Entries by Pastor Monte

God is Close, Real Close

Easter 6A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago As part of training for ministry 30 years ago, I spent a summer working as a chaplain at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. I […]

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From Heaven to Earth

Easter 5A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Death by stoning is a horrible way to die.  Yet despite the violence directed against him, Stephen prayed for his enemies. “He knelt down and […]

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Living Resurrection

Easter 3A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago When he was about eighteen, Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660), created one of his first paintings, titled simply, “Kitchen Maid.” A copy at […]

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Wounded Healers

Easter 2A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Few things focus our minds on mortality than our own injuries. I remember playing sardines at a youth lock-in when I slipped on a small […]

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Rolling Stones

Easter Sunday A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Alleluia! Christ is risen. (Christ is risen indeed. Alleluia!) Because Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring […]

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Your Everyday Survival Kit

Lent 5A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago The week after Christmas my family headed out on a 3,800-mile trip to Montana and back. I was excited but also a little anxious.  I […]

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I See You

Lent 3A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago Our preacher today is Adriana Rivera, Minister of  Youth and Household. Greetings, friends, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be […]

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Putting It All Back Together

Lent 2A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago I’ll tell you something you already know. We are shaped by what we can perceive. Beyond what we can imagine is the great unknown unknown. […]

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Fight With the Devil

Lent 1A-23 Immanuel Lutheran, Chicago After his baptism, there was no celebration, no cake, no candles. Instead, ‘Jesus, was led by the Spirit into a place of isolation and death […]

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