Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
That they may be one (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
John 17:1-11
May 28, 2017
Burma, Nicaragua, Liberia, Korea, and now Haiti. Why should we talk about Haiti? Because the people of Haiti need us? Yes. But that is only half of the story. We should talk about the people of Haiti because we need them.
Our group of travelers arrived in Port-au-Prince on a Friday night.… Continue reading ...
What’s next? (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
1 Peter 1:1-9
April 27, 2014
But what comes next?
It was an exhilarating, exhausting, excruciating, and euphoric week. Not this week, but the preceding week, the week that began on Palm Sunday and ended on Easter Sunday. If you paid close attention, if you followed Jesus every step of the way, if you opened your eyes and your ears to the horrors of what was done to him and the wonders of what was done by him, you were surely left limp, physically spent, emotionally drained. … Continue reading ...
The marks of a great nation (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Jeremiah 31:7-14
January 4, 2015
Sing with joy for Israel, the greatest of the nations …
Do you have a problem with that? Do you have a problem with calling Israel the greatest of the nations? Does it seem to you … presumptuous? Chauvinistic? Prideful? Does this claim by a Hebrew prophet about his own nation make you uncomfortable?… Continue reading ...
Love never gives up (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 9:32-38
February 12, 2017
Give up.
You’re tired. You deserve a break. Give up.
You’ve done all you could, more than your share. Give up.
The emotional cost is too high. It’s not worth it. Give up.
Some things can’t be fixed. Some people don’t want to be helped. … Continue reading ...
Tender (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 13:6-9
February 28, 2016
It is a tender embrace …
Jesus’ left hand gently cradles the back of Peter’s head, comforting him, drawing him close. His right hand reaches for Peter’s waist, ready to steady him, ready to support him, reaching out to touch him.
It is an intimate embrace …
The colors of the two figures are mottled and muted, not sharp and distinct. … Continue reading ...
How Christianity has changed (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8
April 3, 2016
“How Christianity has changed”
First, I must tell you, the sermon title is not mine. None of the sermon titles for the four Sundays in April come from me. Two weeks ago, I asked the members of our confirmation class and their high school mentors — Katy and Japhy and Maria and Zoe and Leah and Laura and Lauren and Katherine — I asked them to suggest topics they would like addressed in a sermon. … Continue reading ...
One (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 15:1-10
September 11, 2016
(Play video: images from September 11-12, 2001, set to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings; link = https://sermons.believersjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/adagio.mp4)
That brings back a host of feelings, doesn’t it?
Fifteen years ago today, our world changed. Fifteen years ago today, we changed. For the better? Did we change for the better? … Continue reading ...