Sermons & Worship (Page 32)

John 12:12-36 Originally preached April 4, 2004, revised April 5, 2020 I am preaching this in my living room because, as those who are listening in real time know, New York State is under “stay-at-home” orders during the coronavirus pandemic.  It is Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, and during Holy Week, the church traditionally reenacts Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the events leading to his crucifixion.  Holy Week embraces a roller coaster of emotions — from the…

Mark 12:28-34 So this is the third sermon I have worked on this week.  When I did my bulletin on Thursday — just three days ago — I was working on a sermon about Jesus’ statement to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s because I am preaching through Mark and that was what came next.  Friday morning, however, as the nation began shutting down at a serious pace, I decided I really needed a more topical sermon and so I…

Mark 10:17-27 To prepare for today’s sermon, I dug deep into the Bible.  Starting with Jesus’ command to the rich man here in the gospel of Mark to “… sell all that you have, and give the money to the poor,” I did a word search and read all of the verses in the Bible in which the word “money” appears, 204 verses to be exact. (1) I also read about the laws governing monetary practices for the Jewish people from…

Mark 9:14-29 In the popular comic strip, “Calvin and Hobbes,” six year old Calvin often worries that there might be monsters living under his bed so in one strip, Calvin and his pet tiger Hobbes decide that the best defense is offense.  That night before turning off the lights they throw scraps of food and other garbage under the bed hoping that it will appease the hunger of any monsters living there.  Bill Watterson, the cartoonist who drew Calvin and…

Mark 9:2-8 If you remember from last week, Jesus had sent the disciples out into the world to preach and heal, and when they came back from their mission, they were tired and in need of rest, but instead Jesus continued his preaching and even demanded that they use their small resources to feed a hungry crowd of 5000 people.  In the intervening chapters of Mark since the feeding of the 5000 and today’s reading, the disciples have tramped wearily…

Mark 6:34-44 It is late.  The disciples are tired. More than tired – they are bone weary from sitting on the hill listening to Jesus teach the same material they have heard 100 times.  Though the sun is sliding down the western sky, the heat remains stifling and they long for some quiet shade where they can fill their hungry stomachs, lay back, and think about nothing for a few hours.  The twelve have spent the last few days traveling…

Mark 5:24-34   Every Sunday, we begin our worship with prayer concerns.  We lift the names of those who are sick or struggling so that we can include them in our prayers of intercession, prayers we offer on others’ behalf.  It’s what we do; we are Christians and Christians pray for one another.  Not everyone, however, appreciates those prayers.  Some time ago, I read an on-line post by an atheist who had recently been hospitalized after a heart attack and I’m…

Mark 5:1-20 I like to watch murder mysteries, especially ones set in England where quaint English villages apparently contain a disproportionate number of psychopaths.  In some episodes, the body count can become quite high and the manner of death thought up by the script writers is often quite creative:  I have watched murderers kill their victims with medieval spears, chop off their heads with a guillotine, drown them in soup, fire cricket balls at their heads, and one woman died…