Sermons
The gifts of Acts – part four
This Sunday’s look at gifts is a look at one of the scarier gifts . . . outreach. There is something about “outreach” or evangelism or whatever you wish to call it that seems to frighten many church goers. If you ask some of these people to describe this thing they are afraid of you frequently find yourself frightened of it too. Outreach is not “shoving” God down anyone’s throat;…
The gifts of Acts – part three
So this Sunday we are looking again into the book of Acts. This time we are looking at the possibility of a changed life. In particular, we are looking at St. Peter and his experience with the vision that told him he could eat anything, even lobster! Which is a good story but what does it have to do with us. The short answer is a lot. There are many…
The gifts of Acts – part two
We are continuing our look at the book of Acts from the perspective of “gifts,” i.e. gifts to the church of today from the history of the earliest church. This Sunday we are looking at the gift of “the miraculous.” It might seem strange that any religion that purports to serve a transcendent, omniscient, omnipotent, etc. God would have to spend any time at all thinking and talking about miracles…
The gifts of Acts – part one
I have decided to preach what might be conventionally referred to as a sermon series; by which I mean a series of sermons thematically connected. My usual response to the question “Why don’t you preach a sermon series?” is that I do, the series is called, wait for it, the Lectionary! I preach this series with hundreds or thousands of other preachers every Sunday. So why depart from this? There…
Just another way we are all human
Doubt. There are so many things that all people have in common; doubt is simply one more. One of the things I point out in both sermons is that doubt is part of the normal human condition. Being completely convinced of everything at all times is not the sign of good mental health. We see one of Jesus’ followers expressing doubt in today’s gospel lesson, the famous or infamous Doubting…
A day of dissonance
This Sunday is what is now called Palm / Passion Sunday. When I was little it was simply Palm Sunday, as it still is in many churches, but the exponential increase in busy-ness, working hours, everything, means many people are simply unable to attend a Good Friday service. It is tempting to fulminate against a lax and disinterested generation but that is both futile and (generally) unfair. The good folks…
It’s a journey
“Are we there yet?” a question that can strike fear into the heart of the bravest driver. It doesn’t matter if you are driving your family, friends, co-workers, anyone; the question is one with no good answer other than “yes.” This Sunday I preached on what it means to realize that we are almost there (wherever “there” might be). Being almost there means that you don’t have to stake out…
Oh that lost son
The parable of the Prodigal Son. We all know it well. We know about the wastrel younger son and how that was how we were and the sanctimonious older son is how we might be now. Or do we. One of the most interesting things about this story is how strongly we identify as one or the other son; it depends on how we are feeling about ourselves at that…
Old. Better or worse?
“Old. Better or worse?” How’s that for a context free question? And yet, I am certain that at least some people have a strong opinion on whether old is better or worse, context not at all required. This Sunday’s sermons come primarily from the New Testament lesson, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13. In this passage Paul relates how the original Israelites had made bad choices that led to most of them not…
Sincere or not, imitate
This Sunday’s sermons spring from one of the verses in the Epistle lesson for today, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.” (Phil 3:17 NRSV) Furthermore, people who are in a relationship with God are called to imitate God; “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children” (Eph 5:1 NRSV) seems pretty clear. But are we “allowed”…