Sermons from August 2017

4 Items

Pentecost 12A; Proper 16; 8/27/2017

Jesus defined himself by using many names; bread of life, light of the world, the gate, the good shepherd, the vine, the way, the truth and the life. In the eighth chapter of Matthew (8.20), Jesus took upon himself the name given before him to the prophet Ezekiel, “Son of Man”. Jesus asked his disciples “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  And they answered; John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or maybe one of the prophets.”  So to this point they hadn’t figured out who he was. Then Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” It is important to notice that Jesus did not tell his disciples who he was, but he asked them what they had figured out for themselves, based on what they had seen him do and heard him teach. Even of his first followers, just as it is true for you and me, Jesus requires that we freely, on our own, recognize who he is.

Transfiguration Sunday; 8/6/2017

The account of Jesus’ Transfiguration is part of a larger section of Luke’s Gospel that contains his teaching on the meaning of real discipleship; what it means to be students of Christ. By our exploring the Transfiguration from that perspective, we can understand that Jesus’ Transfiguration demonstrates three key elements of being disciples: Glory, Praise, and Action.