Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
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 ...
Remember and never forget! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Luke 2:22-32
December 28, 2014
Remember and never forget!
That was Jean Kimball’s admonition to us, or rather, the Bible’s admonition, of which Jean was always reminding us! Remember and never forget what?
That we are part of the story. That we are part of God’s story.… Continue reading ...
Love is eternal (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
February 19, 2017
Love is eternal …
This next Saturday afternoon, Erin Brock and Josh Medhus will be married in our sanctuary. Bob and Pat, Erin’s parents, will be there. Terry and Lorna, Josh’s parents will be there. Lynne and I will be there. But Erin so wishes that her grandpa, Harold Brock, was still living and could be there, too, to share this special moment with her. … 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 ...
Long enough (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 40:1-2
January 11, 2015
A mentor once told me that it is a minister’s job to comfort those who are disturbed and to disturb those who are comfortable. So which are you? Comfortable or disturbed?
The people of Jerusalem were disturbed. They had been disturbed for a long time: disturbed and beaten down and hollowed out and sucked dry of hope and desire beyond anything we are capable of imagining. … Continue reading ...
Meanwhile (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 40:3-5
January 18, 2015
I pray … a lot.
I pray for my children and my grandchildren, for my mother and for Lynne’s mother, and for Lynne.
I pray for this church — for energy, for passion, for spirit, for the strong presence of God’s spirit in us and among us. … 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 ...