Archive for category: Sermons

Scripture:  Romans 13: 8-14   Don’t run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code…finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can’t go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.  

Matthew  18:15-20   “…when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.” 

Jesus often confounded those for whom acceptance was conditional — those who required specific laws be followed “or else.” The litmus test for Jesus was simply love. He chose time and again to seek out the intention of someone’s heart — to gather together and engage in conversation to move toward the right relationship. What happens when we seek to “do no wrong” to our neighbor, moving beyond boundaries into reciprocal understanding?

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost  Proper 16 (21)       27 August 2023

Sermon title: “Word and Deed as Witness.” 

Scriptures:  Matthew 16:13-20 and Romans 12:1-8

Synopsis:  In Matthew Jesus asks the disciples who they say he is. We are invited to tell people who we experience and know Jesus to be. Romans tells us to sacrifice our bodies and to do what we are gifted to do.

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost  Proper 14 (19)  13 August 2023

Sermon:  “Fear and Faith as Witness”

Scriptures: Matthew 14:22-33 and Romans 10:5-15

Synopsis: In Matthew, Peter gets out of the boat, gets afraid, begins to sink and Jesus saves him; others proclaim faith after seeing this. Peter’s fear leads to a cry of faith (Lord, save me!), and the salvation Peter receives acts as witness to the others.  The passage from Romans teaches how the word of faith is in your mouth and in your heart, and that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost  Proper 12 (17)      30 July 2023

Sermon: Hidden and Mixed In

Scriptures: Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 (the kingdom of heaven is like…) and Genesis 29:15-28 (Jacob marries Leah instead of Rachel)

Theme: God’s work in the world is often hidden and mixed in

Synopsis: It can be difficult to see and discern God’s work in the world. But once we glimpse that pearl or treasure, it is worth putting all we are into it. Even in the midst of disappointment, underhanded dealings, or even injustice, like in the story of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel, God can still work. (This is NOT to say that we accept injustice because God can work in spite of it.) Let’s be people who look for God’s work in the world, celebrate it and invest in it, and become that regular field where a pearl is hidden beneath the surface.