This coming weekend, January 9-10, I will be preaching at Abiding Presence, my home congregation, in Burke, VA. I will be preaching at the Saturday night vespers service, the Sunday morning "contemporary" service, and the Sunday morning "traditional" service. These three services provide distinctly different worship experiences, and tend to attract different crowds. The Saturday service typically only includes the Gospel reading, the contemporary service typically includes both the Gospel and the psalm, and the traditional service generally includes the Old Testament reading, the psalm, the letter, and the Gospel. I enjoy preaching on multiple (usually two) texts, and have asked on other occasions for multiple readings to be included at all the services. For a variety of reasons, I have decided to stick solely to the Gospel reading for this week's sermon (this has been a very eventful week for my church because we just voted to call a new pastor yesterday!, the interim pastor is just returning from vacation, and I am in Gettysburg for the week).
This weekend, we celebrate the baptism of our Lord. I will be preaching on Luke 3: 15-17, 22-22
15As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16John answered all of them by saying, "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
21Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
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