+ A sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on February 16, 2020 + Text: Deuteronomy 30:15-31:3a; Matthew 5:21-37 Audio: LINK It had taken them forty years to arrive. Forty years since they had crossed the Red Sea into freedom. Forty years since Moses came down from the Mount …
Category: Sermons
Be What You Are
+ A sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on February 9, 2020 + Text: Isaiah 58:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20 Audio: LINK “I’m not sure that you’re Princeton material,” she said with a patronizing smile.[1] These dismissive words from her high school guidance counselor could have easily devastated the hopes …
Holding the Promise
+ A sermon for the Presentation of Our Lord at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on February 2, 2020 + Text: Luke 2:22-40 Audio: LINK Well my friends, we did it—we’ve made it to February. I don’t know about you, but January seemed impossibly long this year. Maybe it was the now more than two …
Where We’re From and Where We’re Going
+ A sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on January 26, 2020 + Text: Isaiah 9:1-4; Matthew 4:12-23 Audio: LINK “Where are you from?” It’s always struck me as a strange question, and one I often don’t quite know how to answer. My family moved around a bit …
What Are You Looking For?
+ A sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on January 19, 2020 + Text: John 1:29-42 Audio: LINK During the past few weeks, our lectionary texts have focused on the ways we see Jesus. We have seen the ways our Emmanuel—God with us—is made manifest in our midst. …
Rooted in Water
+ A homily for the Baptism of Our Lord at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on January 12, 2020 + Texts: Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 Audio: LINK Martin Luther once said that there is so much that could be written about the sacrament of baptism that the books it could fill would span …
A Messier Christmas
+ A sermon for the Second Sunday of Christmas (transferred) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on January 5, 2020 + Text: Matthew 2:13-23 Audio: LINK Merry Christmas, my friends! Yes, today is the twelfth and final day of Christmas. But in some ways Christmas Eve already seems so long ago. Maybe the trees have …
A Thrill of Hope
+ A sermon for Christmas Eve at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on December 24, 2019 + Text: Luke 2:1-20 Audio: LINK Christmas is one of those times when traditions often reign supreme. We have these things that we do year after year that make it feel like Christmas. Things that connect us to the …
Identity
+ A sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on December 22, 2019 + Text: Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25 Audio: LINK Well I hope you’re ready. I hope your ways are prepared, your hearts have made sufficient room, and all your presents have been wrapped (mine haven’t). …
Blooming Hope
+ A sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent (Year A) at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Bellevue, WA on December 15, 2019 + Text: Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 Audio: LINK It was said to be the most spectacular one in years, possibly in living memory. Hundreds of thousands of visitors streamed to see it. …
Pastor Paul Eldred 