‘Friended’ by Jesus
I want to think about a friend, maybe even your best friend. (more…)
Tags: friendship, gospels, Jesus, John, Sermon
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Guest Speaker: Joanna Shenk
I’d have to say, I don’t find the lectionary texts particularly easy to preach on today. I find it interesting that in the Acts passage we only hear about part of the scene at the temple. We hear Peter calling out the Israelite crowd but aren’t told what happened. If you jump back a few verses you see that Peter and John had healed a crippled beggar in the name of Jesus. (more…)
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Witnesses in a neverending story
TEXTS: Psalm 133, Acts 4:32-35, 1 John 1:1-2:2, John 20:19-31
Witnesses of the Risen Jesus
Christ is Risen! Christ is risen indeed!
We claim and proclaim that great truth: God raised Jesus from the dead.
In the resurrection God began a new chapter of a neverending story
– a story beyond sin and violence and death.
God would not let crucifixion and death have the final word.
God raised a dead Jesus to new life as the fulcrum of history and foundation for life. We join the first witnesses in this neverending story. (more…)
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Holy Fools
TEXTS: Philippians 2:5-11, Mark 11:1-11, Mark 14-15
Hosanna! Crucify!
“Hosanna!” ————– “Crucify!”
No Sunday more sharply focuses our choice.
No word more clearly voices our cry than “Hosanna!” or “Crucify!”
The cry of “Hosanna!” and “Crucify!” is fought within all of us.
This Palm and Passion Sunday confronts us with both cries. (more…)
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What sign can you show us?
TEXTS: Exodus 20:1-17, Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, John 2:13-22
Psalms of Orientation – Disorientation — Reorientation
God’s instructions are perfect; they revive our souls.
God’ decrees are trustworthy; they make us wise.
God’s precepts are right; they bring us joy.
God’s commands are clear; they give us insight for living.
God has given us gifts more valuable than gold, and sweeter than honey…
We began worship with this litany of praise for God and our orientation with God. The Psalmist gave us these prayerful words of praise
so that we remember who we are and whose we are as God’s people. This 19th Psalm gives us words of deep orientation to God. (more…)
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God Remembers: to Name and to Bless
TEXTS: Genesis 17:1-16, Psalm 22:23-31, Romans 4:13-25, Mark 8:31-38
What are we to make of God’s covenant promise to make Abram “exceedingly numerous” and “the ancestor of a multitude of nations?” Is being “exceedingly numerous” God’s blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” as in creation? Some have heard that creation blessing to be God’s blessing to birth many children. Some have heard being “an ancestor to a multitude of nations” to be God’s blessing for empire.
God’s covenant is not a blessing to be dominant people or dominate nations. God has another more life-giving covenant promise and purpose. (more…)
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The Rainbow Connection, a sermon to begin Lent
In some ways it’s an odd way to begin Lent, with a rainbow. I think of Lent as sort of drab, colorless, a time of ashes and mourning, of barren wilderness. In our worship space we’ve chosen a monochromatic pallet as we prepared the scroll. And yet the lectionary calls out God’s rainbow promise on this first Sunday. A covenant with all creation and all generations. And the skies break open with promise too in the Gospel text and proclaim God’s love and a new beginning, God’s kingdom. This is how Lent begins. With joy. (more…)
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Questioning hearts and healing
TEXTS: Isaiah 43:18-25, Psalm 41 , 2 Corinthians 1:18-22, Mark 2:1-12
Jesus as Healer and Our Struggle with Healing
The prophet Isaiah proclaims “I am about to do a new thing…” (43:19).
In the gospel God’s “new thing” is taking place as God ‘s reign manifested in Jesus Christ. For several Sundays we have followed Jesus in baptism and beginning ministry.
Jesus is promptly engaged in calling disciples and confronting the powers.
Jesus is quickly immersed in teaching and preaching.
Jesus is also immediately healing the sick and exorcising demons.
People flock to Jesus for healing.
Jesus’ teaching and preaching we accept. Jesus’ confronting the powers we welcome. But Jesus’ healing is another matter. Yet we cannot ignore the healing touch of Jesus. (more…)
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A tale of two reversals
As always, a small disclaimer before you read this sermon. These words are meant to be spoken, so the rules of written grammar are not followed – yet I still trust it can be ‘heard’ again as written.
For the first seven years of my pastoral role in the church, I worked primarily with youth and young adults. A real privilege to be engaged and in dialogue with families and young people on their way through many changes. As I searched for a theme to pull together the passages we heard from Kings and Mark – my mind landed on the idea of ‘counting the costs of being a healing presence in the life of another’. (more…)
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