Archive for category: Sermons

Scripture:  Acts 9:1-6

Saul needed to be introduced to the one who was calling. We might need to be reintroduced to the one who directs us. What does it mean to say we are followers of Christ?

Scripture: Luke 24: 1-12; Acts 10: 34-43

And everything changed in that moment. Moment? Event, perhaps. Everything changed with that event. Easter is a new start, a new creation. We didn’t go back to Eden, but the way to the kin-dom of God was opened on that day.

Scripture: John 12: 1-8

We are nearing the end of this season; next week is Palm/Passion Sunday. So, here we can focus on giving honor to the Christ who as journeyed with us throughout this difficult season. Like Mary, we can pour out in blessing praise and worship as we gather. We can offer something precious as we approach the one who loves us more than his own life. What could we leave at the Table as we come forward for the sacrament? An offering? A prayer? A commitment of self, or gift, or time? We consider what we receive, and we should. But this time, what can we give? What act of service could we perform as we move into community at Table together?

Scripture: Luke 13: 1-9

We all want our lives to amount to something. Jesus gives us that sense of purpose and direction. We are called to bear fruit. Of course, this needs to be explained further. What is fruitful? What kind of fruit? Who benefits from this fruit? But that’s part of the exercise: to learn to understand and experience our own fruitfulness. In the end, we proclaim the word that to be gathered up in Jesus is not simply for our own benefit, not simply to make us better, or feel better about ourselves. Being gathered up in Jesus has an impact on the world around us. The fruit we bear is where transformation can begin to take root.

Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13

We play a little bit with Luke’s words in verse 13, how the adversary left him “until an opportune time.” We can look at this from two directions. It could be those “opportune times” for temptation, when we are in the midst of struggle or questioning and find ourselves vulnerable to stray from our journey. Or perhaps it’s those opportune times for growth, for seizing the day perhaps, when we find ourselves drawn closer to the Christ, who wants to gather us up. Lent need not be a constant “downer,” where we focus on our failings. It is also a time when we recognize the joys of belonging, the growth in knowledge and wisdom, the support of the community around us. It is a time for knowing we need more, we want more, more Christ, more discipleship, more discipline.