Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
Familiarity breeds contempt (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 4:20-30
January 31, 2016
I can talk about fear, because I have been afraid. I can talk about doubt, because I have doubted. I can talk about depression, because I have been depressed and know what it feels like from the inside. I understand depression. And even though I have not known despair, I can talk about despair because I think I understand it. … Continue reading ...
Are you bored? (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 9:28-36
February 7, 2016
Are you bored?
That’s my sermon. The photograph was taken Wednesday morning in the front yard of our house in Cedar Falls and that is my sermon. But since I should probably earn my keep, I will elaborate.
Are you bored? Do you find your life tiresome, dull, routine? … Continue reading ...
If (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 4:1-13
February 14, 2016
Jesus returned from the Jordan …
What had happened there, while Jesus was at the Jordan River? Jesus was baptized by John. Before Jesus began any of his work, before he began bringing good news to the poor and healing the sick and welcoming outcasts and setting slaves free, he was baptized by John.… Continue reading ...
He comes (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 13:31-35
February 21, 2016
sermons.believersjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/darsane(1).mov
What do you think? What do you think of a Jesus with long flowing black hair? What do you think of a Jesus with long slender fingers and smooth ochre skin? What do you think of a Jesus with ankle bracelets and arm bracelets and a golden necklace? … 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 ...
Welcome home (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 15
March 6, 2016
“The United States of America.” It is a name we speak with pride, a name that reflects our sense of history and identity as the union of distinct and distinctive states, diverse in ethnic and religious origins, diverse in culture and in economic life, but united for a common purpose, united by a common set of values, united for the good of the whole.… Continue reading ...
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 ...
Our common lot (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 23:13-26
March 20, 2016
Who killed Jesus?
Pilate did. He was the one, the only one, with the authority to have Jesus put to death, and that was the sentence he pronounced. Reluctant or not, he made the decision. Pilate, the agent of the Roman Empire in Judea, killed Jesus.… Continue reading ...
No matter who (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Acts 10:34-43
March 27, 2016
This is Jesus …
… a young Korean bearing the heavy burden of the cross and the heavy burden of his divided people.
This is Jesus …
… a resolute Masai warrior watching over his brothers, protecting his sisters.
This is Jesus …
… a Balinese dancer, coming to us dancing, spreading light and joy, pushing back the shadows and all the beasts that lurk in the shadows.… 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 ...