<$MTGreetFacebookCom Luther rose colored glasses: March 2015 Archives

March 2015 Archives

A short homily on the nature of human beings and when leaders don't fulfill our unrealistic expectations.

The text notes I preached from are after the sermon audio for convenience, however, I suggest you listen to the sermon audio, because there were numerous changes during the delivery.  It is in the delivery of a sermon in the midst of the people of God which is where he Holy Spirit is doing the strongest work within me; and there will not only be some changes to the notes but also emphasis and intonations that don't occur in the notes. 

Sermon delivered at United Lutheran Church of Oakland

March 29, 2015  - Palm Sunday

"Fickle People, Loving God" - Lectionary text from Mark 11:1-11 and Mark 14:1-25.

me-play-file.jpg


Click here for sermon audio








In which the preacher discovers glory for God in the most unlikely places. 

The text notes I preached from are after the sermon audio for convenience, however, I suggest you listen to the sermon audio, because there were numerous changes during the delivery.  It is in the delivery of a sermon in the midst of the people of God which is where he Holy Spirit is doing the strongest work within me; and there will not only be some changes to the notes but also emphasis and intonations that don't occur in the notes. 

Sermon delivered at United Lutheran Church of Oakland

March 22, 2015  - Fifth Sunday in Lent

"Glorifying Him" - Lectionary text from John  12:20-33.

Listen to sermon audio here




The following is a paper I wrote for a class I took in my final semester in seminary.  Someone on Facebook recently asked me if they could read it, and I'm more than happy to provide.  

The original date of this is May 23, 2014. The date of this entry, however, would be my official publication date. 

 Lutheran Reclamation of the Sacrament of Confession and Absolution

Spirit in the Church ST-2378

Cary Bass-Deschenes

May 23, 2014


Even though the rite of Confession and Forgiveness is available in the Lutheran Church both individually and corporately, most Lutherans are not even aware of it, and even fewer consider it a sacrament. However, a Lutheran understanding of confession and absolution as a sacrament goes all the way back to Martin Luther, and is delineated as such within the Book of Concord, the collection of all of the 16th century basic documents that provide a Lutheran understanding of theology. Although private confession and absolution was subsumed into a rarely used rite during the Age of Enlightenment, it has nevertheless remained a staple means of grace in the Lutheran church, and re-emerged in the Twentieth Century during a period of renewed excitement in unity and liturgy that sought to unify Lutheran rights with a restoration of what was uniquely Lutheran in the 16th century and a keen eye on how Martin Luther and the early Lutheran fathers worshiped and taught. This essay will look into that history as well as the developed Lutheran understanding of sacrament, provide some explanation of how the rite of Confession and Forgiveness is performed in the world today, and offer insight as to how meaningful the rite is and how it can be, as a sacrament, a way of bringing us into closer communion with other Christian denominations.

There was darkness and then there was light. And then Sir Terry Pratchett came along at some point after that.

The text notes I preached from are after the sermon audio for convenience, however, I suggest you listen to the sermon audio, because there were numerous changes during the delivery.  It is in the delivery of a sermon in the midst of the people of God which is where he Holy Spirit is doing the strongest work within me; and there will not only be some changes to the notes but also emphasis and intonations that don't occur in the notes. 

Sermon delivered at United Lutheran Church of Oakland

March 15, 2015  - Fourth Sunday in Lent

"Light, Darkness, and Discworld" - Lectionary text from John  3:14-21 with reference to Numbers 21:4-9 and Ephesians 2:1-10


Listen to sermon audio here




The cross has come to represent many things over the year, but during the Roman era, before the cross became the symbol of Christianity, it was a sign of punishment and humiliation 

The text notes I preached from are after the sermon audio for convenience, however, I suggest you listen to the sermon audio, because it is in the delivery of a sermon in the midst of the people of God which is where he Holy Spirit is doing the strongest work within me; and there will not only be some changes to the notes but also emphasis and intonations that don't occur in the notes. 

Sermon delivered at United Lutheran Church of Oakland
March 1, 2015  - Second Sunday in Lent

"The Embarrassing Cross" - Lectionary text from Mark Mark 8:31-38




Powered by Movable Type 5.2.13

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from March 2015 listed from newest to oldest.

February 2015 is the previous archive.

April 2015 is the next archive.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

About the Author

I *am* Cary Bass-Deschenes
Written by Cary Bass-Deschenes
Website © Cary Bass-Deschenes, 2003-2014. All of the content on this website is available under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license unless otherwise indicated.