Tag: Lent

Featured, Lent, Lent 2b, Mark 8:31-38, Rebuke, Repentance, Hope, Resurrection
Sermon

The Conflicting Snapshots Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Mark 8:31-38

We’ve known times in our lives when we felt unprepared for what we were facing. We looked down the road at what was coming and we didn’t like what we saw. We wanted to cry out, “No. This isn’t happening. This cannot be. This must not be.” Haven’t there been times when you felt scared, unprepared for, or overwhelmed by life? Haven’t there been times when you just didn’t want to face what life was bringing you? Haven’t there been times when you just didn’t know whether your faith was up to the demands of life? Love my enemy? Forgive not once, not seven times, but seventy times seven? Turn the other cheek when the first one is still red and stinging? Continue reading The Conflicting Snapshots Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Mark 8:31-38

Michael K. Marsh4 Comments
Sermon, Lent, Lent 1B, Wilderness, Repentance, Florida Shooting, Mark 1:9-15, Heschel
Sermon

The Wilderness Of Gun Violence – A Sermon On Mark 1:9-15

The First Sunday in Lent – Mark 1:9-15 I don’t know how I can stand before you today with any sense of integrity and faithfulness and not say something about the Florida shooting. Something has to be said. I’m just not sure what to say or what can be said. I’m struggling with that. And I have been since my Ash Wednesday sermon. We’ve been … Continue reading The Wilderness Of Gun Violence – A Sermon On Mark 1:9-15

Michael K. Marsh12 Comments
Lent 1A, John Calvin, Self-Knowledge, Self-Denial, Temptation, Matthew 4:1-11, Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7, Sermon
Lent, Sermon

Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11

Lent 1A: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11 Over the last several years I’ve begun to see and understand Lent and temptations, the struggles in my life, in a different way. It used to be that I thought about those things in terms of self-denial: just say no, don’t do this, don’t do that; and everything will be fine. But then life got complicated. It … Continue reading Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11

Michael K. Marsh7 Comments
Lent, Lent 1C, Temptation, Temptation of Jesus, Matthew 6:1-6 16-21, Sermon, Jesus in the Wilderness, James Tissot
Lent, Sermon

Rethinking Temptation: It’s More Than Just Saying No – A Sermon on Luke 4:1-13

Luke 4:1-13 Jesus overcame the temptations in the wilderness. He made it possible for us to overcome our temptations. Be like Jesus and just say no. Does that sound familiar? I wonder if that’s how we often hear today’s gospel (Luke 4:1-13). I’m guessing most of us know the just say no story or some variation of it. Maybe it’s what you were taught or … Continue reading Rethinking Temptation: It’s More Than Just Saying No – A Sermon on Luke 4:1-13

Michael K. Marsh4 Comments
Lent, Ash Wednesday, Shrove Tuesday, Mortality, immortality, Matthew 6:1-6 16-21, Sermon
Lent, Sermon

Yesterday’s Palms, Today’s Ashes – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Several years ago someone said to me, “One day I finally realized people were not spending nearly the amount of time thinking about me as I was spending thinking about them thinking about me, and wondering what they saw when they looked at me, what they said about me, and what they thought about me.” The man who told me this story … Continue reading Yesterday’s Palms, Today’s Ashes – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Michael K. Marsh1 Comment