Sermons & Worship (Page 46)

Matthew 5:13-16 Before I begin, I want to share with you a comment that Conner Stephens made to me many years ago. For those who didn’t know Conner, he was a cheerful, positive person and as he greeted me after the service, he always looked for something nice to say about that day’s worship. One day he came through the greeting line, grasped my hand, and said with vigor, “You know, lots of times I have no idea where you…

Mark 1:21–27 I was 12 years old when I had my first argument with a minister. No one else heard the argument, least of all the minister, because it all took place in my head during worship, during the time of prayer. Our pastor was leading the congregation in a prayer of confession which was an unusual occurrence in the first place. My family attended a fairly progressive church and at that time our church ministry staff was especially “hip.”…

Mark 1:14-20 What would it take for you to follow Jesus onto the field of battle? For us peace loving types, that’s an uncomfortable question to consider let alone answer because we don’t want to think about following Jesus as akin to a military operation, but the gospel of Mark sees it that way.  The gospel of Mark portrays Jesus as God’s anointed one battling the powers that keep God’s children oppressed, whether those powers be the social powers of…

Mark 1:9-11 Don’t kids grow up fast? Last week, it seemed like Jesus was just a baby and today, here he is, fully grown and stepping out of the water after his baptism. The gospels don’t spend a lot of time on Jesus’ childhood and of the four, Mark is the least sentimental: he doesn’t even have a birth story to tell. The gospel of Mark literally plunges right into Jesus’ ministry here at the River Jordan. Jesus is baptized…

Luke 2:25-38 I have listed today’s sermon in the bulletin as a meditation because it is really more of an extended parable than a sermon.  Specifically, it is a parable about this piece of paper and what it can teach us about our redemption, the redemption that Anna, daughter of Phanuel, saw coming to us in the baby Jesus. To those of you listening by podcast, I am holding up what looks like a blank sheet of paper.  It is…

Matthew 1:1-6; Ruth 1:16-17 Introduction to Scripture: The gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus in order to establish that Jesus will be born of the house of the great King David. Jesus will be the son of David, the King of Kings. In order to show this line of descent, the gospel lists 42 generations of fathers and sons. Now obviously if there were 42 fathers and sons, there must have been 42 mothers as well but…

Matthew 1:1-5; Joshua 2 Introduction to scripture: For those who were not here last week, let me begin once again by explaining the title of my Advent series, “Bring on the Grandmothers.” Before the gospel of Matthew tells us the story of Jesus’ birth, it first provides Jesus’ genealogy in order to establish that Jesus will be born of the house of David. Matthew lists 42 generations of fathers and sons beginning with the father of the Jewish faith, Abraham,…

Matthew 1:1-3; Genesis 38:1-26 Introduction to scripture: The gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus, starting 42 generations back with Abraham, the father of the Jewish faith, and traveling down from father to son to arrive at Joseph, because it is Joseph, and not Mary, who is descended from the house of David.  To be descended from the house of David gave a Jew living in first century Palestine street cred; kind of like someone today who can…

Proverbs 13:7; Matthew 6:19-26 We are living in complex times. Out of curiosity, I went back and looked at census forms over the years and in 1920, the US census form asked if you were male or female, had a tiny box to list your color, and asked for your place of birth and “mother tongue.” The 2010 census listed 17 check box options for race alone, and even allowed people to check more than one box. For the 2020…

Matthew 10:16 We have just come out of an exhausting and divisive campaign and the post election climate continues to be one of anger, blame, fear, and hurt. Although I believe firmly in the separation of church and state, I believe just as firmly that that doesn’t mean faith has nothing to say to the current situation. What is faith if not a means for us to come to terms with our humanity, to understand our role in society, to…