Sermons & Worship by Rev. Laurie DeMott (Page 23)

Genesis 9:12-17; Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 I saw a cartoon recently in which a man stands at the Pearly Gates greeted by Saint Peter and by a small very excited dog. St. Peter says to the man, “So you’re little Stevie! [Your dog] has been going on and on about you for the last 60 years.” Those of us who are dog lovers like to imagine ourselves in that scene, greeted at the gates of heaven not only by our loved ones…

Matthew 22:15-22 In the gospels, the Pharisees are usually the bad guys. Every hero needs an arch enemy to battle and so the gospel writers give Jesus the Pharisees. It is important to remember that in real life not all the Pharisees were as bad as the gospels sometimes portray them. Many of them were decent people trying to live as the prophet Micah instructed, “doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God,” and so when we read about…

Psalm 119:33-48, Romans 15:4 Picture yourself for a moment walking along a rocky shore with a child about six years old.  Maybe you spent a day this summer in such a fashion exploring tide pools with your child, or grandchild, or niece or nephew, so imagine a day like that one — a warm relaxing day with a young child investigating the world of nature.  There you are, surf crashing in your ears, examining starfish and peering at barnacles encrusted…

Luke 11:3-4 As I write this, I am breathing in the delightful scent of bread baking in the oven, a smell that returns me to my childhood.  Every Saturday morning my mother would bake enough bread to feed our family of seven throughout the coming week.  She would mix up a huge bucket of dough, let it rise, kneed it and pound it on the kitchen table, shape it into half a dozen loaves, and finally bake them filling the…

Luke 11:1-2 Two friends were having coffee and the discussion turned to the subject of religion.  After listening to his companion extol his knowledge of all things spiritual, the first man challenged the second, saying, “If you are so religious, let’s hear you quote the Lord’s Prayer. In fact, I bet you $10.00 you can’t say the Lord’s Prayer.” The second responded, “Sure I can: Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.…

Psalm 42:1-8 There is a story told of a small town that had traditionally been a dry town until one year a local businessman decided to build a tavern.  As you can imagine, this caused quite a bit of controversy but eventually, the businessman garnered enough support that he was able to get zoning clearance and he began building the new bar.  In protest, one of the local churches held an all-night prayer vigil and dozens of church members called…

Psalm 37:1-9 “Poor, foster kid, Black, immigrant, cancer patient, small, Muslim….”This is the opening of a commercial that has been running during the Olympics which ends with Serena Williams staring into the camera and defiantly stating, “The only label that matters is Olympian,” followed by the tagline, “Mini [Cooper] salutes US Olympians who defy labels.” In commentary, advertising, and newspaper coverage, the US Olympic team is being celebrated as representative of the diversity of the United States and as an…

Romans 16:1-16 Paul was in the city of Corinth, thinking, as always, of the things he wanted to do and the places he wanted to go next. He needed to go back to Jerusalem to deliver an offering he had been collecting for some of the poorer churches but after that he dreamed of going to Spain, of taking the gospel to the farthest reaches of his world, and on his way, he thought he would try to visit the…

Romans 12:1-2 A woman conducting a stress management seminar began her opening session by holding up a glass of water and asking people to guess how heavy it was. People called out answers ranging from 8 ounces to 20 ounces. The woman told her audience, “What you have all guessed is the glass’s weight but I asked you how heavy the glass is. The absolute weight doesn’t really matter — what really matters is how long I hold it.  If I…

Romans 7:14-8:4 You know what the problem with sin is?  It’s fun.  I mean, if sin weren’t at least a bit enjoyable, no one would have to warn us against it.  No one ever had to tell their child, “Now be careful that you don’t eat too many Brussel sprouts or you’ll spoil your dessert,” because whoever heard of anyone wanting to make themselves sick on Brussel sprouts?  Brussel sprouts are good for you and they taste like they are…