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The Spirit is Here!
a Sermon for Pentecost C Text: Acts 2:1-21 Listen to it here! A Holy Spectacle In Pentecost, we have the dawning of a new era. Jesus has departed and the Advocate, the Holy Spirit has arrived. It is now the apostles’ turn to deal with the ministry for which Jesus was preparing them. I’m not…
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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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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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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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Naked Love
a Sermon for Easter 3C Text: John 21:1-19 Why is Peter naked? The astute observer will notice that each of the gospels handles the resurrection of Jesus differently. Mark, the earliest gospel has no Jesus appearance; Matthew and Luke each have one appearance; while John has three. This morning we get the last one and…
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Our Quarantine
a Sermon for Lent 1C Text: Luke 4:1-13 Quarantine In the ancient Middle East, there was a traditional custom of a Sabbath Quarantine. One would go out into the desert for an extended time. Imagine. The sand swirling about you, sneaks into your clothes, your hair, your teeth. You would soon feel dirty and uncomfortable.…
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The Problem of Evil (Eating Scripture)
As a preacher, I love the lectionary for its seasons, but hate all of the jumping around! This week’s story comes in between the Baptism (1/13) and the visit to the synagogue (1/20 & 27). Now we jump back to the middle. But that might be able to help us understand what is going on.…
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GOD is here
a Sermon for Epiphany 4C Text: Luke 4:21-30 The teacher is kicked out of school Jesus approaches the front of the synagogue, is given one of the scrolls of Isaiah and Jesus reads out: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He…