Following Jesus
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On Perfect Christians
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7 min read
a Sermon for Epiphany 7A Text: Matthew 5:38-48 Rebelling against Jesus You’ve probably seen this phrase on a book cover or on a church sign. It reads: “no perfect people allowed.” Kind of catchy, isn’t it? We don’t want perfect. We don’t really want to be perfect, do we? The phrase also has a sly…
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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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To Choose
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6 min read
a homily for Proper 18C Text: Luke 14:25-33 Listen and read along! The Choice This might shock you, but when pastors get together, we talk about you. Not you in the particular. We talk about congregations and what we hear each Sunday as we shake hands. This is often the only time we get feedback…
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When We Pray
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7 min read
a homily for Proper 12C Text: Luke 11:1-13 The Lord Praying They have left the house of Mary and Martha and it says Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Jesus was praying,…
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Overcoming Death
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1 min read
We all love Easter. Particularly after a tough Lent. This year’s felt heavy. Each year, I struggle with the scope of the great story arc that we deal with in Holy Week–with the rise and fall of Jesus of Nazareth. Then the fall and rise of the Christ. I have always taken this as the…
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When Pilate Finds Jesus
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6 min read
a Sermon for Proper 29B Text: John 18:33-38a Here Jesus stands. It is Friday morning. This is what condemning the Temple and the order of things gets you. Face to face with Rome’s appointed commander for the region: Pontius Pilate. Jesus is quizzed like a commoner. Those that attend our Good Friday worship get the…