Tag: Death
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Enlarging Life In Uvalde – A Sermon On Luke 8:26-39
It’s not too difficult to make some connections between the man in today’s gospel (Luke 8:26-29) and ourselves and what has happened in Uvalde. Though his circumstances may be different from ours, we’re not that different from him. The man used to live in a house in the city, now he lives outside the city… Read more
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Uvalde Weeps – A Sermon On Jeremiah 31:15-17
Have you seen the front page of today’s newspaper? It’s the first issue since the shooting. When I saw the front page this morning I said to myself, “That’s what I feel like.” Look at it. There’s a date, May 24, 2022, and empty darkness. Nothing else. There are no consoling words, no explanations, no… Read more
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Nobody Wants To Come To Holy Saturday – A Sermon On Matthew 27:57-66
Nobody wants to come to Holy Saturday. Look around. Very few show up on this day, and most probably do not even know there is a liturgy for this day. I don’t blame them, I understand. Not much happens today. The liturgy is short, maybe twenty minutes. The church is empty and bare. There are… Read more
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On Days Like This – A Sermon On John 18:1-19:42 For Good Friday
I used to try to understand, explain, or make sense of this day, Good Friday. I don’t anymore. I’ve given that up. What do you say on days like this? What can be said? Besides, most of the explanations that I’ve heard or come up with myself don’t really satisfy. They are mostly ways of… Read more
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God Wastes Nothing Of Our Lives – A Funeral Sermon On Romans 8:14-19, 34-35, 37-39
Where to begin? What to say? He was a good man, a crazy friend, a character, an operator, an entrepreneur. He was a story teller, funny, gregarious, outgoing, and mischievous. He was a rancher, a pilot, an excellent shot, a great golfer, an Aggie. “He was fun to be with and we had some good… Read more
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Waiting – A Sermon On Matthew 27:57-66
Here’s my question. What are you waiting for? And what is your hope on this day? The thing that makes Holy Saturday so difficult, that makes this gospel text so unsatisfying, that leaves my sermon lacking is that there is no resolution. There is only waiting. You’ve had days like that, so have I. And… Read more
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What Troubles Your Soul? – A Sermon On John 12:20-36
Here’s my question: What troubles your soul today? What is the hour from which you want to be saved? Now before you answer, let me explain what I am asking about. I’m asking about more than just something that upset you or didn’t go your way. I am asking about more than an inconvenience, interruption,… Read more
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Not Sorrowing As Those Without Hope – A Holy Saturday Sermon On John 19:38-42
Holy Saturday is an in between day. It’s the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter. What was is no longer and what will be is not yet. If Good Friday is the day of the loss, Holy Saturday is that day when the reality of the loss begins to set in. And… Read more
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Life In The Shadow Of The Cross – A Good Friday Sermon
Good Friday – John 18:1-19:42 What about your death gives meaning to your life today? In what ways is death inviting you to live more fully, to connect more deeply with others, to love more freely and completely? My stomach is churning even as I ask you those questions. I don’t want to face my… Read more