On this Sunday, we focus on shepherds, lambs, and sheep as the image of the divine-human relationship. It also happens – through an oddity of the lectionary calendar – that today is Mother’s Day. And while I don’t normally celebrate Mother’s Day in church because there are people who have mothers who shouldn’t be celebrated,…
You’ve heard me preach on fishing before… it’s not my thing. So we’re not focusing on the fishing part today… “Follow me,” Jesus said (Jn 21:19). Two simple words. “Follow me.” Every time we have this reading, I am taken back to grade school. Having the last name of Miller, I was always somewhere in…
Sermon By The Rev. Dr. Chuck Alley, former rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Richmond, Virginia The resurrection has occurred, and the disciples know that Jesus’ tomb was empty. Yet doubt and fear reign as they sequester themselves in a house behind locked doors. It is there and under the circumstances of their doubt and…
Jesus found Mary Magdalene when she was lost. Not physically, but emotionally. We don’t hear much about her from the text. We hear rumors about her, but nothing supported in the Bible. We DO know that she had 7 demons cast out of her by Jesus. And then she followed Jesus. But now, NOW… Jesus…
The Passion of the Lord speaks for itself; there was no sermon offered for this service.
“Do not remember the former things,or consider the things of old.I am about to do a new thing;now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19) All of us were born with imagination. Small children are experts… but somewhere throughout our years, we forget how to play, how to have fun, how to…
“The man said, ‘We had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found’” (Lk 15:32). Can you imagine being there during this feast? Can you imagine the hurt of the one brother who had stuck with his father through it…
God called “Moses, Moses!” and Moses answered, “Here I am!”God welcomed Moses by appearing in flames on a bush. And then God told Moses, “Come no closer!” How would you feel if someone invited you to church and you made the effort to attend, and then they ignored you. Or if you had no idea…
In Paul’s letter to the church in Phillipi today, we read, “Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us” (Phil 3:17). “Join in imitating me.” Jesus invites us to be like him. He invites us in to observe, and in observing, we are…
In today’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus wandered in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights. During that time he was tempted by the devil. “In the wilderness”… We so often think of a desert or a barren area when we hear the phrase in the wilderness. But I think instead we should consider…
Every once in a while, I pull out a kids’ sermon for adults… not because I think adults can’t understand the usual sermons I give, but because it’s important for us to all have some play time in our lives. Today is one of those days, and I’m going to ask you to play along…
There are a lot of great and important passages on love in the Bible. We’ve got (in my personal top ten list of love lines in the Bible): God is love. (1 John 4:8) We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19) God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy…
