A house divided against itself

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Short and hasty … and useless?

Short and hasty … and useless? (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ecclesiastes 1:2-11
September 10, 2017

Useless, useless, said the Philosopher.

I used to be a philosopher.  I was a student of philosophy at Yale University.  There were few of us then and probably even fewer now.  I was so thrilled when I found out that Cole Highnam was studying philosophy and loving it.… Continue reading ...

They will see and understand something they had never known

They will see and understand something they had never known (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 52:14-15
March 1, 2015

There are people in our world right now, rightly or wrongly, drawing inspiration from their holy texts to do unspeakable violence to fellow human beings and to the fabric of human civilization itself.  Rightly or wrongly, they are drawing inspiration from their holy texts. … 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 ...

Listen to her!

Listen to her! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Proverbs 8
May 22, 2016

Lauren and Katherine, this is my advice to you on the occasion of your high school graduation.  I will not say, “This is my parting advice to you,” because even though you will be going to far away Iowa City, we are not parting. … Continue reading ...

One

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 ...

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 ...

love is not proud

Love is not proud (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 5:1-10
January 15, 2017

The older I get, the less I know. Or maybe a better way of saying it is that the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know and the less sure I am about what I do know. But that’s not the whole story either, because there are things I am absolutely sure of.… Continue reading ...