Rev. Timothy J. Ensworth
Murderers (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Matthew 23:29-39
March 23, 2014
Sure, I’ll admit to being a hypocrite, but a murderer?
In the two hundred years between 1095 and 1291, Christians went to war to reclaim access to important religious sites in Palestine, the Holy Land, in a series of military campaigns, known collectively as the Crusades. … Continue reading ...
You have to go outside (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Genesis 1:1 – 2:4
June 15, 2014
(Play excerpt from Dan Gibson, “Land of the Loons”)
Welcome to my world …
Lakes, cold and deep and blue, sometimes still, sometimes raging, dense forests of long-needled pine and aromatic cedar and glistening birch.
The haunting call of a loon, the deliberate and unruffled movements of a moose raising itself from the water onto the lakeshore, swimming beaver and soaring eagle and stealthy walleye.… Continue reading ...
The marks of a great nation (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Jeremiah 31:7-14
January 4, 2015
Sing with joy for Israel, the greatest of the nations …
Do you have a problem with that? Do you have a problem with calling Israel the greatest of the nations? Does it seem to you … presumptuous? Chauvinistic? Prideful? Does this claim by a Hebrew prophet about his own nation make you uncomfortable?… Continue reading ...
Be the church: fight for the powerless (Click in the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Acts 4:5-12
April 26, 2015
Sometimes, if I just feel like “vegging out” and watching some TV, one of my favorite shows to watch is “Leverage.” It was cancelled three years ago, but you can still find reruns on cable. Anybody else know that show?… 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 ...
Your heart’s desire (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
2 Kings 5:1-15
July 3, 2016
What is your heart’s desire?
To win the lottery? To move into a bigger and better house? To move to Maine? No, I don’t think so. You are not that shallow. The desires of your heart run deeper than that.
Is it your heart’s desire to finally get the recognition and respect that you deserve? … 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 ...