A wedding invitation arrives in the mail. You are cordially invited to your second cousin’s once removed daughter’s wedding…in Toledo. Travel is expensive these days, and you are busy, so you send your regrets and a card wishing them a long and happy marriage, still wondering exactly how you are related. Now imagine the next … Continue reading A Failure to Party
Category: sermons
“A Binding, Loosening Community” Matthew 18:18-20
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” I love this text. I was excited to see it as the featured Gospel for Gathering Sunday, because today as we gather ourselves for a new beginning of the Fall Church Season; we hear the good news!-Christ is among us today! We missed out on meeting the real Jesus, hearing him preach and shaking hands with him at coffee hour, liking his stuff on Facebook. We were born too late. But don’t despair, because when we meet in his name, his spirit is here and we know him. So we are gathered, Jesus is alive among us-NOW WHAT?
How Many Times? Matthew 18: 21-35
Sermon for September 14, 2014 @ First Churches The story opens with Peter’s question about how many times you should forgive a person. He is wondering if there is a time when forgiveness becomes absurd because someone keeps on hurting us. I imagine most of us have someone in our lives that is very difficult … Continue reading How Many Times? Matthew 18: 21-35
“The Gratitude Economy” Matthew 20:1-16, Exodus 16:2-15
Life is so unfair! It starts the day we are born. One baby is born a girl in Lahore, Pakistan and another a boy in Palo Alto, CA. You already have in mind a picture of their destiny. Life gets more unfair as soon as your next sibling is born. We are hard wired to … Continue reading “The Gratitude Economy” Matthew 20:1-16, Exodus 16:2-15
Preaching for Sunday, August 17
uk.reuters.com - Page by Jeffrey Heller - A Palestinian woman runs carrying a girl following what police said was an Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza city July 9, 2014. I am still debating my choices of scriptures to preach this week-the Gospel lesson about the Canaanite woman, Isaiah and the covenant extending … Continue reading Preaching for Sunday, August 17
Genesis 32 “Wrestling with the Stranger”
If you are looking for a late sermon illustration on Saturday, listen to Billy Joel's song "The Stranger" and think about in terms of Jacob's wrestling with a stranger. I only had a minor spot in my sermon for it. Let me know what you think about the about the connections. Below I have posted … Continue reading Genesis 32 “Wrestling with the Stranger”
John 20:19-31 “Locked Away in Fear”
It is too easy to pick on Thomas who forever has the word “doubting” attached to his name. I prefer to think of him as a skeptic, and there are many moments in church history the church could have used his questions and skepticism. I wish there had been a doubting Thomas around to say … Continue reading John 20:19-31 “Locked Away in Fear”
John 20:1-18 “The Great Resurrection”
This is my 17th Easter Sermon, and I still find it tricky. We come to this moment each year with a crescendo of hope and excitement, but also with a great theological burden. What happened? Was the tomb of Jesus really empty? Was the resurrection a physical resuscitation of the body, or an apparition seen … Continue reading John 20:1-18 “The Great Resurrection”
John 13:34-35 “Maundy Thursday Meditation
Tonight we undertake the most universal act of being a Christian Church-we re-enact the Last Supper. We eat bread and drink from the cup, and we hear and remember the final moments Jesus had with his disciples. What happened on this night is at the heart of being Christian. We do not have to get … Continue reading John 13:34-35 “Maundy Thursday Meditation
If You Are the Son of God… Matthew 4:1-11
What are you giving up for Lent? Typical answers include our treats – chocolate, donuts, chocolate donuts, or if you are truly daring, sugar. Next come our habits – TV (sorry Stephen Colbert and Desperate Housewives), Ipad (no new apps for Lent), multi-tasking (hang on a second, I have a text) or swearing (O crap!). … Continue reading If You Are the Son of God… Matthew 4:1-11
With all my soul 