Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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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…
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The Encounter With the Lawyer
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3 min read
The most important part of the passage about the Good Samaritan in Luke may not be the parable itself. It is the two questions which provoke its telling. What must I do to inherit eternal life? And who is my neighbor?’ I usually enter the gospel by reading over the last chapter. I want to…
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Power From Below
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10 min read
Here a story of the powerful commander, the two kings who don’t have the right kind of power, and slaves, servants, and disciples who bear the very power of GOD. GOD’s Alternative Power SourceProper 9C | 2 Kings 5:1-14, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 We’re given a gift today. On this weekend, as our minds turn toward…