Sermons

16 October 2011  The Rev. Elsa A. Peters Exodus 33:12-23 and Matthew 22:15-22   You’ve exhausted all other possibilities. You’ve  consulted the experts. There are no other options. There’s nothing else to do. You’ve reached that extreme. A decision has to be made. So, you pull out a coin. Tossing it into the air, you […]

Today’s message is unusual. You may recall the folks who went on the summer mission trip to Cherryfield had a fund-raising auction in March. I offered a “custom written sermon on the topic or lesson of your choice,” with the caution that the high bidder couldn’t tell me what to say AND wouldn’t get a

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20 – The Ten Commandments John 15:12-17  – Jesus gives his followers one commandment                               I was a philosophy major in college. I think it still sneaks through at times. I’ve always liked big ideas. To be honest I didn’t major in philosophy just because it gave me the opportunity to

Philippians 2:1-13 Every knee should bend, it says. Maybe. Maybe it should be easy to bend — but it never is. It’s not just the movement. There are emotions in each attempt to make that joint actually bend. I’ve noticed this as my father winces in pain. I never seem to have the right reaction.

A Sermon By John Brierly McCall, D. Min. – Exodus 32:1-10 Matthew 20:1-16 Eat your vegetables and say your prayers. Always do your very best. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. God helps those who help themselves. Buy low and sell high. The more things change the more they remain the same.

Exodus 14:19-31; 15: 20-21 When we read the Bible we sometimes get stuck trying to imagine something that happened long ago and far away. This morning’s reading (which was wonderfully acted out) is a story that is so huge that we might find it hard to believe. Some of us hear it and think of

A sermon by John Brierly McCall, D. Min. Exodus 12:1-14 We were lucky. The storm of the century turned west, further inland, and left us with minimal damage. Our hearts ache for those who sustained much more serious damage – North Carolina, New Jersey and the substantial losses from flooding especially in Vermont. With the

A Sermon By John Brierly McCall, D. Min. Exodus 3:1-15 Have you ever seen a burning bush? I s’pose you could make a bush burn with a match, or with a magnifying glass on a sunny day, the way we did as kids. Of course, the point here isn’t just that the bush was burning.

  A Sermon by John Brierly McCall, D. Min. Exodus 1:8-2:10 Some of us like things in life to be orderly and predictable – “just so.” I tend to be that way. When Andrea and I go to the friendly local gym at 5:15 (a.m.) we’re a little bit on autopilot. Each weekday we park

Genesis 45:1-15 How good and pleasant it is when sisters and brothers dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1). That was on the huge banner in the front of the sanctuary at the church I served in my last year of seminary. When we gathered for worship, it was these words from the psalm that centered