely idealistic. Or wants to be. When humans invest heavily in dreams and ideals, and those ideals fail, then humans become extremely bitter, extremely angry, extremely cynical. In America right now we are seeing the consequence of broken dreams and shattered ideals. And then people retreating to their corners, to their closed rooms, and doubling down, investing even more in those ideals.

October 8, 2017 / Lectionary 27 A 2017 / Occasional

Sermons by Pastor Stepen Springer from Dove of Peace Lutheran Church Tucson Arizona ELCA

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Dove of Peace Lutheran Church Sermons

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