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The Storm
The enemy isn’t out there. And I don’t think the enemy is in here. {points to chest} The enemy is the darkness. The evil that overcomes humanity and subsumes our will. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness,…
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Encountering the Love of GOD
in the lifting up and in the groundwork Trinity B | John 3:1-17 Focus There’s a joke clergy like to make this week every year. We send each other videos and post memes on Facebook about the challenge of preaching on Trinity Sunday. It is known by many as the one day each year in…
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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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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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What I Might Have Preached
Since I was on vacation, I didn’t preach this morning. The gospel reading was John 20:19-31, known to many as the Doubting Thomas passage. There are a ton of ways to preach this one, particularly if you aren’t wedded to the idea that Thomas is an unbelieving jackass. Here are a few thoughts that struck…
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Drink Up!
a Sermon for Epiphany 2C Text: John 2:1-11 first things first Jesus has been baptized by John in the Jordan. GOD has spoken. The Spirit has descended like a dove. Last week, we got the kickoff to Jesus’s ministry in the world with a big show. All three parts of the Trinity showing up in…
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When Pilate Finds Jesus
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…
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Faith Before Understanding
a Homily for Proper 16B Text: John 6:56-69 What is this? Jesus has brought the people here through a swirling storm of teachings about faith, understanding, and love. As they arrive to the safety of the synagogue, he takes all of that teaching and he mixes in their likely confusion about literal and metaphorical…