The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, At-Home Service for July 11th

The title of this sermon is “Hope for Herod, bound to a promise.”

It may seem strange to focus on Herod, given his bad reputation. However, from Herod, we can learn more about the Word of God and how that Word is working among us. The passage read today contains the first mention of Herod in the Gospel according to Mark, but that passage also began in the middle of things. The first line of today’s Gospel reading began, “King Herod heard of it for Jesus’ name had become known.” What Herod heard and how the name of Jesus became known to him requires a review of the verses we heard last Sunday – verses that immediately preceded today’s reading. Jesus had called the twelve disciples, sending them out and giving them authority. Those disciples preached that people should repent. The disciples used the authority Jesus gave them to heal many people.

Click here to view the at-home version of the service.

Pastor Rike’s Sermon

Through the preaching of those disciples, that same call of Jesus came to Herod! Thus, the contention in the title of this sermon is that there was hope for Herod. There was hope for Herod despite the nature of his incestuous marriage to Herodias, who was also his niece as well as his half-brother’s former wife. There was hope for Herod despite the awful things he had done, such as killing John the Baptist. Herod heard the message of repentance the disciples had
been preaching. He knew those disciples were authorized to heal in the name of Jesus. There was hope for Herod as there is for every one of us because the call to faith in Jesus promises life in the future that is different from the past.

Click here to read Pastor Rike’s sermon

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Video Options

Follow along with the service on video led by Pastor Rike, with music performed by Randy Broker.

The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost for July 11th includes 
Intro   
Hymn - Lead On, Oh King Eternal!, performed by Randy Broker  
First Reading- Amos 7:7-15
Gospel- Mark 6:14-29 
Sermon by Pastor Rike   
Hymn - Let Justice Flow Like Streams, performed by Randy Broker   
Prayers   
Blessing