Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
My own dear son (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 3:13-17
January 12, 2014
This is my own dear son …
God loved the world so much that he gave …
that he gave the world his own dear son.
This is my own dear son …
That’s what we remember, that’s what we proclaim, during these seasons of Christmas and now Epiphany, that God gave to us his own dear son. … Continue reading ...
Open the doors! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 49:1-6, John 1:29-42
January 19, 2014
Here we are. It’s a Sunday morning and we’re in church. I have chosen to come here this morning and you have chosen to come here this morning.
Do you come here because you want to feel safe? Because you want to come to a place where you can be yourself without fear of being judged or laughed at or belittled? … Continue reading ...
A dangerous God (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 9:1-4, Matthew 4:12-17
January 26, 2014
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
“Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last thirty years.”
Does it matter?
In our own country, we like to talk about the current economic recovery, but ninety-five percent of the growth in wealth since the 2008 financial crisis has gone to the wealthiest one-percent of Americans, while, during that same period, the bottom ninety percent of the population has become poorer.… Continue reading ...
Via pulchritudinis (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 5:1-9
February 2, 2014
What do these seven things have in common?
1) Sue holds up Diane’s photograph on the cover of this Sunday’s bulletin.
2) The chancel choir sings the refrain of “Blest Are They.”
3) Sophia and Grace come to the front of the sanctuary and hug each other.… Continue reading ...
Your kingdom come (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 58:1-9
February 9, 2014
All too often we are simply not on the same page — us and God. You think?
But I am not now thinking primarily of “us” in the general sense, of humanity as a whole going its own merry way, in spite of God or even to spite God. … Continue reading ...
Sticks and stones (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 5:21-24
February 16, 2014
ῥακά …
You good-for-nothing, empty-headed, piece of …
μωρέ …
You worthless fool. You stupid idiot.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words …” Words may cause an injury that no orthopedist or surgeon can mend. Words may leave a festering wound that never heals, deep scars that persist for a lifetime. … Continue reading ...
Deus ibi est (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18; Matthew 5:38-48
February 23, 2014
Deus ibi est. God is there.
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est. Where charity and love are, God is there.
When you harvest your fields, do not cut the grain at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the heads of grain that were left. … Continue reading ...
Have you ever been in love? (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 17:1-8
March 2, 2014
Have you ever been in love?
Maybe it was puppy love, a childhood crush, like Charlie Brown and the little red-haired girl.
Maybe it was a first, serious, high-school romance, awakening in you a new desire to share everything — thoughts and feelings and dreams and touch — with another person.… Continue reading ...
And … (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
1 Peter 1:17-23
May 4, 2014
This is Christ’s gracious offer, not continuation, but transformation.
What’s the difference?
This is Christ’s gracious offer, not resuscitation, but resurrection.
What’s the difference?
What would it mean for you? To be transformed? To be resurrected? Not merely extending or stretching out your life as it is, but transforming your life, changing it, setting it in a new direction, filling it with new vitality, giving you a new life, giving you eternal life? … Continue reading ...
Servants of a generous God (Click on the sermon tittle for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 20:1-16
September 21, 2014
Corina. Zoe. Emily. Arlo. McKenzie. Jack. Nevaeh. Teddy. Allison.
Who are these?
These are our children. These are our children’s children.
What do we want for them?
We want them to be healthy. We want them to be happy. We want them to have opportunities and successes. … Continue reading ...