Pastor Sullivan's Blog

In the Name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. This is the testimony of John. A ll men should repent of their sins and receive baptism for the remission of sins. John was something new. He was less like his father Zacharias, a Levite and priest, offering sacrifices, and more of a prophet, prophesying that the Messiah who was to come was near. That’s why “ Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ” (Matt. 3:5). Many went out to confess their sins and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. But not everyone. The Temple folk from Jerusalem sent a delegation of Levites to the wilderness, to Bethabara where John was baptizing, to figure out who John was. “ Who are you? ” they ask, to which John responds bluntly, “ I am not the Christ. ” Apparently some were of the mind that John himself was the Messiah. You can see why. He appears in the desert, preaching repentance and baptizing as if he were sent by directly by God Him...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Trinity Sunday is the only Feast day in the entire church calendar which is not about a specific event in the life of Christ. Instead, it is a day set aside for us to contemplate in a deeper way what we confess every other Sunday of the year: the catholic faith. Not the Roman Catholic faith. Just catholic, meaning universal. The catholic faith is not bound to one specific place, even Rome. The catholic faith is this: that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity. ” One God. Three persons. Each person coeternal, uncreated, and incomprehensible. That’s the unity. But there is a distinction of persons within the unity. The Father is unbegotten. The Son is begotten of the Father from all eternity, of the same substance as the Father, while the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. You see this ineffable doctrine the most clearly in your baptism. You were baptized in the name of the ...

Rorate Coeli, the 4th Sunday in Advent John 1:19-28 December 24, 2017 Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. John is in the business of preparing hearts for the coming Christ. Not much else matters to him, not even the glamour of being approached by an envoy from the Jews in Jerusalem. These men come to interrogate John. The Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews, want to know just who John thinks he is. Countless others had gone into the wilderness to see a prophet, indeed, more than a prophet, the messenger who would go before and herald the Christ. But these priests and Levites aren’t interested in the message. They don’t come to hear and repent. They don’t come to be baptized by John. They come to ask, “ Who are you? ” There must’ve been buzz that John was the Christ because that is what first comes out of his mouth, “ I am not the Christ. ” Are you Elijah? They were asking this because Lord said in Malachi 4:5, “ I will send y...

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         Jesus approaches the city of Nain, surrounded by His disciples and a large crowd who wanted His teaching and His miracles. As that crowd approaches the city, it meets another large crowd from the city, which is on its way to the cemetery. That crowd is led by pallbearers carrying the casket of a young man, the only son of his mother. The young man’s mother follows close by, mourning for her only son. This isn’t her first funeral procession. St. Luke tells us that she was a widow. She buried her husband some time before this. Now she buries her only son. The depth of her loss is unfathomable. Everyone looks at he with eyes of sympathy. Everyone, except Jesus. The Lord sees her and is moved with compassion for her. The heart of the Messiah goes out to this woman who has lost everything. He offers no condolences or well-wishes. He doesn’t fill her ears wi...

Order of Holy Communion  - Pg. 15 Opening Hymn #  36 Now Thank We All Our God Sermon Hymn #  569 O Lord, I Sing With Lips and Heart Closing Hymn #  398 Renew Me, O Eternal Light Introit O GOD, || behold our shield, and look upon the face of Your a- | noint- | ed. *            For a day in Your courts is better | than | a | thou- | sand.  (Psalm 84:9–10a) || How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of | hosts! | - *             My soul longs, yes, even faints for the | courts | of | the | Lord; || Blessèd are those who dwell in Your | house; | - *             They will still | be | prais- | ing | You || I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my | God | - *             Than dwell in the tents | of | wick- | ed- | ness. || The Lord will give grace and | glo- | ry; *             No good thing will He withhold from...

Order of Holy Communion - Pg. 15 Hymn # 521 What God Ordains Is Always Good Hymn # 369 All Mankind Fell in Adam's Fall Hymn # 581 All Ye Who on This Earth Do Dwell   Introit - pg. 82     Readings Isaiah 32:1-8 Philippians 3:17-21 Matthew 22:15-22     Collect for Trinity XXIII Absolve, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy people from their offenses, that from the bonds of our sins which by reason of our frailty we have brought upon us we may be delivered by Thy bountiful goodness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.     Sermon on the Holy Gospel Grace and peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         It seems providential that this gospel text should occur every fall just days before the presidential election. Thi...