Sermons & Worship by Rev. Laurie DeMott (Page 6)

Acts 16:16-40 Do you remember way back in the spring, as the disasters of 2020 were piling up, how we tried to find humor in the unbelievable catalogue of tragedies? “Wildfires, hurricanes, pestilence; what’s next?” we asked smiling, “locusts?” and then to our chagrin, gigantic swarms of locusts did descend on fields in Africa, about the same time that killer hornets were invading the west coast.  By the end of May, however, we had lost the will to laugh because our troubles…

The Book of Ruth Introduction to scripture On All Saints’ Day, we remember loved ones who have died, honoring them by speaking their names aloud and lighting candles as a way of expressing how much they continue to live in our hearts even though they are physically gone from us.  Though the ceremony occurs only once a year, the memory of loved ones gone is a constant in our lives; we wish they could be here to share our experiences…

Esther 1 I am preaching a series on what the Bible has to say to us in our times of suffering, and today I want to look at the Biblical word for those who are suffering under social, political, or personal oppression.  For that, I turn to the Book of Esther. The Book of Esther takes place in Persia during the 5th or 6th century BCE.  This was a time after the fall of the Jewish nation and the exile,…

Exodus 14:8-16 The ancient Romans would have said that the Israelites were caught with a precipice in front and wolves behind.  The French would say that they were between the sledgehammer and the anvil.  Here in America, we’d probably say that they were between a rock and a hard place, or your grandmother might have observed with more metaphorical accuracy, that the Israelites were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.  Human beings throughout history and across cultures have…

The book of Job All scripture references are from The Message version Since last January when wildfires swept across Australia, the year 2020 has become synonymous with disaster and suffering.  One internet meme shows children with pained expressions on their faces and the caption reads, “Kids when they discover there’s a different history unit for every week of 2020.”  How do we cope with the relentless bad news?  How do we make sense of the suffering that we have experienced…

Matthew 6:33-34 My dog Dexter is asleep under my pulpit and when he came in the church this morning, unlike the rest of us, he didn’t have to put on a mask or worry about social distancing.  He greeted people in the sanctuary without fear that he might catch a life-threatening disease.  Nor was he unsettled by the news that our President has coronavirus, or that there are still fires burning in California.  He has never heard of the Democrats…

II Corinthians 8:1-9      While traveling all over the ancient world starting churches, preaching the gospel, getting driven out of town or thrown in local jails, and maintaining a lively correspondence with numerous people, Paul spent his spare time gathering a collection for the churches of Judea.  The people of Judea –  the region around Jerusalem — had at some point in the recent past experienced a devastating famine leaving the people impoverished and so Paul decided that he would…

II Corinthians 5:6-7, 16-17 Last week, Stu Smith asked me why during the summer I had called my sermon time a “reflection” instead of a sermon.   “What’s the difference?” he wanted to know. I told him, “Reflections are short and sermons are long,” but honestly, the difference between the two is more than just the length.  I think of a sermon as, and forgive the lingo, a crafted homiletical exhortation that follows a particular narrative construction.  In other words,…

II Corinthians 4:7-18 My favorite season of the year ended just over three weeks ago, on August 20th.  That’s the day the last of the baby bluebirds fledged.  Every April, I listen in anticipation for the whisper of the bluebirds arriving on my property, I spend May worrying about the weather and its affect on the bluebirds’ nesting prospect, and in good years, I spend June and July watching the bluebirds raise a brood of babies in the nesting box…

II Corinthians 2:1-10 After the Sept 11th attack, a journalist was interviewing a couple who lost a son in the World Trade Center bombing and the journalist said, “I know you are Christians.  Will you be attending church this week to seek consolation to help you cope with this tragedy?”   The couple said, “No, we won’t be going.  You see, our faith preaches forgiveness and we aren’t ready yet to forgive.  Maybe someday but not yet.” Their answer was…