The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Our Persistent, Negotiating Prayer Life Today’s readings incorporate several themes: negotiation, commands, persistence, and expectation. And surrounding all these themes is a bigger theme: boldness. Abraham is bold in speaking with God, so bold in fact that he not…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. What Does This Mean? “What does this mean?” the devout ask (Acts 2:12). For those gathered in that house, the event meant the birth of sudden, surprising, unmerited new life. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they burst from the house…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Purpose and Perseverance This week’s gospel text from Luke presents another temptation for Jesus. The Pharisees approach Jesus with a warning about his safety, telling him to “get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31).…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Seventh Sunday after Epiphany The promise and its fulfillment may not look at all alike, even though they are intimately connected. Paul speaks about seeds and plants as he tries to picture resurrection life. Joseph’s brothers never thought they…
The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Who Would Jesus Bless Today? Many Bibles include a heading before the latter part of today’s gospel reading (Mark 10:13-16) that says something like “Blessing the Children” or “Jesus Welcomes the Children.” In reading such a heading, we might begin…
Baptismal Water Is Thicker than Blood Many, perhaps most, subcultures in North America affirm the belief that “blood is thicker than water.” Even when our commitment to family is too often served through hand-wringing sentiment over the so-called decline of the family or pandered to by politicians seeking to prove their “family values” credentials, we…
Promises, Promises The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. The story of God’s relationship with God’s people is a story of promises fulfilled. We hear about God’s covenant with Sarah and Abraham in today’s Genesis reading and about its fulfillment in the New Testament texts. As…
The Power of Water The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Water is an integral part of the created order. Water sustains and fosters life; too little or too much water can end it. A glance at the news headlines points out the destructive power of…
Baptism of our Lord The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Breath of God Breath figures frequently in Scripture. God’s breath or Spirit hovers over the chaos in creation in Genesis. Breath or Spirit enters the nostrils of the created in the story. Breath and Spirit…
New Perspective The sermon will be a post on our Facebook page. Please click on link to view sermon. Being a disciple requires an expansive perspective on forgiveness. Today our perspective is broadened by the good news that God’s forgiveness is not based on our idea of fairness, but rather on abundant, unimaginable grace. God “does…