sermons

Luke 2:22-35 One of my favorite Bible characters is Simeon, a veteran third-rank and part-time priest serving in the Temple of Jerusalen.  Simeon – no last name known—was in the Temple the day Mary and Joseph brought babe Jesus there...

Isaiah 60:1-6;   Matthew 2:1-12 Several centuries before this extraordinary story in the Gospel of Matthew, prophet Isaiah had dreamed about a magnificent gathering of multitudes of joyful people and caravans of “young” camels from far away arriving in the Holy...

I’ll never forget my very last seminary class on Preaching. That final class was supposed to be a relaxed and relaxing, collegial, festive time to review and celebrate with our Preaching professor all we had learned that final semester. We...

Luke 2:1-7 The Christmas story in the Gospel tells us that babe Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room in the inn. Now, have you ever wondered whether it was true that there was no room...

Luke 1:39-56 Mary and Joseph are two of the most fascinating people in the Gospel. Fascinating, yes, intensely fascinating when you consider the place that such a low status “handmaiden” and such a low status “carpenter” would end up having...

Isaiah 40:28-31;  Luke 12:35-40 One of my favorite plays is Waiting for Godot, by the Irish playwriter Samuel Beckett. Published in 1948, the year I was born, this play basically argues that humanity is waiting for “Godot,” a Messiah-like reality...

2 Corinthians 8:1-12;  Matthew 6:19-21 You certainly know how much I enjoy cookies –but did you know that I also enjoy oxymorons? Yes, oxymorons –when you put two words together that are complete opposites and contradict each other, like “clearly...

Philippians 4:8-9;  Matthew 11:28-30 Just in case you noticed my baggy eyes this morning, let me tell you – this has been a rough week for me. First, our Church annual meeting on Monday, via zoom, never happened – the...