Tag: Lent
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No Temptation, No Salvation – A Sermon On Mark 1:9-15
Over the last several years I’ve found myself, more often than not, rethinking and working to unlearn much of what I’ve been told and come to believe and understand about God and what it means to be in relationship with the Divine. I’ve encouraged you to do the same. It’s part of my teaching and… Read more
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No Dust, No Life – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
One of the things I know about myself is that I am not a singer. You know it too. Some of you have told me I’m not. But did you know that I can play the trumpet and I’m pretty good at it? Here’s what I mean by that. I remember a session in which… Read more
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The Lenten Treasure Hunt
For many in the Church Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday. It’s forty days long, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. It’s a time to prepare for the new life that will be revealed on Easter Sunday. Lent is usually characterized by fasting, self-denial, and repentance. Even if Lent is not a… Read more
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Let’s Not Waste A Good Temptation – A Sermon On Matthew 4:1-11
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” That’s the first line in today’s gospel (Matthew 4:1-11) and my first thought is, Well, that’s not fair. The Spirit and the devil in cahoots? What are we supposed to do with that? Maybe it’s an opportunity to… Read more
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Pulling Back The Husks On My Life – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Most weeks as I am preparing my sermon at some point I call a retired priest who, for almost thirty years, has been my spiritual director, mentor, and one of my two best friends. We talk about our lives, the scriptures, my sermon ideas, and how what I am reading and studying are connecting with… Read more
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Unless … – A Sermon On John 12:20-33
I don’t know if “unlesses” is a real word but I am using it as a noun and the plural of unless. We all have our “unlesses.” They’re about how and what we see. They are the restrictions, limitations, and conditions that shape and inform our relationships and understanding of each other, Jesus, and ourselves.… Read more
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Lifting Up Our Contradictions – A Sermon On John 3:14-21
Some of the funniest and most terrifying aspects of my life are my self-contradictions – the contradictions with which I live, the contradictions that live within me. My wife would probably say they are more aggravating and frustrating than funny. Most days my life is a living contradiction between what I say and what I… Read more
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Cleaning Out And Enlarging Life – A Sermon On John 2:13-22
I think business as usual is the issue. The animals and money changers are not the problem. They are the symptom that something else is going on. I think Jesus went to the temple that day for one purpose and with one intention; to throw out and overturn business as usual. There are times when… Read more
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The Most Important Day Of Your Life – A Sermon On Mark 1:9-15
In some ways the past year has felt like a long never ending season of Lent. It has been a time of fasting, self-denial, and giving up; a time when people and things have been lost or taken from us; a time that is continually pointing to our mortality and the fragility of life. What… Read more
Interrupting the Silence 