“From the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant” (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 18; Revelation 7:2-17)

Funeral Service
Sunday, November 25, 2018

“From the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant” (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 18; Revelation 7:2-17)

Today we remember our dear brother, Bill McBride. Some of you called him “Bucky.” I always called him “Bill.” Or maybe you called him “Dad” or “Grandpa,” because he was that, too. You could also call him “Soldier,” because he was proud of that part of his life, as well.

As you’ve seen in the obituaries, Bill McBride proudly served his country in the U.S. Army: 37th Field Artillery Unit, Second Indianhead Division, during the Korean War. Good work, soldier! And for decades after Korea, Bill was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Yes, if you got to know Bill, you knew that was a big part of his life, serving in the military. When I’d visit him in his home, I could see various memorabilia of his service to our country.

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Published in: on November 25, 2018 at 7:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Continue in the Sacred Writings” (2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5)

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
October 16, 2016

“Continue in the Sacred Writings” (2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5)

In our Epistle reading today, St. Paul commends Timothy–and I would commend all of us–to the word of God. More specifically, I commend you to the continued study of Scripture, to a firm faith in the word of God, and to the living out of the Bible’s teachings in the form of a righteous life. And so our theme this morning, “Continue in the Sacred Writings.”

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Published in: on October 16, 2016 at 3:27 am  Leave a Comment  
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“Remember Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:1-13)

Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
October 9, 2016

“Remember Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:1-13)

Do you ever get a little worried or fearful about what you might have to go through in order to live out your calling as a Christian? I mean, that your being a Christian and living for Christ will cause you to suffer in some way? Does that ever weigh on your mind? If so, you’re in good company. Because that seems to have been a problem for St. Timothy in the New Testament. Timothy apparently had a problem with timidity, with fearfulness, over what might happen to him because of his calling to serve the Lord. But in our Epistle for today, Timothy’s mentor, the apostle Paul, writes to him and encourages Timothy to “be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” How that strengthening takes place, for Timothy and for you, is the subject for our sermon today, under the theme, “Remember Jesus Christ.”

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Published in: on October 8, 2016 at 10:41 pm  Leave a Comment  
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“Teach Your Children Well” (Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; 3:14-17)

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 2, 2016

“Teach Your Children Well” (Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; 3:14-17)

I don’t know if you noticed it, but today we’re having a Christian education emphasis in our service. Four of our hymns today are from the Christian education section of our hymnal. I’ve selected an alternate Old Testament reading, from Deuteronomy 6, which deals with teaching God’s word to our children. The Epistle reading, from 2 Timothy, mentions Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, who passed on the faith to Timothy. And to that, I’ve added a portion of a 2 Timothy reading that will come up in a couple weeks, about how from childhood Timothy knew the Holy Scriptures. Even the Gospel reading today includes a warning from Jesus about not leading the little ones astray. So there is a strong emphasis on Christian education in the service today.

Why? What’s the occasion? Well, the occasion is that today we are happy to start up a Sunday School class for our children, to give them a foundation in the Bible. And this week on Thursday, we will start up a class on the catechism for the older children, to instruct them in the basics of the Christian faith and to lead them to confirmation and first Communion. This is a joyous occasion indeed! We are so glad and thankful to have enough children in our congregation now to be able to do these things. We are glad and thankful that we have parents now who care enough about their children to want to see them in these classes. We are thankful that the rest of our members are and will be supportive of these Christian education efforts. And so we give thanks to God for this great blessing to our church!

With all that in mind, then, and picking up on the themes of the lessons, our message this morning is this: “Teach Your Children Well.”

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Published in: on October 2, 2016 at 12:38 am  Leave a Comment  
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