Sermons on Faith (Page 22)
Doubting Deeper
John 20:19-31 Today I want to talk about doubt. Thomas doubted. Just like my friend who said, “I’ll believe in God when he answers my prayers,” Thomas wanted proof. But when given the opportunity he drew back. Why? Because it wasn’t what he expected. He didn’t really want to put his hands in Jesus’ side. He just wanted the uncertainty to go away. We are uncomfortable with not-knowing. We want to know So we don’t often talk about doubt and…
But for the Grace of God
Luke 13:1-9 Public executions used to be a spectator sport. Even today we are all fascinated by a good disaster – as long as it’s happening to something else. Disaster and scandal sell magazines and newspapers and keep news shows in business. This human tendency to be interested in bad news was as prevalent in Jesus’ day as it is now. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is asked, “Did you hear about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with…
Inner & Outer Journeys
Self Examination in Lent During these 40 days of Lent we follow Jesus in the Gospel readings as he makes his way toward Jerusalem and the Cross. Every year in these days before the Feast of Easter, the church invites us to a season of self examination. –How are we doing on our own journeys? both the inner dimension that we experience in our inner lives, our hearts, souls, and bodies? – and the outer dimension that we travel on…
A Call to Transformation
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Luke 4:14-21 I. A Renewal of the Covenant A. On this 3rd Sunday of Epiphany in Year C of our three year cycle of scripture readings we hear for the one and only time from the Book of Nehemiah. So, it may help to highlight it today briefly. 1. The book narrates the time of Israel following their return to their homeland after years of captivity in Babylon. 2. In Babylon, Nehemiah, a prominent…
Transformed into Christ
I. Images A. Once again we encounter these timeless passages for Christmas, not so much hearing the words, as seeing the images, the great and timeless images of this most lovely and powerful season. — — — 1. Every year waxes and wanes, the good and the bad happens to us and our world, and then fades into memory. — a. We are tempted to wonder, is life simply a circular cycle that comes and goes, lives and dies, our…
Peace and goodwill to everyone?
Earlier this week I went to buy a bottle of wine for a gift. I really don’t know much about wine so it’s always a bit of a challenge to guess from the outside what the wine in the bottle will taste like, especially if I want to buy something that costs more than my normal $5 budget. As I was wondering around looking at wine labels, a man came up to me. He knew who I was and he’s…
Prophets: True and False
Have we become a nation led by ‘false prophets’? (In the history of Israel, a prophet was someone who brought the word of God to the people. A false prophet was someone who told the people what they wanted to hear.) The day after the San Bernardino shootings, I was driving downtown and thinking about the unending violence in our nation and our world. In my mind I was hearing the cacophony of national voices pretending to be prophetic, shouting…
Did Luke hit his head?
Luke 3:1-6 A couple of weeks ago I hit my head rather hard. In order to establish how hard it really was, I was asked several times to name the President. In this morning’s gospel, Luke starts by telling us who is President, and lists the key players in both the political and the religious hierarchy of the time. The Emperor was Tiberius, the Roman Governor was Pontius Pilate, and the Jewish rulers were Herod, Philip and Lysanias. The high…
A Revolution of Hope
Jeremiah 33:14-16 Advent 1 – C 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 I. Two ways to see the Apocalyptic A. There is a painting by Vincent van Gogh done in 1889 that captures the mood of the apocalyptic text from the end of St. Luke’s Gospel that we have just heard. 1. It is called, “Starry Night.” a. It’s his most famous and one of the most well known images in modern art. 2. The painting exhibits the bold colors that van Gogh…
The Widow’s Mite
PDF: The Widow’s Mite Mark 12:38-44 Risking all she frees herself of her last small treasure. As the coins clatter away her heart beats with fear and joy. The widow flings her poverty in the face of power. As some of you know, last month Rob and I were on a cruise in the Mediterranean. If you ask Rob what was the best thing about the cruise, he’ll say, “The food!” And it’s true – we both have wonderful memories of…