Proclaiming the Word!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, November 10, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 18, verses 9-14. Today’s gospel passage contains the last of Jesus’ parables before he enters Jerusalem and it follows immediately after the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. In this parable, Jesus compares the prayer of a Pharisee, a very religious person with that of a tax collector who were seen as crooks and swindlers. Bucking the traditional wisdom of the time, Jesus shows what kind of attitude is truly in line with God’s will. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

Blessed All Saints Sunday! I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, November 3, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 6, verses 20-31. Today’s gospel passage contains the Lucan version of the beatitudes, though they are remarkably different than how we typically hear them from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel. In this sermon you will me talk about what it truly means to be blessed, which is not how we usually throw around the word. I invite you to notice your own feelings as you hear this sermon and reflect on them afterwards, maybe with a friend. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

Happy Reformation Sunday! I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, October 27, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from John chapter 8, verses 31-36. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus is having a conversation with a group of Jews who had come to believe in him. Their conversation is push and pull though, because they are not talking on the same plain, as is often the case in the Gospel of John. If we don’t listen closely, we may too misunderstand Jesus’ promise of freedom. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, October 20, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 18, verses 1-8. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus tells a parable about prayer, but he ends with a question of whether or not the Son of Man will find faith when he returns. Will there be faith when he returns? May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, October 13, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 17, verses 11-19. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus encounters ten people afflicted with leprosy who beg him for mercy and healing. After telling them to go to show themselves to the priest, they are healed, but only one returns to Jesus and is told what the true source of his healing was. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, October 6, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 17, verses 5-10. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus gives his disciples a lesson about faith. Even though they have been with him all this while, they still don’t understand what faith in him means or even what faith can do. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, September 29, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 16, verses 19-31. In our Gospel passage today, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. This is not the same Lazarus, however, that Jesus restored to life, however, in the Gospel of John. Same name, different person. This parable has a lot to do with how we see the world and the things that really matter to God. I used many visuals in this sermon, including two posters that were displayed on music stands as well as a number of images that I showed to the congregation. I hope you will be able to “see” them in your mind’s eye as you listen. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

I’m Pastor Beau Nelson and this is my sermon from Sunday, September 22, 2019 preached at Saint Mark Lutheran Church in Morristown, NJ and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Florham Park, NJ. The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 16, verses 1-13. Today’s Gospel passage is considered by most biblical scholars to be one of the most confusing of all of Jesus’ teachings. It is the parable of the dishonest manager and with is Jesus seems to be saying some things that don’t make sense to most of us with our 21st century ears. In my sermon I focus primarily on Jesus’ statement that a slave cannot serve two masters – both God and wealth. We often think we can, but in reality, there is no way. May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

The main text for my sermon and which you will hear me reading is from Luke chapter 15, verses 1-10. Our passage today includes the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. With these parables – along with the parable of the lost or prodigal son – Jesus shows that being lost – and admitting to being lost – are actually necessary to being found which is what brings God joy! May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you through Jesus! Thanks for listening!

Would the REAL good Samaritan please stand up??? In the United States today we are so divided along tribal and political lines that it is sometimes impossible for us to see ANY goodness at all in the other side. We truly are broken. There is ONE who was rejected by everybody who can truly be called the Good Samaritan.

This sermon is about Jesus sending his disciples out to proclaim that God's Kingdom has come near and what that means for us. Where have you seen God's Kingdom breaking into the world? May you be blessed by the hearing of the Word proclaimed and may God bring transformation to you and the world around you! Thanks for listening!