Author: Pastor Ken

Ken Ranos serves as the pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Indianapolis, IN, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He blogs at https://ecumenicallife.com/ .

Sermon–October 2, 2011–Pentecost 16A

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost A Preached at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Muskegon, MI, while on Internship. Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm 80:7-15 Philippians 3:4b-14 Matthew 21:33-46 One of my all-time favorite movies is the 1980 classic “The Blues Brothers”, starring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi. I was raised a Chicago boy, so the movie practically … Continue reading Sermon–October 2, 2011–Pentecost 16A

Sermon–September 18, 2011–Pentecost 14A

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost A Preached at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Muskegon, MI, while on Internship. Jonah 3:10-4:11 Psalm 145:1-8 Philippians 1:21-30 Matthew 20:1-16 If I were the one responsible for translating the Bible, I think the full title of Jonah’s story would be, “Jonah and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Catchy, … Continue reading Sermon–September 18, 2011–Pentecost 14A

Community of Faith

Last night, a meeting was held for the parents of children who will be participating in Confirmation classes this year. At the meeting, Pastor stressed that Confirmation was not just an activity on the checklist with other activities children participate in, like soccer, swimming, music lessons, cheer-leading, etc. Confirmation, he said, focuses on building and … Continue reading Community of Faith

Sermon–August 14, 2011–Pentecost 9A

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost Isaiah 56:1, 6-8 Psalm 67 Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32 Matthew 15:[10-20] 21-28 Preached at Nativity Lutheran Church, Brandon, MS, during my Clinical Pastoral Education in Jackson. This may, or may not be hard to believe, but I was never a part of the “in” crowd in school. Sure, things got better later … Continue reading Sermon–August 14, 2011–Pentecost 9A