Second Sunday after Epiphany 17 January 2021 (1 Samuel 3:1-20 Psalm 139 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51) “The Lamp of God Has Not Gone Out!” Not totally unlike the way Pastor Andrew began his sermon last week, I want to begin today by telling you how hard, how almost totally impossible it is for me … More “The Lamp of God Has Not Gone Out!”
Mark 1:4-11, Baptism of our Lord 2021 So, this week has been yet another week where things haven’t gone according to plan. You think we’d be used to this by now after almost a year of COVID when attempting to plan anything more than a day in advance has become an alternative definition of insanity. … More Baptism: Way of life or pointless promises?
Second Sunday of Christmas 3 January 2021 (Sirach 24:1-12 Psalm 147:12-20 Ephesians 1:3-14 John 1:1-5; 9-18 “A Bold, Audacious Beginning!” Today, on this Second Sunday of Christmas, January 3, 2021, once again we hear the beginning of the Gospel of John, the Prologue of John, John’s telling of the Christmas story. We heard it on … More “A Bold, Audacious Beginning!”
Christmas Eve 2020: Luke 2:1-14[15-30] Merry Christmas! Martin Luther once described the night of Christ’s birth like this; “When now they were to come to Bethlehem (Joseph and Mary), they were, of all, the lowest… shoved into a stable to make a common lodging with cattle, while cutthroats lounged like lords in the inn. They … More Born into Brokenness
Christmas Day 25 December 2020 (John 1:1-14) “Message of Love!” Here we are on Christmas morning. In years’ past we might have 25-30 persons gathered—a little more subdued than we were on Christmas Eve; a bit more tired than we were last evening. Today we are gathered in a very simple way to hear … More “Message of Love!”
Fourth Sunday in Advent 20 December 2020 (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Psalm 89 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38) “Possible Impossibilities!” Although I am not seeing you as I would if you were here in front of me, today I am wondering, how are you? How are you, parents who have had your children at home … More “Possible Impossibilities!”
John: 1:6-8, 19-28 Last week we heard from the perspective of gospel writer Mark about John the Baptist – the biblical man of the wild dressed in camel’s hair, eating locusts dipped in wild honey, calling all in hearing distance to “prepare the way for the Lord”… believed by many to be a contemporary version … More Witness as you are!
Mark 1:1-8 So, it’s Advent 2020. Which, for those congregations who follow the three-year revised common lectionary, as we do here at St. James, puts us in Year B… the year we read primarily from the gospels of Mark and John. Today, Advent II, we read from Mark… the gospel, that, in addition to being … More A New Beginning
First Sunday of Advent 29 November 2020 (Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37) “Trusting a Deeper Truth!” There is an old adage that goes like this: “Joy is not in things; it is within us!” For today, for this sermon, I want to change one word. My change of one word goes … More “Trusting a Deeper Truth!”
Matthew 25: 31-46 Today is the day in the life of the Church celebrated as Christ the King Sunday. Historically, a day instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius Xi (14) as the Catholic holiday, originally deemed the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. I guess Christ the King was easier for … More Who is Your King?
