Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
The God who does (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Exodus 15:1-11
September 14, 2014
What begins with a sacred sign and ends with a glass of wine? This Shabbat service!
It begins with a sacred sign. The sign is Shabbat itself, the Sabbath, a day set apart from all the rest each and every week as a sign between God and us. … 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 ...
Let us stand in awe (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 5:1-11, Philippians 2:1-13
September 28, 2014
He was calling them. He is calling you. To what?
What do you see?
Look again! Look closer! What do you see? Do you see evidence of what you cannot see, intimations of what you cannot comprehend? Do you see things that hint at a kind of wonder and beauty so extraordinary, so sublime, that your eyes simply cannot bear the sight?… Continue reading ...
By faith alone (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Philippians 3:4-11
October 5, 2014
Let’s begin with a quiz. I will give you a quote and I want you to tell me if it is from the Old Testament or New Testament.
The Lord is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love.
It’s from the Old Testament, from the Psalms.… Continue reading ...
Heart and mind (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Philippians 4:1-9
October 12, 2014
Here’s the thing …
On the one hand, you have Orthodox worship. It’s all about pageantry, about sounds and sights and smells and drama, celebrated in elaborate worship spaces filled with burning candles and sacred objects and images. Images everywhere. Art everywhere. It’s all about beauty — beautiful images, beautiful objects, beautiful music — for God’s benefit, to give God honor, but also for the benefit of the worshippers, to inspire a sense of wonder and awe. … Continue reading ...
got soul? (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 22:15-22
October 12, 2014
How is it with your soul?
Do you ever ask yourself that question? Do you give any thought, any attention to the condition of your soul, the health of your soul? Do you ever ask anybody else that question? Did you ask anybody this morning when you came into the church? … Continue reading ...
Feeling it (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 22:34-40
October 26, 2014
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Two weeks ago, we talked about loving God with all your mind, following the lead of the Presbyterians. We talked about the importance of using our minds, of thinking clearly, of doing Bible study: not just winging it, not just making it up as we go along, not just following our gut, not just doing what we’ve always done because we’ve always done it that way, but listening to God, paying attention to God’s word, becoming smart about our faith, becoming capable critics both of culture and of religion, becoming wise enough to discern between what is genuine and what is false, between what comes from God and what is just so much hogwash.… Continue reading ...
Finding your own way (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 23:1-12
November 2, 2014
Tuesday is election day. Did you know that? How did you know? You haven’t received any flyers in the mail or seen any political ads on TV, have you?
$60,000,000 has been spent on a single race in Iowa, the contest between Bruce Braley and Joni Ernst for the senate seat vacated by Tom Harkin. … Continue reading ...
For whether we live or whether we die (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Psalm 90:1-12
November 16, 2014
Teach us how short our life is,
so that we may become wise.
How short is our life?
We last no longer than a dream …
We are like a dream … vivid and real, while it lasts … full of wonders and marvels, while it lasts … but when the dawn comes, when we are awakened, the dream is gone, remembered maybe for a short while, but soon forgotten.… Continue reading ...
πληρωμα (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Ephesians 1:15-23
November 23, 2014
The church is Christ’s body,
το πληρωμα του τα παντα εν πασιν πληρουμενου.
The church is Christ’s body. Christ is our head; we are his body. God put all things — all things! — under Christ’s feet, and then gave him to the church. So Jesus Christ is present … in the church.… Continue reading ...