Tag: Fear
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“Get Up And Do Not Be Afraid” – A Sermon On Matthew 17:1-9
Today’s gospel (Matthew 17:1-9), the transfiguration of Jesus, is often thought of, described, or spoken of, as a mountaintop experience. And I think it is a mountaintop experience, but I’m beginning to think it’s not the mountaintop experience we often understand it to be. For most of us, the mountaintop experience is a big deal.… Read more
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If That’s What Faith Is Like … – A Sermon On Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
“By faith Abraham … set out [for a place], not knowing where he was going.” How’s your faith these days? I ask that question because there are events, times, and seasons in each of our lives when everything we thought we knew or believed is called into question. The narrative of our life has been… Read more
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What Will You Do With Your Fear In 2022? – A Sermon On Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
So we’re two days into the new year, what are you thinking about 2022 this morning? Will 2022 be different from and better than 2021? I don’t know but I suspect that’s a question many of us are asking and wondering about, and with good reason. 2021 began with an attack on our nation’s capitol… Read more
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Facing Our Ghosts – A Sermon On Matthew 14:22-33
The miracle, the good news, the hope for every one of us, is that sometimes Jesus comes to us disguised as a ghost. The ghost the disciples see and the Jesus they can’t see are two sides of the same thing, a holy ghost, a life giving ghost. The ghost that frightened them also carried… Read more
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Easter Unlocked And Opened – A Sermon On John 20:19-31
The Second Sunday of Easter – John 20:19-31 Every year I come to this day – the Second Sunday of Easter – and I wonder what difference last Sunday – Easter Sunday – has made. Are our lives and world different because of Easter and, if so, how and in what ways? Look around. What… Read more
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Longing And Fear – An Epiphany Sermon On Matthew 2:1-12
The Epiphany – Matthew 2:1-12 I recently overhead a man say, “I don’t want to work until I’m too old to live.” He didn’t elaborate or explain what he meant but his words have stayed with me. I think it’s one of those statements that says more than the words he spoke. My guess is… Read more
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I Look At Charlottesville And I Am Afraid – A Sermon on Matthew 14:22-33
The boat of our life is far from land right now. The night is dark, the waves are high, and the wind is strong. There is every reason to be afraid but I don’t want to live in fear and I don’t want you to either. I want us to see the light that shines… Read more
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No Fear – A Sermon on Matthew 14:22-33
“And they cried out in fear” (Matthew 14:22-32, Proper 14A). When I was a kid the door to the stairway going upstairs at my grandmother’s house was always kept closed. It was never left open and rarely did anyone go up there. I never asked my grandmother about that. I didn’t need to. I had… Read more
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Run For Your Life, You Will See Him – An Easter Sermon on Matthew 28:1-10
The collect and readings for Easter may be found here. The appointed gospel is Matthew 28:1-10. After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven,… Read more
Interrupting the Silence 