Sermons

In need of some inspiration or motivation? Read or watch a sermon by Pastor Kubke!

Sermon: What does the Bible say about near death experiences?

Revelation 21:1-5

"No Need To Speculate!"

A sermon by the Rev Roland Kubke

May 2, 2010

Fifth Sunday of Easter: Acts 11:1-18; Revelation 21:1-7; John 16:12-22

In April, 1992, Maclean’s magazine featured an interesting topic. It was about near-death experiences. According to this article, people have become increasingly bold in telling what happened to them during moments when they were clinically dead. Most of those accounts talk about a tunnel of light. They talk about people in glowing clothes who encourage them to reach up toward that light. They talk about hearing the voices of loved ones who have already passed away. In most of these accounts, the person is filled with peace and joy and eagerly desires to approach that light, but is told to go back. Then the patient comes back to consciousness.

This past April, Maclean’s carried another article about near death experiences on its website. In that one, it was reported that 25% of heart attack patients report near death experiences and 10% of all others in emergency situations report them. The stories about these experiences have raised many questions and resulted in much speculation. Some people are sure those experiences are just dreams. Others think they are actual glimpses of life after death. Some people claim that these are reactions produced by a brain that is trying to preserve sanity in the face of death. Others see these experiences as proof that they personally will see the Lord once they die again. The latest theory is that high carbon dioxide levels in the blood initiate near death experiences.

What do these experiences mean? Are they really proof that heaven truly exists? Are they merely a physical reaction in the brain?

We can thank God that we do not have to rely on dreams and speculations or the accounts of people who have been near death to answer that question. We can thank God that He has given us a clear answer already! In our reading from the book of Revelation today we are told exactly what heaven is all about. Of all the things the Bible says about that wonderful place, this is the most important: "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God!"

We can thank God that He tells us about heaven through His Word. By that Word we have a way of avoiding the dangers of relying on dreams and mystical experiences to answer the questions that can be so pressing sometimes. We have His word to avoid the danger of staking our future on something that is so personal that it is almost impossible to interpret in a God-pleasing way!

Sermon: A Christian Mother is the most blessed mother.

Matthew 15:28

"A Most Important Person"

A sermon by the Rev Roland Kubke

May 9, 2010

Mothers Day: Isaiah 49:13-15; 1 John 3:1-2; Matthew 15:21-28

Have you ever heard of Augustine? He was one of the early pastors who had quite an influence on the Christian Church. He lived at the time when the Roman Empire first converted to Christianity. His interpretations of the Bible were so amazing that they caught the attention of a certain German monk 1200 years later. Martin Luther essentially made Augustine popular again by basing much of the Protestant Reformation on the work of St. Augustine. For example, it was Augustine who very strongly pointed Christians to the writings of St. Paul and first insisted Christians should never forget that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone.

When Augustine was a young man he was brilliant, popular and out to live life to the fullest. He did not have much time for God and had nothing to do with Jesus Christ, despite the fact that his mother and his grandmother were devoted children of God. When Augustine wrote about how he came to believe in his Lord, Jesus Christ, he talked about the first words he spoke after seeing the light of his salvation. Augustine prayed with these words: "If I am Thy child, O God, it is because Thou hast given me a Christian mother."

There are many blessings that we can have in life. We can have health and prosperity. We can have loving parents and a close, caring family. Of all the blessings that we receive, though, few are more wonderful than being blessed by a Christian wife and mother. The writer of the proverbs wrote, "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her... Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!" Through Jesus Christ, God makes helps mothers become a blessing to us all!