Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
Fire and water (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 43:1-7
January 10, 2016
Do not be afraid. I am with you. You are mine.
Maybe you’re afraid of the unknown.
Maybe you’re afraid of the future because it is unknown. Because you don’t know what will happen to you or to those you love. Because you can’t foresee or forestall any of the calamities that might overtake you. … 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 ...
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 ...
Loving God in a technology growing hectic lifestyle modern world (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
John 21:1-17
April 10, 2016
Loving God in a technology growing hectic lifestyle modern world
I will remind you that the sermon titles for the month of April were suggested by members of our current confirmation class. They submitted their lists anonymously, but I do know who wrote this one, one of our two confirmation mentors, Lauren Reisinger.… Continue reading ...
Love is happy with the truth (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 7:13-14
February 5, 2017
So, what is it that is on everybody’s mind today? I’ll give you a hint. It’s not a football game.
I am used to over-the-top Super Bowl hype, all Super Bowl, all the time, news coverage of every little detail. What is Tom Brady eating for breakfast on the big day?… Continue reading ...
Despicable me (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Luke 18:9-14
October 23, 2016
This painting was done by Domenico Ghirlandaio in the late fifteenth century. It is one of three paintings I have used in confirmation classes as visual aids for a discussion about the meaning of Jesus’ incarnation. The other two are shown below:
These are three very different paintings, all of which I like, for different reasons. … Continue reading ...
This is our chance! (Click on the sermon title for .pdf copy)
Luke 21:5-19
November 13, 2016
This is our chance.
There are many angry people out there right now, some angry about the outcome of this election, and others whose anger helped propel the outcome of this election.
This is our chance.
There are many frightened people out there right now, some frightened by what might be done to us, by extremists foreign-born or homegrown, and others frightened by what we might do, by the ways our own brand of extremism may make the world a more dangerous and inhospitable place.… Continue reading ...
Love does not keep a record of wrongs (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 5:43-48
January 29, 2017
When Jesus saw the people, he went up the hill and sat down. They gathered around him there and he spoke to them.
Love your enemies and hate your friends. That’s what you have been told. But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who make your life miserable. … Continue reading ...
love is patient (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 4:12-17
January 8, 2017
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light …
Epiphany is the season of light, the season of illumination, the season when the light of the Son of God allows us to see things as they are, to see things as they really are.… Continue reading ...
Love is not proud (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 5:1-10
January 15, 2017
The older I get, the less I know. Or maybe a better way of saying it is that the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know and the less sure I am about what I do know. But that’s not the whole story either, because there are things I am absolutely sure of.… Continue reading ...