Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 67; 1 John 4:7-16; John 15:9-12 Sophie, Tyler, I am going to give you a word for your marriage and life together. It’s a Hebrew word. It’s used seventy-one times in the Book of Psalms. Selah. Do you know that word? Selah. It’s used twice in the psalm you chose for this evening (Psalm 67). Scholars aren’t sure of its exact meaning … Continue reading Selah: Instructions For A Marriage – A Wedding Sermon
Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7 and John 15:9-12 I am going to start by asking you some simple questions – yes or no kind of questions. I don’t mean to put pressure on you but if you get the answers wrong you’ll ruin my sermon and probably your wedding too. Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. Yes or no. Nano, do you love Sarah? Do you … Continue reading The Double Yes of Marriage – A Wedding Sermon On Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7
Today’s gospel (Luke 9:51-62) is a difficult one. It’s confrontational and it doesn’t leave much, if any, wiggle room. “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” We’re either looking toward the kingdom or we are not. We’re either responding to the call of life or we’re not. We’re either open to the coming future or we’re not. Continue reading But First…. – A Sermon On Luke 9:51-62
Those are not demands we make on each other. They are gifts we offer each other. And with a true gift there is no holding back. It’s all or nothing. If there is a measure of your marriage, it is love, and the only measure of love is love without measure (St. Augustine).
So you must always keep your ears and heart open to the urging and wooing of each other. It just might be the urging and wooing of God. Because if “God is love” (1 John 4:8) then the wooing of love is the wooing of God. Continue reading The Beautiful Risk – A Wedding Sermon
Jesus is God’s yes to us and the world. Regardless of who you are, where you are from, what you have done or left undone, or what is happening in your life today, you get a yes. There is no one who does not get a yes. Continue reading Yes – A Christmas Sermon on Luke 2:1-20
“Where, then, did these weeds come from?” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Parable of the Weeds, Proper 11A) Who has not at some point asked that question? You may not have used those same words and you may not have spoken it aloud but I’ll bet everyone has, at some time or another, asked the question. Maybe you’ve read or watched the news and wondered, “How did … Continue reading Weeding out Judgment – A Sermon on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
Love triangles. I want to talk with you today about love triangles. You know what I am talking about right? You’ve seen the pictures and headlines on the tabloids in the grocery store check out lines. Love triangles are often the subject of movie plots and sometimes they are the circumstances in which a crime is committed. They are also a part of our lives. … Continue reading Love Triangles – A Sermon on Matthew 10:24-39
Consequently, prayer is a matter of love. Man expresses love through prayer, and if we pray, it is an indication that we love God. If we do not pray this indicates we do not love God, for the measure of our prayer is the measure of our love for God. – Archimandrite Zacharias, The Hidden Man of the Heart, 68 Continue reading “Prayer is a Matter of Love”
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth,” St. John says. “I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” I heard “the one who was seated on the throne [say], ‘See, I am making all things new.’” In the last two weeks I have seen and heard something very different. A bombing in Boston. An explosion in … Continue reading Loving Our Way to a New Heaven and a New Earth
Over the last week the many statements, opinions, and responses to the bombing in Boston have been broad, varied, and filled with emotion. They expressed, appropriately so, shared pain, sorrow, grief, and anger. They offered gratitude, pride, and support for the courage, compassion, and love shown by the many heroes who responded and cared for the dead, the injured, and those still in danger. Others, … Continue reading Love Could Not Bear That
