Sermons on Jesus

Sermons on Jesus

Mary & Martha & You

Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 Our gospel passage for today is one of those times where I can see the merits of both sides. So often people read this passage and try to pit Mary and Martha against each other. Martha represents work and Mary represents contemplation; Mary was better than Martha; Jesus approves of Mary but not Martha. But it’s not as simple as that.…

Wisdom

I have in my notes here to come up with a clever introduction. I did not do that, so we’re just going to jump right in. I’d like to start with Proverbs 8. Here we have a poem about wisdom, personified as a woman. Wisdom goes all around and to all sorts of places, inviting people to live a wise life. Then Wisdom speaks, painting a picture of her life with God:…

Heroes and Villains

Scripture: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7, Psalm 32, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 4:1-11 I think you all probably know by now that I love a good fantasy novel. I love a good Star Wars–well, anything, really. I love a good superhero movie. I love a good sci-fi series. I love all of it! And one of the things that I love about all of these types of stories is the fight: the struggle of…

Transformers

Scripture Readings: Exodus 24:12-18, Psalm 2, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9 Does anyone else remember the Transformers TV show? Or perhaps the apparently never-ending series of action movies by the same name? They are about alien robots who come to earth and befriend humans while defending humanity from the evil Decepticons. They often hide in plain sight by being able…

In Between

Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15, Psalm 111, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, Luke 17:11-19 There is a concept in story-telling called the liminal space. It is an in-between space: you are between one place and another, or one stage of life and another. And things are always a little weird in a liminal space. It’s not quite like the first place, but you’re not all the way to…

Shaped by Jesus

Lectionary: Genesis 18:20-32, Psalm 138, Colossians 2:6-19, Luke 11:1-13 Let us pray: God, we pray for your presence this morning, among and beside and inside each of us. Speak to us this morning, we pray, in your name, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. Shaped by Jesus Like most people, I think, my family grew up with its own language, shaped over time by memories, like…