Sermons & Newsletter Articles

Five Times Each Day

Year B Joel 2:1-2,12-17 Psalm 103:8-14 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… Our cat Simon…  a Siamese Tabby mix…  turns sixteen in little more than three months…  we got him in 2008…  during my second year of seminary…  I thought he’d be the cat who would sit on...

The Imitation Game

Year B 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… When my daughter was about four-years-old…  she had one of those orange and yellow…  foot-propelled…  Little Tikes toy cars…  she loved it…  because she was able to pretend to drive…  she was able to pretend...

Use Words When Necessary

Year B Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-12, 21c 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… There’s a saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi… Preach the Gospel constantly… use words when necessary…  and the words in our passage from Isaiah resemble images…  some of which…  are like readings from the...

Ashen Love

There’ll be no reference to Valentine’s Day during our joint Ash Wednesday service this year, even though they both fall on the same day. They shared the calendar in 1923, 1934, 1945, and more recently in 2018; and will again in 2029. But that will be the last time they’ll “kiss” during this century. Valentine’s...

Authenticity and Authority

Year B Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… Our reading from Deuteronomy this morning…  references…  refers to Deuteronomy 5:22…  and those verses after God established…  and Moses shared…  the Ten Commandments…  it describes how the unfiltered experience of God’s voice…  and the purifying heat...