Pastor Sullivan's Blog

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Christ, his disciples, and a large crowd following Him, approach the city of Nain. But as they enter they’re met with another large crowd, a funeral procession on its way out of the city. The dead man being carried out was the only son of his mother. To make matters worse, she was a widow. She had already buried her husband. Now she goes to bury her son. As the two crowds meet, Jesus sees the woman and has compassion on her. He tells her, “ Do not weep .” He doesn’t say this in a “You’ll get through this” way, or a “You have my condolences” kind of way. He tells her not to weep in the “My heart goes out to you and I’m going to do something about this” kind of way. He goes to the open coffin and touches it. The pallbearers stand still. Generally, this sort of thing isn’t done. He says, “ Young man, I say to you, arise ,” as if the corpse could hear Him. And the young man hears. He sits up, alive!

Grace and peace be unto you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Today’s Gospel lesson presents us with a beautiful picture of our salvation by Christ alone and our lives lived by faith in Christ and His gifts. There are four points from the Gospel lesson we want to consider this morning by the grace of God. First we need to consider how the mother and son in our Gospel lesson is a portrait of us all according to our sinful nature. Mother and son show us humanity apart from Christ. And humanity apart from Christ is dead. Just as this young man is dead, so all humanity is spiritually dead because of sin. St. Paul says the wages of sin is death. Not just physical death but spiritual death. This is the death Adam and Even earned when they disobeyed the Lord and tasted the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. “ On the day you eat of it you will surely die ,” said the Lord in Genesis 2:17. They were still physically alive after that. But they were dead

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 with pious-sounding pleasantries like “He

Order of Holy Communion - Pg. 15 Hymn # 522 When in the Hour of Utmost Need Hymn # 365 Jesus I Will Never Leave Hymn # 196 I Am Content! My Jesus Liveth Still Introit - pg. 79 Readings Deuteronomy 32:39-40 Ephesians 3:13-21 Luke 7:11-17 Collect for Trinity XVI Lord, we pray Thee that Thy grace may always go before and follow after us and make us continually given to all good works; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. Sermon on the Epistle Lesson Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 1)         St. Paul writes to the congregation in Ephesus to comfort them in their affliction. At the moment their particular affliction is the status of Paul himself. As Paul writes this letter to the Ephesians he sits imprisoned in Rome. This is why he writes, “ Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for yo