Tag: Featured
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Opening Gates – A Funeral Sermon For A Nonbeliever
What God creates, God loves; and what God loves, God loves everlastingly. I hope that you will hold on to those words. They are the thread that runs through everything we will do here today. They are the thread that runs through everything I will say to you. They are the thread that ran through… Read more
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Unbinding Abundance – An All Saints’ Sermon On John 11:32-44
All Saints Sunday – John 11:32-44 “Where have you laid him?” Jesus asked them. “Lord, come and see.” The thing that strikes me most about Mary and Martha in today’s gospel (John 11:32-44) is their loneliness. They’re lonely. They’re lonely for their brother. They’re lonely for Jesus. They’re lonely for the life they used to… Read more
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A Prayer For Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Each year October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM). On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by… Read more
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A Vote That Matters – A Sermon On Mark 10:35-45
We are sixteen days from the midterm elections and one day from the start of early voting. Ads are running, rhetoric is raging, and lines are being drawn. And here’s what I wonder. What if Jesus’ name was on the ballot? Would you and I vote for him? We tend to back the one who… Read more
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A New Day, A New Life – A Sermon On Mark 10:17-31
Proper 23B – Mark 10:17-31 “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” I wonder what drove the man to Jesus. I wonder what was going on in his life that caused him to run to Jesus, kneel down, and ask his question. What’s the desperation behind his question? What’s his desire? We… Read more
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What Have We Confirmed? – A Sermon On Mark 10:2-16
Proper 22B – Mark 10:2-16 The confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh has been completed. But here’s what I wonder. What have we confirmed? I am not speaking of Judge Kavanaugh’s qualifications or character. This is about more than particular individuals. We have confirmed more than a new Supreme Court justice. We have confirmed our divorce from… Read more
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Irreparable Loss
Some losses are irreparable. The time is ruined. The suffering cannot be redeemed. There is no gain from this pain, no view long enough to eventually say, “It was worth it,” nothing that can compensate for what has been taken. And that’s okay. I do not want a salary for my suffering, I want salvation… Read more
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First, Do No Harm – A Sermon On Mark 9:38-50
Jesus is once again asking us to look at ourselves, to be self-reflective. It’s as if he saying to John, “Don’t you worry about that other guy. You worry about yourself.” He’s asking us to look within. The greatest stumbling blocks are not outside us but within us: anger and revenge, the judgments we make… Read more
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I Want To Be Great, Don’t You? – A Sermon On Mark 9:30-37
For most of us, I suspect, Monday greatness is about being number one, a winner, a success. It’s about power, control, wealth, fame, reputation, status, and position. Have you ever seen the losing super bowl team dancing around with two fingers in the air shouting, “We’re number two, we’re number two?” Probably not and you… Read more
Interrupting the Silence 