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What is a Sacrament?
[This is the first of three posts about the sacraments. Check out the second and third.] What do we mean when we call something a Sacrament? According to the Book of Common Prayer (pp. 857-8): The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by…
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Jesus’s Prayer for Unity
a Sermon for Easter 7C Text: John 17:20-26 Listen to the Audio here: Jesus’s Prayer for Unity A hopeless prayer If you are ever self-conscious about praying in public, don’t be. Just remember how the writers of the gospel we call John portray Jesus: The glory that you have given me I have given them,…
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The missing class
Among the greatest tragedies of this decade is this: our unwillingness to differentiate those who make $39k from those who make $390k.
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Jesus Verbs
a homily for Ascension Day Text: Luke 24:44-53 The Ascension is pretty much the hardest part of the Jesus Event for the post-Enlightenment world to get. It seems as if we can suspend our disbelief only so far. And the Ascension is just too much. And yet, we might be asking the wrong question. Listen…
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there is no freedom to convert
Check out Christian Piatt’s post: If Cheerleaders Don’t Convert You, Chuck Norris Will. Piatt’s argument of a Texas school being allowed to evangelize strikes the exact right note. It is hard to claim freedom from oppression when one’s own expression is oppressive.
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Why I’m preaching Easter 7 (and nothing else)
This week there are no doubt many preachers trying to figure out how to deal with Sunday. It is the Seventh Sunday of Easter. It also happens to be two other things: the Sunday after the Ascension and Mother’s Day. To the church, it is Easter 7. This isn’t to say that people in church…
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The Right of Way
Dropping my daughter off at preschool this morning, I almost got hit by a car. I exaggerated. I did not almost. I could have. Here’s how. My daughter’s preschool is part of a big Lutheran church. They have a good-sized parking lot. We are pretty early and there are relatively few cars. As I walk…
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A Parting Gift
a Sermon for Easter 6C Text: John 14:23-29 Jesus the Rambler In the gospel we call John, Jesus is a rambler. Again this week we are in the farewell discourse that runs through chapters 13-16. It is Thursday of Holy Week and Jesus is giving the final teachings. And He seems to have slipped into…
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