Wicker Park Lutheran Church Sermons WPLC
-
- Religion & Spirituality
-
These are sermons preached at Wicker Park Lutheran Church (WPLC) in Chicago, IL. WPLC is a diverse, ELCA Christian community in Chicago focused on expansive theology. Sunday service at 10 a.m. www.wickerparklutheran.org
-
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Today’s gospel reading jumped the gun in terms of the chronology leading up to Holy Week. You see, next week we’ll gather outside to process with palms as we recall Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem before his betrayal, sham trial, and execution. But today’s reading falls after Jesus’ triumphal entry and before his betrayal. Today we focus on Jesus’ final public discourse. The content of this discourse (and arguably the entire gospel of John) is summarized by a short, one sentence metaphor. Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit... The post Fifth Sunday in Lent appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.
-
Fourth Sunday in Lent
It is wonderful being here this third Sunday in Lent. To be back in this sanctuary leading worship with you is such a gift. Yet, knowing Wicker Park is an ever-changing community, there are many of you who don’t know me. My name is Pastor Paisley and I had the gift of serving as vicar here in 2019-2020. I accompanied Pastor Jason and the rest of the church staff through the abrupt transition to COVID worship four years ago during this Lenten Season... The post Fourth Sunday in Lent appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.
-
Second Sunday in lent
The passage we just read is from Mark chapter 8. This is the last time we’re going to hear from Mark until Holy Week, so I think we should take stock of where we are and where we’ve been in this gospel, so that we can locate ourselves in our story today... The post Second Sunday in lent appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.
-
First Sunday in Lent
Today we are in a new season of the church year. This is the first Sunday of Lent! And there is something really special about Lent in the year of Mark, something you might not notice unless you pay very close attention. For each of the five Sundays of Lent, every reading from the Hebrew Bible will be about one of the five covenants that God has made with us. And every one of those covenants is about God’s everlasting love for us, and for the world. Each one came to our ancestors at pivotal moments in their journey with God, separated from each other by hundreds of years and from us by thousands... The post First Sunday in Lent appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.
-
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
This is the Year of Mark. And something you gotta know about Mark is that he loves the word “immediately.” It’s a little hard to tell that sometimes in English, because translators have taken that word out in some places to make the text sound better to our modern ears, but if you were to read Mark in Greek, it’s just like a rapid-fire, go-go-go-go kinda story. Something is always happening, something is always changing, something is always moving. I think poor Mark would be rolling in his grave if he found out that we split up all of his immediatelys and read them slowly over a period of months. Poor thing... The post Fifth Sunday after Epiphany appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.
-
Reconciling in Christ Sunday
Today our first reading came from the book of Deuteronomy, which is the last book of the Torah. And Deuteronomy is a very special book, although it can be a little hard to understand sometimes. But we know this book and its stories are very important to God, because Jesus quotes Deuteronomy more than he quotes any other part of scripture, and it’s by far the book that Paul and his contemporaries reference the most often. So let’s see what treasures it has for us today... The post Reconciling in Christ Sunday appeared first on Wicker Park Lutheran Church.