Sermons

Jesus said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”     St. Anthony of Thebes, brought up in a wealthy Christian family, but orphaned at age 18, heard these...

    Sometimes I think the most amazing thing about Jesus is the patience he has with his disciples. Today’s Gospel reading is a good example. Jesus is trying to tell the disciples something important.     He knows that his time on earth...

    It seems to start out as just a casual, idle conversation. Jesus and his disciples are walking to the village of Caesarea Philippi, in the northernmost part of Israel.     His actions have been gaining notice lately – the healing of a...

    "Be kind to one another."     It's such a simple instruction Paul gives to the Christian community in Ephesus. Be kind to each other. They are words that we might be tempted to skip over. We've all heard them all our lives. Be kind,...

    "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming."     These words were written by the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus almost 2,000...

    Do you believe in miracles?     It's a fair question to ask people of faith. Our scripture is full of miracles, defined as "an extraordinary and astonishing happening that is attributed to the presence and action of an ultimate or...

    "Jesus saw a great crowd and he had compassion for them."     Compassion. It's at the core of who Jesus is. Time and time again in the gospels we hear of Jesus' compassion -- for the crowds who have gathered to see and hear him, for...

    You know it is going to be an interesting week of sermon preparation when you open a commentary on the Gospel lesson and read this, “The story of the beheading of John the Baptist is hardly a text one would spontaneously choose for a sermon.”     No...

    Happy Fourth of July! On this day that we celebrate the founding of this great nation that we all love, it seems appropriate to begin the day in church with prayers for our country.     By any standards the past year has been a difficult one for...

    It is one of the most familiar stories in the Bible, the battle between David and Goliath. This tale of the young boy who, using only a sling shot, defeats a mighty giant of a warrior, has become the iconic tale of the triumphant underdog....

    When I was growing up, in the days before cell phone cameras were ubiquitous,  there was a popular TV show called “Candid Camera.” Those of you who are old enough may  remember that the program’s premise was that the show’s crew would set...

    There is probably not another story in the entire Bible that has been more misinterpreted, misread, and misused than the Genesis story of Adam, Eve, and the serpent that we heard this morning.     One frequent misinterpretation of...

    The pattern is the same every year.     We celebrate Easter and God’s victory over death in the resurrection of Jesus, the son of God. Then 50 days later we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples at Pentecost....

    Today is Pentecost, one of the most festive days of the church year. It's the day that at long last the disciples receive the promised Holy Spirit.     The Pentecost account in the Book of Acts is one of the most vivid stories in scripture. Tongues...