Matthew 25:12-30 I was speaking with another preacher this week and he mentioned that this week’s parable is the perfect opportunity for a stewardship sermon. I think most lifelong churchgoers will know what he meant by that, a sermon specifically reflecting on financial stewardship, even more specifically the money we share with our worshipping community.Continue reading “Talents or Seeds?”
Tag Archives: sermons
Keeping the Light-Together
Matthew 25:1-13 There is a lot going on in the world and in our individual lives right now that might be affecting our sleep. The time change and the changing seasons, shortened days and longer nights are the least troubling of these, but still they affect us in our bodies and impact our ability toContinue reading “Keeping the Light-Together”
Maps to Jesus
Matthew 5:1-12 I don’t know if any of you have had the chance yet to watch The Chosen, or if you’ve even heard of it yet. It has been around for a couple of years now, but Ben and I are very often late to things like this, and we are just now getting aroundContinue reading “Maps to Jesus”
A How-to Guide to Sainthood
All Saints Day 2023 My campus minister was once asked the question “what does it take to be a saint?” He answered baptism, and death. That simple answer was met with stunned silence followed by a rush of questions and challenges. He stood by his answer, and all these years later I find it stillContinue reading “A How-to Guide to Sainthood”
Loyal Love
Matthew 22:34-46 I am indebted for this sermon to the work of Robert Alter, particularly his translations of Deuteronomy and Leviticus and commentaries therein. I am also grateful for the teaching of the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Abts Wright, who first lifted up for me the rich symbolism of the Hebrew scriptures and how it affectsContinue reading “Loyal Love”
We Believe Together
Philippians 2:1-13 When I was a teenager, I was asked to stand up for what I believed in. And I mean that literally. During a Christian Education session at my beloved church camp, the chaplains asked us all to stand up or raise our hand. They told us they were going to read aloud theContinue reading “We Believe Together”
Lost at Sea
Matthew 14:22-33 Yesterday, some members of our two parishes gathered at Trinity Episcopal Church in Arrington to take part in an ancient mode of prayer. On Trinity’s beautiful campus, set a little apart from their cemetery, is a labyrinth, a circuitous path laid in the ground for the purpose of prayerful walking. Those who haveContinue reading “Lost at Sea”
Look Up
Genesis 22:1-14 I am indebted to a large list of resources for this sermon- Dr. Ellen Davis’s sermon at Duke Chapel, the Rev. Ben Madison’s article for Mockingbird (CW: foster care), My Jewish Learning’s article The Binding of Isaac, My Jewish Learning’s article Seeing the Ram, this week’s Pulpit Fiction podcast episode, and conversations withContinue reading “Look Up”
Easter on the Way
Matthew 28:1-10 Mary and Mary Magdalene were not fools. Or rather, they were fools, but the kind that we all become when we love fiercely and completely. These two women were disciples, students of Jesus who had followed him on his journey from town to town. They had witnessed his healings and miracles, they hadContinue reading “Easter on the Way”
Can These Bones Live?
Ezekiel 37:1-14 & John 11:1-45 Mortal, can these bones live? O Lord God, you know. The hand of the Lord brought the prophet Ezekiel into the valley of the shadow of death. The valley full of bones, dry and still and long dead, a sight which makes our haunted houses and metaphorical closets look likeContinue reading “Can These Bones Live?”
Mother A Writes 