Category Archives: Faith

“Joy Comes with the Morning” A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

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Psalm 30

Isaiah 66:10-14

I’m glad today we have the brass quintet with us this morning because my sermon is about joy and rejoicing, and what better expresses that than the sound of brass instruments, which is why we often have them at Easter, at weddings and other celebrations..

There’s a lot of rejoicing in the Bible: the Israelites rejoiced when they brought in the sheaves; there is rejoicing in heaven over the one lost sinner. There are Paul’s admonitions to “rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!” Continue reading →

“Taking on the Mantle” A Sermon for The Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year C

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2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14

Luke 9:51-62

Who is Jesus? Albert Sweitzer famously said “looking for Jesus is like looking down a well. You see only your own reflection: that Jesus remains a stranger and an enigma; there will never be one answer to this question.” (The Search of the Historical Jesus). But there are things we do know about him that can help us understand his purpose and ministry. Continue reading →

“Growing Up” A Sermon on Galatians 3: 23-29

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Growing up isn’t easy! I’ve had four grandchildren in the last two and a half years, so you can imagine I have spent a good deal of time with toddlers, and I am in awe of my children’s parenting. Toddlers need constant supervision, encouragement, and correction. I’ve heard my children say, gently but firmly, things like: “We don’t throw things at the dog!” and “Careful. You really don’t want to stick your finger in your baby brother’s eye.” Continue reading →

“Down with Chaos!” A Devotion on Psalm 93:4

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“More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord!”—Psalm 93: 4 (NRSV)

Before there was something there was nothing. The proto-physicist(s) who imagined the creation of the universe “in the beginning” described a formless emptiness. To the Ancients water, especially the sea, was a symbol of chaos, understood as disorder, tumult, and confusion. Continue reading →

“Breaking chains, Opening Doors” A Sermon on Acts 16:16-34

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Today is the Seventh and final Sunday in Easter and we have had several readings from the Book of Acts that emphasize the power of Jesus’ resurrection during the rise of the early church. Continue reading →

“By the River” A Sermon on Acts 16: 9-15 and Revelation 22: 1-5

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You may have noticed there is a lot about rivers in the service. A river is featured prominently in both our readings for today. One is an actual river in the ancient city of Philippi, where Paul went to pray, and where he met Lydia. The other river is from John the Divine’s vision of the New Jerusalem, where a river runs through the heavenly city. Continue reading →

My Blog is Ten Years’ Old: A Retrospective

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In the Beginning: 2009-2010

I’d like to thank all of you who have dropped by this blog over the years. It is hard for me to believe a decade has passed since I began it. I started to write again as a personal act of healing which in time morphed into a new chapter of my ministry. Continue reading →

“Superpowers” A Devotion on Acts 5: 14-15

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“Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by.” —Acts 5: 14-15 (NRSV)

Sometimes when I read from The Acts of the Apostles I am envious. I read about the extraordinary signs and wonders the Apostles accomplished in Jesus’ name, the great crowds they brought into the church, and the numerous people they healed. Continue reading →

“A Change of Heart” A Devotion on Psalm 51: 10 and Jeremiah 31: 33

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“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” —Psalm 51: 10

“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” —Jeremiah 31: 33 Continue reading →