Sermons

Matthew 23:1-12 The scholars who created the lectionary—the three year cycle of readings we use to guide worship—were concerned about telling the major portions of our story in worship. They were concerned with choosing scriptures for ordinary time as well as for each holy season. They were not at all concerned with choosing scriptures to […]

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 The woman in our story had been hemorrhaging for twelve years. Imagine what her life was like. Women were considered unclean when they were menstruating. In fact, they were considered unclean for seven days after their cycle ended. And since her cycle never ended, she was never considered clean. During her monthly

Matthew 22:15-22 This passage contains what some political figures would call “a gotcha question.” It is intended to trap Jesus because there is no safe answer. The people hated this tax . . . not just because nobody likes giving their money away, but because of all the taxes they paid, this one was particularly

Exodus 32:1-14 I have a long habit of doing things the hard way. If I have a choice between carrying the grocery bags in two easy trips or one hard trip, I’ll pick the one hard trip every time. If I have to learn a lesson the easy way or the hard way, guess which

    1 Corinthians 11:17-26 Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a letter to a church in conflict. He had started the house churches in Corinth a few years earlier, and they were experiencing serious growing pains. They argued over some central concepts of the church, including: the Holy Spirit, marital and sexual norms,

Exodus 17:1-7 If you have been in worship the last few weeks, you have probably noticed something about our journey with the Israelites through the wilderness: these people complain a lot. When the armies of Pharaoh pursued them by the Red Sea, they said to Moses, “What have you done to us, bringing us out

Exodus 16:2-15 I have often heard teachers say “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” It is meant to encourage people not to be embarrassed about asking questions. The problem is: it’s just not true. There are stupid questions. Of course, what is a stupid question is varies according to age or stage. If

Exodus 14:19-31 Up a creek without a paddle. Caught between a rock and a hard place. Between the devil and the deep blue sea. Any of these idioms could apply to the Israelites at this point in their story. Moses had gone to Pharaoh and demanded the release of the Israelites, but that hadn’t worked

Exodus 4:1-12 Last week we read the story frequently called “Moses and the Burning Bush.” We talked about God’s instructions for Moses to take off his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. Today I’d like to talk about Moses’ response to the whole encounter. It starts, of course, with Moses seeing the angel

Exodus 3:1-15 At my service of installation last February, the friend I asked to give the Charge to the Pastor revealed one of my secrets to those in attendance that day. OK, so it isn’t a very well-kept secret, since it’s on display most Sundays from September through March. But here it is: I love