Sermons
“The Attitude of Gratitude” Sermon on Sunday, October 13, 2019 Luke 17: 12-19
“What are you most grateful for?” I was asked this question last week by a holistic nutritionist whom I was consulting with my son Sam. She asked us this question, I’m sure, because gratitude contributes to a person’s health and well-being. Although I want to add that...
read more“God is seeking you!” Sermon on Sunday, September 15, 2019 Based on Luke 15: 1-10
It’s tempting to read the gospel for this Sunday as a social commentary. From a pastor it’s expected to emphasize that God seeks those on the margins of society, the modern version of “sinners and tax collectors”, – “people with issues” as some might put it,...
read more“A Place at the Table” Sermon on Sunday, September 1, 2019 Based on Luke 14: 1-14
Guess who is coming to dinner? That was the title of one of film history’s iconic movie’s, a reel from 1967. On its 50th anniversary in 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. They said it...
read more“A Higher Education” Sermon on Sunday, September 8, 2019 Based on Luke 14: 25-33
“We have to come up with a detailed cost analysis!” Who hasn’t heard such advice at one point or another – whether it concerned the costs of renovating a church, the price tag for fixing a leaking roof or a moldy basement, or calculating the full extent of...
read more“Division in the Family” Sermon on Sunday, August 18, 2019 Based on Luke 12: 46-53
Once upon a time at the end of a summer vacation, a young man called his mother and father and brothers and sisters together after a day at the beach. There was something important he needed to tell them. He was going into his third year of college. He was doing well,...
read more“The Fifth Evangelist” Sermon on Sunday, July 28, 2019 Based on the Life, Work and Devotion of J.S. Bach
It was around 1990 or 1991. I lived in an apartment building in Munich. Our flat in the center of the city was home to several guys and lots of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. One of the students I lived with trained to become an electrical engineer, but he was also...
read more“Mary’s Gift” Sermon on Sunday, July 21, 2019 Based on Luke 10: 38-42
“It was a hot July night, and everyone was gathered around the set, with the volume up loud. The grainy video we are all familiar with now was coming through the airwaves. The back and forth discussion between Mission Control and the astronauts – to my kid ears...
read more“Mainstream against Mainstream” Sermon on Sunday, August 11, 2019 Based on Luke 12: 13-21
During my years in Munich, one of my roommates stormed home one night, angry and outraged. He was an engineering student with strong religious views, a seeker on a spiritual quest, and had just attended a seminar by a Christian group he was involved with. That night,...
read more“Travel Lightly” Sermon on Sunday, July 7, 2019 Based on Luke 10
It’s travel season. Lots of people are rolling suitcases into airports and standing in long lines. For those of us who have been traveling through the air in recent times, we have heard the slogan, “Travel lightly.” We know the temptation of bringing...
read more“Hopeful Provocations” Sermon on Sunday, July 14, 2019 Based on Luke 10: 25-37
From time to time our faith is put to the test by totally unpredictable events. Someone asks for your help and you have to decide. Everything you learned about loving your neighbor, everything that you theoretically learned, is tested in a moment that begs your...
read more“Eat, Pray and Love” Sermon on Sunday, June 30, 2019 Based on Luke 8: 31-46
The minute I read the gospel reading for this Sunday, I came to regret my earlier decision to call this service, “Eat, Pray and Love.” What was I thinking? I usually align our themes to at least one of the readings. I’m not pulling them out of a hat. Well, upon...
read more“In God’s Company” Sermon on Holy Trinity Sunday, June 16, 2019 (Musings about a God in communion in a world of isolation)
Holy Trinity could be such an impossibly difficult topic if we want to talk about how this whole mystery works, this Three in One and One in Three thing, one God in the form of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons one being. Theologians, thinkers and...
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