Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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On the Mountainside
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6 min read
a Sermon for Epiphany 5A Text: Matthew 5:13-20 Going up the mountain Jesus begins walking up a mountain. He invites His disciples to join Him. Finding Jesus up a mountain. We would be hard-pressed to avoid that image here of the holy man and a mountain-top experience. We’ve seen this in books and movies: people…
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Blood and Light: seeing, revealing, saying
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7 min read
a Sermon for The Presentation Text: Luke 2:22-40 Embarrassment and Injustice I was in the fifth grade. I’m not sure why I was out of my classroom and standing in the hall. Maybe I was feeling sick and waiting to be picked up. The front door to Ella White Elementary was near the office. A…
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Acting like we love Jesus
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5 min read
a Sermon for Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle Text: Matthew 10:16-22 Sacrifice In the years after Jesus died, his closest followers passed on stories about Him. They gathered, started new faith communities, worshiped, sang. They prayed for the Kingdom. They called out to GOD. They taught their children to do the same. They told…
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The Foundation of Faith
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7 min read
a Sermon for Epiphany 2A Text: John 1:29-42 The Foundation How strange this sight must have been for John the Baptizer. So many baptisms and among them is Jesus, the Messiah, the one whose way John is preparing. What John the Baptizer experiences is so significant that he testifies to its power: the Spirit made…
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Jesus has gone swimming
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4 min read
a Sermon for Epiphany 1A Text: Matthew 3:13-17 I insist This morning’s gospel story begins with the most unlikely of conversations. It is a titanic theological battle of You go. No, you go. No, I insist. John the Baptizer and Jesus dance over who baptizes who like two men arguing over which one gets to…
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Writing Our Future
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7 min read
a Sermon for Christmas 2AText: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 A Troubling History A few years ago, Diana Butler Bass wrote a book called A People’s History of Christianity. Like other “People’s Histories,” it is a history told, not from the perspective of the victors, but of the vanquished: in this case, it is the people, whose…