Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
Community
1 Corinthians 12:7
May 20, 2018
When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. … Continue reading ...
Do not let evil defeat you (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Romans 12:9-21, Jeremiah 15:15-21
September 3, 2017
Do not let evil defeat you.
Do you believe in a personal devil? I don’t know. I don’t know if I do or not, but I most definitely do not believe in anything like the caricatured devil of fable and popular culture, you know, some kind of hideous, sneering, leering red demon with horns and a trident.… Continue reading ...
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 ...
More’s the pity (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 53:4-5
March 15, 2015
The image on the cover of your bulletin shows a white policeman holding a club standing over the slumped body of an African-American. It is hard to judge from the photo if the limp, presumably beaten, body is that of a man or a woman, but I think it is a woman.… Continue reading ...
Be the church: reject racism (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Acts 8:26-40
May 3, 2015
Here on Mount Zion the Lord Almighty will prepare a banquet for all the nations of the world — a banquet of the richest food and the finest wine. Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. … 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 ...
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 ...
Bigger (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
1 Kings 8:22-43
May 29, 2016
(Combined service with Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church)
Bigger. God is bigger.
The men and women of this church — you, the men and women of Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, “the church of love, hope, and new beginnings” — you have gathered in Waterloo, Iowa, for twenty-five years, worshiping God, training up your children, proclaiming and doing the gospel, caring for each other, and reaching out into this community to help those who are lonely or hurting or broken or lost.… Continue reading ...