St. Mark's Lutheran Church

Jul 23, 2017 - The Job We Didn’t Get  Lou Kolb, Certified Lay Minister   Seventh Sunday after Pentecost   So when we must make human judgements, imperfect though they may be, let us always try to see others and their motives through God's eyes, reflecting his love. Let us try to infuse those judgements with the same mercy he shows to us. And in those instances where we're not sure of the right answer, let us love! (More...)

Jan 15, 2017 - Behold the Lamb of God!  Walter Haussmann, Certified Lay Minister   Second Sunday after Epiphany   The Lamb has changed EVERYTHING! Behold the Lamb of God! Let the Lamb change YOU! (More...)

Jan 6, 2017 - Who is Jesus, Really.  Ray Huff, Certified Lay Minister   Baptism of Jesus   Who am I and who are you? We are sinners who have been saved through our baptism into God's family.Jesus will stand with us now, and wash away our sins. (More...)

Jan 1, 2017 - God Delivers  Lou Kolb, Certified Lay Minister   The Name of Jesus - The Eighth Day of Christmas   Today is January 1, 2017.  It is appropriate that we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on this day.  As we begin this new year, let us resolve to live in the name of Jesus, in the way of Jesus and to follow his path. (More...)

Dez 25, 2016 - The Gift  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   The Nativity of Our Lord, Christmas Day   Because of His love for us, God is determined to change this gathering from a crowd into a congregation. (More...)

Dez 24, 2016 - God's Love Changes Everything  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Christmas Eve   Because of God's love for us, God is determined to change this gathering from a crowd into a congregation. (More...)

Dez 18, 2016 - Lonely?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Remembrance Service   Loneliness does not get the last word, today or any day, because Jesus loves us and keeps us connected with each other through himself in word and sacrament. (More...)

Dez 18, 2016 - Getting Ready  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fourth Sunday of Advent   We're good Lutherans, so that we can do nothing to prove ourselves worthy of the Lord's favor. And that is quite right. But we can do lots to demonstrate that God is getting us ready. (More...)

Dez 11, 2016 - The Desert Shall Bloom  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Third Sunday of Advent   The desert shall bloom, says Isaiah. This is not just wishful thinking, it is faith. Recall God's acts of unfailing love in the past, and take heart for the future. (More...)

Dez 4, 2016 - A Spirited Shoot  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Second Sunday of Advent   Advent and Christmas is a great time to talk about what is beyond WYSIWYG. --This is the time to hear about other possibilities, to hold onto the hope that God will do something wonderful, fresh, and different with us. (More...)

Nov 27, 2016 - Comin' Round the Mountain  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   First Sunday of Advent   May our life together as the people of God be that kind of lively bubbling stream of people, until we arrive at the feet of the third mountain, which is Jesus himself. (More...)

Nov 20, 2016 - Power on parade  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Christ the King   The most important parade in which we can participate is when we too come down this aisle and receive that same gift, in thanksgiving. Power is on parade here, but not the world's kind of power. It is the power of Christ's giving to us, and through us. (More...)

Nov 13, 2016 - Warnings and Love  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Twenty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost   Life may seem to be going well enough now that we can almost get through it without God. We can almost handle it ourselves, we seem to try to, don’t we? Things change. Bad things might happen. Cling to God - He Loves You. (More...)

Nov 6, 2016 - Saints Among Us  Ray Huff, Certified Lay Minister   All Saints Day   The saints seek not to be spoken well of; they seek rather to serve their God who demands justice and righteousness between all people of the world. (More...)

Okt 30, 2016 - Reformation in Catechesis  Walter Haussmann, Associate in Ministry   Reformation Sunday   This is why Luther wrote the catechism - to let the word of Christ dwell in each of us richly so that we will indeed abide in Christ's word. (More...)

Okt 23, 2016 - The Pharisee and the Tax Collector  The Rev. Steven Shipman   Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost   For most of us, what separates us from God most dangerously is not our sins but our virtues. (More...)

Okt 16, 2016 - The Word of God at the Center of Life  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost   What we need to become are people of the Word, people who speak and write, plan and do because those promises of God are at the center of what we think and who we are. (More...)

Okt 9, 2016 - Continuing Thanks  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost   One of our great diseases is self-centeredness, thinking about me, only myself, and mine. The antidote to this is to be reminded again and again of the chief gifts which God gives to us: (1) Our lives,(2) the Lord Jesus, and (3) other people. (More...)

Okt 8, 2016 - The Cord of Three  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Doane—Miller Wedding   Sin is always trying to drive us apart from God and from each other, but the promises of God are stronger than evil in any of its sneaky disguises. (More...)

Okt 2, 2016 - Tools for God’s Work  Lou Kolb, Associate in Ministry   Consecration Sunday   St. Mark's is still vital and thriving and there is still to be done here. To do it, some of us may have to move out of our comfort zones. And that's always scary. But God seems to have given us what we need; a willing and generous congregation and the assurance he gave in Jeremiah, "for I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not evil." And so, armed with our faith in Him, let's get to work. (More...)

Sep 25, 2016 - Rich?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost   We have the opportunity to use all of the things which have been entrusted to our care for the purpose of helping each other and building relationships, overcoming our personal foolishness,and letting our neighbors know that Jesus has bigger plans with us still to be unfolded. (More...)

Sep 23, 2016 - With a Word and a Song  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Henrietta Tyson Funeral   Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is the power of the Word of God spoken to Henrietta and each of us in Holy Baptism. (More...)

Sep 18, 2016 - To Grace How Great a Debtor  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost    O Lord, teach us to recognize your gifts of "time, talent, treasure, persons, relationships, and opportunities." What will we do with them: use them or squander them? (More...)

Sep 11, 2016 - See the Gifts and Use Them Well  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost   How are we caring for those gifts of creation, of the community of faith, of hope, of forgiveness? Thank God that he is merciful and persistent! He is still offering them. (More...)

Sep 4, 2016 - Hear a Hard Word from Jesus  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost   Jesus is not here to fulfill our needs; the pastor is not here to fulfill our needs; the congregation is not here to fulfill our needs. We are here to praise God and thank him for what he has done, is doing, and will yet do in enticing us into a loving and caring relationship with him, and through him, with others. (More...)

Aug 28, 2016 - Who is worthy?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost   There is no "us" and "them" in the kingdom of God; what we are trying to live out is the good news that there is only the "us" who are together welcomed by Jesus and encouraged to share what we have and are with one another, in anticipation of the final heavenly banquet. (More...)

Aug 21, 2016 - Just a Cripple?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost   Each of us has been bent over by physical or spiritual ailments, by sin and separation in all of its forms, separated from God and from each other, bearing in our bodies and minds so many cares. But hear God's word of promise; hear the new name he gives, and remember it! (More...)

Aug 14, 2016 - Not an Easy life with Christ  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost   But this dare not disguise the utter seriousness of the event. Families and sponsors are giving up a person, in order to get back a person of promise, whose life will never be the same. (More...)

Aug 6, 2016 - By Faith  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost   Faith is that holding onto God's promise in spite of time, age, and difficult circumstances because the one who makes the promise is trustworthy. (More...)

Jul 31, 2016 - You can't take it with you  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost   With gentle persistence we need to let people in on the news that makes an eternal difference, to fill the only barn that will not burn, and to challenge each other in how best to use the many gifts which God has entrusted to us. (More...)

Jul 25, 2016 - Companions  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Larry Bair Funeral   For in his promise granted once in Holy Baptism and lived out in every Holy Communion, Jesus is not only our Lord and Savior, but also our first and final companion. (More...)

Jul 24, 2016 - Our Father  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Tenth Sunday after Pentecost   There are times when we may not feel like a Christian, much less believe like a Christian, and certainly we do not always act like a Christian. Our relationship as a member of the body of Christ is not based on what we feel, or think, or how we act at a given moment. Rather, we are of his people, because God chose us and named us his in Holy Baptism. (More...)

Jul 18, 2016 - Hospitality  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Mary Ditchfield Funeral   Hospitality. The welcome that we practice is not just our own; it is first the gift of God to us. (More...)

Jul 17, 2016 - Priorities  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Ninth Sunday after Pentecost   May we not only wait, but also watch actively for our Lord's gifts and our Lord's presence in all that we do this week. He is the one in charge, and he is here to work with you and me. (More...)

Jul 11, 2016 - Giving  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Shuman Miller Funeral   Some have imagined that this means that a true Christian will have a good, easy, and fun time in life. Jesus never said anything like that. We can have a victorious life, but there is no guarantee about it being easy. (More...)

Jul 10, 2016 - Giving and receiving mercy  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Eighth Sunday after Pentecost   From a specifically Christian point of view, the test of my sermon is not how well-organized it is, or how entertaining, or even how strictly biblical, but rather the response to the sermon. What happens to us when we are confronted with the same injunction Jesus gave to the lawyer: "Go, and do likewise," giving and receiving mercy. (More...)

Jul 3, 2016 - Go!  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Seventh Sunday after Pentecost   The task is to announce in words and actions that the kingdom of God is come near. Even the smallest efforts can be part of God's plan. We have and can do much more than we think possible. (More...)

Jun 26, 2016 - With urgency!  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Sixth Sunday after Pentecost   We should never forget that our deepest need is to hear Jesus' call and to give ourselves wholly to it – so completely that nothing is left over – to the Lord Jesus when he says to us as he does in Holy Baptism, and regularly since then, "Follow me!" (More...)

Jun 19, 2016 - Adopted  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fifth Sunday after Pentecost   What has Jesus' cross and resurrection done for us? We who were nobodies became somebodies by adoption. (More...)

Jun 12, 2016 - A Tale of Two Sinners  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fourth Sunday after Pentecost   Which kind of sinner are we today? Do we take up the offer of God's love and forgiveness, or do we think we don't need much of it? (More...)

Jun 5, 2016 - The Laughter of Surprise  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Third Sunday after Pentecost   The ability to laugh at life's incongruities, to take God seriously but not ourselves, to embrace the strangeness of our people instead of strangling them with our bare hands, this is great grace. (More...)

Mai 29, 2016 - By Whose Authority?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Second Sunday after Pentecost   Thanks be to God whose authority Jesus uses to patiently break down our opposition, to overcome our willful disobedience, and at length to return us to full community in relationship with God. (More...)

Mai 22, 2016 - Why are we here?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Holy Trinity Festival   We are here for an encounter with the Word made flesh, the Triune God revealed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. (More...)

Mai 15, 2016 - The Spirit Helps Us  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Pentecost   It is an audacious idea that prayer might be effective, that is, that our will is shaped by the will of God. It is properly with fear and trembling that we even attempt it. But Jesus asks us to pray. (More...)

Mai 8, 2016 - Free or Bound?  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Seventh Sunday of Easter   Here we are, Americans, quite used to talking about being free, by which we often mean that we want to be utterly independent. Are we slaves to an idea that we need neither each other nor God? (More...)

Mai 1, 2016 - Let All the People Praise You  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Sixth Sunday of Easter   Whichever way God decides to deal with our problems, we can be sure that his continuing intent is to lead us to the ongoing praise of the God who has made us. (More...)

Apr 24, 2016 - A New Thing  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fifth Sunday of Easter   What we Lutherans always find hardest, taking the greatest nerve, is evangelism with someone completely unknown to us. But amazingly good things can happen. (More...)

Apr 17, 2016 - A Great Multitude  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Fourth Sunday of Easter   Let our speech be "Thank you , Lord, for not making my entrance to your heavenly multitude dependent on the strength of my faith or the great things I was able to do, for they don't amount to much." (More...)

Apr 10, 2016 - Transformed  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Third Sunday of Easter   Here are some questions on which we can work together: What in our lives most needs transforming right now? How will our lives be different today because we realize that Jesus intends to transform us? How can we be speakers for God this week so that transformation can happen in others? (More...)

Apr 3, 2016 - Here and There  The Rev. Kenneth R. Elkin   Second Sunday of Easter   We're not just stuck here in Williamsport worrying about sin, death, politicians, and taxes. We are also incorporating persons into the body of Christ in Holy Baptism, and sharing in the appetizer of the heavenly banquet in Holy Communion. (More...)

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