Given to Us
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7, Luke 1:26-38, Luke 2:1-20 We made it! We are here, at Christmas Eve. Even if you barely made it here, even if you still have a million things to do, you made it. We are worshipping, and safe, and able to enjoy the music and the people, no matter what went wrong earlier today or this week or this year. This last burst of preparations, and worry,…
Faithful and Rejoicing
Scripture: Romans 8:19-27, Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19, Luke 2:21-40 In honor of the new Star Wars movie that came out this weekend, I think it’s only reasonable to start this sermon with a story from Star Wars. Don’t worry–no spoilers! This is all old news. The Star Wars: Episode III movie finishes the tale of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the Dark Side. He gives…
Jerusalem
Scripture: 2 Kings 25:1-12, Psalm 99:1-5, Isaiah 54:7-15, Luke 1:8-25 As you know, I’ve been preaching this Advent on forgotten characters from the Christmas Story. This week I chose Jerusalem, and so I’d like to do something a bit different: preach a story/sermon from Jerusalem’s perspective, as it were. I bet you didn’t even notice me, did you?…
What are you doing?
A month or so ago, I heard this story and it has just stuck with me–especially as I was preparing for this sermon. There was a civil-rights protest in Georgia, and a group of teenage girls were arrested during the protest. Well–I say teenage, but some of them were as young as twelve, and the oldest was only fifteen. After they were arrested, they were held in jail for a…
Barren
Scripture: Isaiah 51:1-6, 1 Samuel 2:1-5, Luke 1:5-7, 24-25, 39-45 This Advent, as we prepare for Christmas, I am going to be preaching on some of the lesser-known characters in the Christmas story. These aren’t the ones who are in every Christmas play or most of the Christmas cards, but the ones who are at the edges of the story, the ones who briefly appear only to…
God our Foundation
Scripture: Jeremiah 23:1-6, Psalm 46, Colossians 1:11-20, Luke 23:33-43 I really wanted to open this sermon with a story. I’m not doing that, obviously; I struggled to find a story that really fit with what I was trying to say about our psalm for today, Psalm 46. It’s a psalm full of big imagery: the mountains are shaking, the ocean is roaring, and kingdoms…
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…
Look at that Mountain
Scripture: Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4, Psalm 37:1-9, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 I’d like to begin this morning by telling a story. It’s one that I pulled out a few weeks ago for a sermon, and it has been both stuck in my head and giving me hope ever since. This story is from Sarah Bessey, an author, who has done some ministry in Haiti. Pastor Gaetan and his…
Content
Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7, Psalm 146, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 I have a vivid memory of one morning during seminary. It was during the summer, when I was working in an office. That meant I was answering phones, stuffing envelopes, making copies, that sort of thing. It was a good job, with good co-workers, and one that I enjoyed. It was the summer I was finally…
What are we doing?
Scripture: Job 23, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, Philippians 4:4-9, Luke 18:1-8 Today I’m going to continue answering questions that you have submitted. The question for today was about prayer–and who among us has never wondered what prayer does, or how to pray well, or why we pray at all? So before I get into the question itself, I’d like to spend some time with…