Tag: gift

When he comes, what will he do?

When he comes, what will he do?
Matthew 21:33-46
October 4, 2020

It’s all gift, all of it:

the vista from the ledges on the brow of Blue Hill, stretching from the mountains of Acadia across Blue Hill Bay and Penobscot Bay to the Camden Hills,

the brightly-colored leaves — orange and yellow and red — providing a last visual treat before long months of chill and darkness,

the fire that sparks and crackles, taking the edge off the chill and intimating deep mysteries of the universe in its dancing flames.… Continue reading ...

Grace

Grace (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ephesians 2:4-10
April 8, 2018

Craig Driver, Jo Tefft, Leah Reisinger, Steve Peters.  This is who we are, the people gathered in this particular room at this particular hour, each of us bringing our own stories: stories of finding our way, some of us having an easier time of it, some of us a harder time; stories of making a living and making a life, of falling down and rising up, of gaining and of losing; stories of leaving our mark and of being marked by the people who come into our lives.… Continue reading ...

Filled with alarm

Filled with alarm (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Mark 10:32-34
March 18, 2018

Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem.  Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm …

Jesus was ahead, ahead of them on the road.  He did not hesitate.  His mind was made up. … Continue reading ...

Business

Business (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
September 24, 2017

During choir rehearsal last Wednesday evening, Ben commented on the unusual piano introduction to Rutter’s “To Everything There is a Season.”  He said he was not sure what it meant, but that he was sure it meant something!  What do you think it means?  Listen again …

(Miah plays on the piano the first twenty-four measures of the piece.)… Continue reading ...

Chasing the wind

Chasing the wind (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ecclesiastes 2:4-17, 24-26
September 17, 2017

So here we are, you and me, a hundred and some of us, gathered in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning, here together for one hour of the twenty-four hours of this day, for one day of the seven days of this week, for one week of the fifty-two weeks of this year, for one year of the however many years each of us have lived already and however many years each of us have left to live. … Continue reading ...

For whether we live or whether we die

For whether we live or whether we die (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Psalm 90:1-12
November 16, 2014

Teach us how short our life is,
so that we may become wise.

How short is our life?

We last no longer than a dream …

We are like a dream … vivid and real, while it lasts … full of wonders and marvels, while it lasts … but when the dawn comes, when we are awakened, the dream is gone, remembered maybe for a short while, but soon forgotten.… Continue reading ...

Be the church: enjoy this life

Be the church: enjoy this life (Click on the sermon title for a pdf copy)
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10
May 17, 2015

Be the church …

Protect the environment

Because it is God’s handiwork and because it is precious to God.

Care for the poor

Because they are God’s handiwork and because they are precious, especially precious to God.

Forgive often

Because God has forgiven you.… 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 ...

Amazed and astonished

Amazed and astonished (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Jeremiah 2:4-13
August 28, 2016

I am amazed and astonished.

I am amazed by the vista from atop Blue Hill: islands and bays, dense forest and hills and mountains stretching to the horizon in every direction.

I am amazed by the rhythm of the tides in Penobscot Bay, the level of ocean changing by ten or eleven feet or more in the space of six hours.… Continue reading ...

does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really know what time it is?
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
January 1, 2017

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

Bring back any memories? The recording comes from a live performance by Chicago in Tanglewood in July 1970. I had just finished my junior year in high school. Sometime along about then, a friend played a Chicago song for me.… Continue reading ...