Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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A preacher was on vacation and came home to a flood “of Biblical proportions.” He spoke of needing to canoe out of his Louisiana house and escape the devastation. That the preacher is notorious for a sense of ill-will to many and is politically powerful gave the experience a sense of delicious irony. Proper 16C…
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“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” As much as I don’t want to preach on this gospel today, I fear for the thousands of churches and church goers who will wrestle with such a tricky and troubling passage. And how many…
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Watching By Forgiving Debts
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10 min read
There’s a single word in the Lord’s Prayer we often miss. Remember a few weeks ago how the disciples asked Jesus how to pray? He responded with a familiar prayer about hallowing, heaven, and daily bread. Then he says And forgive us our sins,for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. Did you notice? Jesus links sin and indebtedness.…
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Inheritance Transformed
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10 min read
It feels like we live in a divided country. But nothing divides more than inheritance. It sicks brother against brother. Sister against sister. Inheritance is not the blessing of ongoing protection but the curse of future division. In my own family, I’ve seen family members force a sibling to pay a double share while a…
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Jesus Doesn’t Teach Them How To Pray
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5 min read
Let’s be honest. The disciples asked Jesus how to pray. How. Not what. How. Teach us how to pray! They ask him. Jesus responds to their request with “When you pray, say:” Jesus doesn’t teach them how to pray. Proper 12C | Luke 11:1-13 If we remember back in chapters 9 and 10, Jesus is…
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Jesus, Mary, and Martha
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5 min read
This story sticks with me. It always has. There’s something about it which tickles and fascinates. What is Jesus getting at with Mary? What is she doing which causes her to be doing the “right” thing? What is Martha getting wrong? Proper 11C | Luke 10:38-42 Several years ago, a friend who was an engineer…