Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
First things first (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 16:1-13
September 18, 2016
They say that there are three subjects you should never talk about in polite company: religion, politics, and money. So, having noted that, today we are going to talk about all three!
We are going to talk about religion because that’s what we do here. … Continue reading ...
Open the gate! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 16:19-31
September 25, 2016
Audio excerpt from Clarence Jordan, “The Rich Man and Lazarus”
(http://www.believersjournal.org/sermons/wp-content/uploads/ClarenceJordan.mov)
πλουσιος (plousios) and πτωχος (ptochos) … rich man and beggar … one they party with and one they spit on … one clothed in the finest fabrics and latest styles and one clothed in sores … one feasting sumptuously — sumptuously!… Continue reading ...
Ordinary servants (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 17:5-10
October 2, 2016
I want you to focus your minds. I want you to put aside all distractions. I want you to summon all your strength, all your willpower, all your determination. I want you to pour your heart and soul into this, and I want you to strive … to be ordinary!… Continue reading ...