Gospel (12)
  1. That Jesus rose from the dead is surprising, but he doesn’t stop there. Jesus is constantly surprising us! He keeps showing up in the most surprising of places!
  2. Jesus’ story continues as He writes us into it, giving us the Holy Spirit to continue to spread the forgiveness of sins in the proclamation of the Gospel.
  3. The empty tomb. The risen Christ. Satan’s defeat. Forgiveness of sins. The beginning of the new creation. It has all built up to this. It all flows from this. Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
  4. Faint of heart or strong, Advent finds us all in a world that shakes our faith and drives us to wonder about the work and promises of this God who claims to love us.
  5. The Baptizer is a prophet who has more of the Word of God in his pointer finger than most preachers have in their whole body!
  6. God chooses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, the poor people of this world to shame the rich, he identifies with sinners and He cannot seem to get enough of those the world ignores.
  7. Trusting the Master to show mercy, he shows mercy in the name of the Master.
  8. Jesus will not give you a convenient, comfortable message to preach this Sunday. But, because He fixed His gaze on the cross, He has called you to something greater than convenience.
  9. Preachers are called upon to report the events that took place as Jesus journeyed towards the cross with the intention of reassuring our hearers of the trustworthiness of Christ’s work for their salvation.
  10. Usually, our preaching directs us to the works of God. But this week, we focus on the nature of God. Trinity Sunday names the God of the First Commandment who we are to fear, love, and trust above all else.
  11. No matter which side, it’s easy for all of us to build Bible verses into grenades aimed at obliterating the political other.
  12. The truth is, this church’s eyes wander very easily. You are there to make sure Jesus is clearly and constantly placarded before those eyes.