Sermons
Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.
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Possessing the Kingdom
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7 min read
He’s not mincing words. The Kingdom belongs to them. Not the disciples. Not the Pharisees. Not the Romans. The children. We need to hear these words. How our focus on law and politics misses the real revelation Proper 22B | Mark 10:2-16 The Long Walk is Almost Over The walk from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem is…
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Embody faith
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7 min read
We must read this in the context of Jesus teaching about the children. About the poor, the disadvantaged, the disempowered, those stripped of full humanity and equality in the world. The physical, living faith of following Jesus Proper 21B | Mark 9:38-50 Following Jesus The big theme of the last two weeks continues: identity. Jesus’s…
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Learning Love
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9 min read
It seems that they don’t want the world that Jesus is offering: the upside down economy of GOD’s divine fellowship of faith. They want to rule. Following Jesus into a different understanding of love Proper 20B | Mark 9:30-37 Returning to the Passion We remember from last week that Jesus and the disciples had gone…
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Getting behind Jesus
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9 min read
This is the first movement in the turning point, the turning away from the early life of Jesus and toward his destiny. The turning away from safety and toward the danger of the cross. The turning away from home and toward Jerusalem. Jesus turns toward Jerusalem before his followers are ready Proper 19B | Mark…
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More than dogs
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11 min read
Given our country’s spotty record on race relations, on exploitation of others, it is far too easy for us to ignore our place in the mess. a call to reconciliation Proper 18B | Mark 7:24-37 Feeding the dog We don’t know the original question the woman asks Jesus. Only its subject and that she begs.…
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Breaking the rules with Jesus
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8 min read
We are so much like the Pharisees. We really are. We focus on the rules, not their purpose or how they encourage us to build strong relationships with GOD, one another, and the wider community. That is their purpose: those relationships. The rules are supposed to lead us to GOD. But we rather stay where we’re at…