Sermons Out of Rural Ministry
Dynamic, contextual sermons from Pastor Josh Ehrler, who serves a small town ELCA Lutheran congregation in Northern Illinois. Sermons are rooted in scripture and reflect the local community, as well as the movements of the wider world. He and his congregation are affirming of LGBTQ+ personhood and live out their baptismal promise to seek (racial, economic, identity, environmental) justice and peace.
Sermons Out of Rural Ministry
Risk Everything for Hope
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Pastor Josh Ehrler
In our preaching texts, we first hear about Shiprah and Puah, two L&D nurses charged by Pharaoh to kill Israelite male children at birth. They refuse the executive order. We learn about Jochebed, Moses' mother, who has seen her identity stripped and her freedoms torn from her, respond to her fears by giving birth to a boy, a target of the Egyptian regime. Neighbors have turned on neighbors, edicts and mandates are escalating, life for the Israelites means slavery and death. These women, and others, respond to their desperation with hope that God is just. What are you willing to risk for hope?