Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
A house divided against itself (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Mark 3:20-30, 4:35-41
January 21, 2018
I am distressed.
Last Monday, Jorge Garcia was deported to Mexico. Jorge is thirty-nine years old, married with a fifteen-year-old daughter and a twelve-year-old son. He was brought to the United States as a child thirty years ago by an undocumented relative. … Continue reading ...
Moses (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Exodus 1:8 – 2:10
August 27, 2017
I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses …
Moses. His name was Moses, which means “pulled out,” because he was pulled out of the water, pulled out of the place among the reeds at the edge of the river where his mother has hidden him, pulled out by the slave of an Egyptian princess.… Continue reading ...
Comma (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
1 Peter 3:13-22
May 25, 2014
Do you know any of these people?
She can’t keep a job. She doesn’t have a job now. She always starts out with good intentions, but then distractions or boredom or weak willpower or just plain laziness get in the way. She can’t seem to follow through, can’t seem to be able to see the big picture, won’t buckle down, won’t grow up. … Continue reading ...
Fear not! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
John 12:12-15
November 30, 2014
Last Monday evening, St. Louis County prosecutor Robert McCullough announced the decision of the grand jury: Officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the shooting death of Michael Brown. And then, on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, all hell broke loose.
Now the story is about broken windows and burned-out buildings and National Guard troops. … Continue reading ...
Fear not! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 1:5-16
December 7, 2014
Fear is the default. Fear is the default human attitude, which means that we respond to the challenges of our lives out of fear, unless something is done proactively to change our hearts.
We began our Advent last week with that claim. Fear is the default. … Continue reading ...
Fear not! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 1:26-33
December 14, 2014
Welcome to First Congregational … playhouse!
What do you see? “Props” are tools for telling a story, a gateway for the imagination. Theater invites us to embark on a journey of the imagination, leaving behind where we are, how we are, what we are, to inhabit for a time, by imagination, another space, another time, another person’s experience.… Continue reading ...
Fear not! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 2:1-11
December 21, 2014
Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Savior was born — Christ the Lord!
What makes a good life? What makes a life good?
Having enough — food, shelter, things … Good health … Fulfilling work … Respect … Fulfilling relationships … Love … Freedom … Leisure … Opportunities for challenge, for learning, for growth …
Now, in that context, to come at the question naively, without presuppositions, what would it mean to be “saved?” … Continue reading ...
Lupine (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 40:6-8
January 25, 2015
“Comfort my people,” says our God.
“Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!” This is what God wants for his people. This is what God wants for you. Comfort.
What is the opposite of comfort? Discomfort. Distress.
And what cause distress? Fear.
And what are you afraid of?… Continue reading ...
My servant (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 52:13
February 22, 2015
I am angry, and I am frightened.
I am frightened by ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. You know about the horrible scene on the beach in Libya, where members of ISIS beheaded twenty-one Egyptian Christians. It is appalling, revolting, unbearable, unwatchable. I refuse to watch the video and I quickly swipe past every time a story or photo of the event comes up on the news apps on my phone. … Continue reading ...
Seeing is believing (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
John 1:1-18
January 3, 2016
Seeing is believing. But what if you can’t see?
Doubt, fear, depression, despair, anger, boredom overshadow our spirits. We are in the dark and we can’t see. And because we can’t see, we do not believe, and because we do not believe, we are not saved. … Continue reading ...