Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
Irony (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 19:28-40
April 14, 2019
We stand at the head of Holy Week, a week that begins with hosannas of Palm Sunday and ends with the hallelujahs of Easter, a journey from joy to joy.
But it is not an easy journey. We get from here to there, we can only get from here to there, by way of Maundy Thursday, by way of the shock and betrayal and abandonment of Maundy Thursday. … Continue reading ...
A carol of joy (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 1:46-55
December 24, 2017
You just heard “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” arranged and played by Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. I heard Natalie and Donnell in concert last Sunday afternoon at the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. They were joined by four other amazing musicians from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Cuba, and Ireland, and by five of their six children: Mary Frances, Michael, Clare, Julia, and Alec. … Continue reading ...
Breaking bread with a stranger (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 24:13-35
April 30, 2017
When did they recognize Jesus? When he broke the bread. Before that, they didn’t know who he was. He was a stranger to them.
This is a strange and wonderful account, unique to the gospel of Luke. Two people, identified as followers of Jesus, are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a village seven miles west.… 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 ...
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 ...
The path of peace (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Malachi 2:17 – 3:5
December 6, 2015
Where is the God who is supposed to be just?
This week, we are asking that question again …
… because twenty-month-old Savannah Adams, the precious daughter her parents had tried for for years, will have to grow up without her Dad.… Continue reading ...
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 ...