Most of you should now know that I tend to favor picking up themes from the Gospel reading. So it’s going to be an interesting wade through the Hebrew Bible today as we look at this week’s first reading, from Genesis 32, which is one of those readings that just seems to be a story…
There’s a whole bunch of “if”s in our epistle reading today: IF we have died with him, we will also live with him; IF we endure, we will also reign with him; IF we deny him, he will also deny us; IF we are faithless, he remains faithful– for he cannot deny himself. (2 Tim…
In Luke, chapter 6, verse 24, we hear, “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” So goes the story of the rich man in today’s Gospel reading. He should have known better. He could have – and should have – done better. He received good things, but he built up…
Bleeech! We’ve entered that time in the church year where I dislike preaching, because it seems like all we hear about in the Gospel reading is money, money, and more money. I guess it’s better than having to preach about divorce or circumcision… but still, I don’t like it. And since I don’t like it,…
Last week, we heard from Paul’s Epistle to Philemon. This week, we get an Epistle to Timothy, also written from “Paul.” We’re going to start with a short Bible lesson this week. Of the thirteen letters that were traditionally attributed to authorship by Paul, scholars now think that only seven are authentically his: Romans, 1…
Some of you may have heard the story of the wise woman’s stone: A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the…
So I have to admit that today’s readings didn’t seem to fit together to me at first. Sometimes there is an obvious theme that hits you over the head when you read the readings, and this week isn’t that week for me. We’ve got kings, prisoners, sharing and sacrificing, and a wedding banquet. But take…
I want to begin by acknowledging the Reverend Dr. Matthew Skinner for his published information on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s book “Why We Can’t Wait”, from which some of the content for my sermon today is drawn. Today we get another gem of a story from Luke — a gem which shows up in…
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What is treasure? I have to admit, that when I hear the word treasure, two images come to my mind: The first image is of a big cache of goodies. As a kid, my aunt, who was a school teacher, had something called the “Goodie…
Midsummer is often a time for family vacations and leisurely coffee hours. It’s tempting to assume that the imperative of our Christian life can be relaxed a little bit while people settle into the welcome routines of rest, recreation, and travel. But this week’s Gospel reading sizzles and spits like a hamburger on a backyard…
I suspect that, to most of us, prayer is a puzzle. I’m not sure that most of us even know why it is that we pray. Many people pray as a form of sanctified wish fulfillment. It’s like we think of prayer as a way of having all our dreams come true… if we pray…
Today’s Gospel story often attracts interest because it is one of a limited number of stories that offer an obvious integration of women in the participation of all facets of Christian discipleship. A woman sits and learns at Jesus’ feet — possibly in the process breaking down cultural expectations — and Jesus approves. This implies…
