Plain and simple

Plain and simple (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ecclesiastes 7:1-10
October 22, 2017

It is better to go to a home where there is mourning than to one where there is a party, because the living should always remind themselves that death is waiting for us all.

Sounds rather Eeyore-ish, doesn’t it?  You remember Eeyore?

Eeyore, the old grey Donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.Continue reading ...

A woman’s gift

A woman’s gift (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
John 12:1-8
March 13, 2016

She made a gift to Jesus.  Mary made a gift to Jesus, an extravagant gift.  She took a whole pint of perfume, pure nard, and poured it out over Jesus’ feet.  According to Judas, the perfume was worth about three hundred silver coins.  Since one silver coin represented a day’s pay for a farm laborer, the value of the perfume was more than a year’s wages for a laborer working six days a week, or, in our money, about $18,000.… Continue reading ...

Our common lot

Our common lot (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 23:13-26
March 20, 2016

Who killed Jesus?

Pilate did.  He was the one, the only one, with the authority to have Jesus put to death, and that was the sentence he pronounced.  Reluctant or not, he made the decision.  Pilate, the agent of the Roman Empire in Judea, killed Jesus.… Continue reading ...

No matter who

No matter who (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Acts 10:34-43
March 27, 2016

Korean JesusThis is Jesus …

… a young Korean bearing the heavy burden of the cross and the heavy burden of his divided people.

 

Masai Jesus

 

This is Jesus …

… a resolute Masai warrior watching over his brothers, protecting his sisters.

 

 

Balinese JesusThis is Jesus …

… a Balinese dancer, coming to us dancing, spreading light and joy, pushing back the shadows and all the beasts that lurk in the shadows.… Continue reading ...

This is our chance!

This is our chance! (Click on the sermon title for .pdf copy)
Luke 21:5-19
November 13, 2016

This is our chance.

There are many angry people out there right now, some angry about the outcome of this election, and others whose anger helped propel the outcome of this election.

This is our chance.

There are many frightened people out there right now, some frightened by what might be done to us, by extremists foreign-born or homegrown, and others frightened by what we might do, by the ways our own brand of extremism may make the world a more dangerous and inhospitable place.… Continue reading ...