+ A sermon for Pentecost +8C/Lectionary 18C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on August 4, 2019 + Texts: Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Colossians 3:1-17; Luke 12:13-21 Audio: LINK “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” “You fool!” What a cheery message from our holy scriptures this morning, right? Now, I don’t know what got you …
Category: Sermons
Hospitality and Rest
+ A sermon for Pentecost +6C/Lectionary 16C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on July 21, 2019 + Texts: Genesis 18:1–10a; Luke 10:38–42 I remember when I was growing up and our family was expecting company, we would go into deep cleaning mode. It was almost like clockwork—whenever my grandparents or aunts and uncles or …
Stargazing
+ A sermon for Pentecost +9C/Lectionary 19C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on August 11, 2019 | Outdoor Worship + Texts: Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Luke 12:32-40 For most of the past ten years or so, I’ve been living in cities and I’ve loved it. I love the restaurants and shops, the sporting …
Finding Life
+ A sermon for Pentecost +5C/Lectionary 15C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on July 14, 2019 + Texts: Luke 10:25-37 Audio: LINK I’m going to bet that if there’s one story you know from Jesus, it’s this one. If there is one parable that everyone can name, it’s the one we just heard that …
Interdependence
+ A sermon for Pentecost +4C/Lectionary 14C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on July 7, 2019 + Texts: Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 Audio: LINK (Note - first few seconds of the recording was accidentally cut off) Last week, on the Fourth of July, our country celebrated our Independence Day. That morning, Ryan and I …
True Identity
+ A sermon for Pentecost +2C/Lectionary 12C at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on June 23, 2019 + Text: Galatians 3:23-29; Luke 8:26-39 There he was. There, by the sea, far from his friends and family—if he even had any friends and family left. There, living in the graveyard, cut off from the living. There, …
Dancing with Trinity
+ A sermon for Holy Trinity Sunday (Year C) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on June 16, 2019 + Text: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Each Sunday as I drive to church I listen to NPR’s Weekend Edition. Sometimes I hear interviews with influential people, sometimes I learn something from interesting stories, …
Spirit-Led
+ A sermon for Pentecost Sunday (Year C) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on June 9, 2019 + Text: Acts 2:1-21; John 14:8-17, 25-27 There they were, in that same upper room where so much had happened, where their lives had been so dramatically changed. The same room where their teacher and friend brought …
A Love that Unifies
+ A sermon for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (Year C)/Ascension Sunday at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on June 2, 2019 + Text: Acts 1:1-11; John 17:20-26 My friends, on this seventh and final Sunday of Easter, I have a confession to make. I sometimes have a pretty difficult time understanding Christ’s resurrection. Yes, …
A New Normal
+ A sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter (Year C) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on May 5, 2019 + Text: John 21:1-19 Growing up I loved that classic series, The Lord of the Rings. I remember how I devoured the books the first time I read them, finishing the trilogy over the …
Pastor Paul Eldred 