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Sermons (Page 57)

The Hope of Glory

Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
I moved to a new home a few weeks ago […] I know that I’m settling into a new place to call home when I put up a picture frame on the wall […] and I have this icon […] It’s this beautiful picture of Jesus standing there in colorful robes at the moment of creation […]. It’s a beautiful vision of the created order in its right place, of things redeemed, reconciled, living in harmony […] I’ve been looking at other icons of sorts this past week — images in the news — and these images tempt me to say, “so much for mystic visions of a redeemed world…”

Who are we?

Luke 10:25-37
[…] Amid all the turmoil and tragedy of recent weeks and months, there’s one line that keeps getting repeated: “That is not who we are.” So today I think we might spend a few moments with the question, “if that is not who were are, then who are we? Who do we want to be?” And since the Lectionary has given us the parable of the Good Samaritan, we might as well start there.

A New Creation Is Everything

Galatians 6:7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Spend any length of time in waiting rooms at the doctor’s office or the hairdresser and pick up the piles of magazines around you. You can easily come away with “5 new ways to find your passion in life and unlock your life’s true purpose.” Self-actualization is a multi-billion dollar industry in this country. But when I read today’s lesson from Galatians, I’m reminded that for Paul there’s only one thing that gives life real purpose, and it’s pretty much the opposite of self-actualization.

Everyday Heroes

2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14; Luke 9:51-62
I’ve been thinking about superheroes lately. I think it helped over the last week that I got to spend some time with about 150 kids who came to our Vacation Bible School to learn about the heroes and the villains in the scriptures…

Going Deep in the Wake of Tragedy

Luke 8:26-39
This morning, we’re celebrating baptism… There’s a sentence after the children have been presented where people are asked to renounce things, and one of the questions is “Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?” and the answer is “I renounce them”… Throughout humanity, we’ve tried to deal with evil and darkness…

Judgment and Grace

Luke 7:36-8:3; 1 Kings 21:1-10, 15-21a
Over the course of 18 years in ordained ministry, it’s remarkable how many times in the midst of adult education classes I’ve heard people say that they much prefer the New Testament to the Old Testament, because the Old Testament God is a God of punishment and vengeance, they say, where the New Testament God is a God of forgiveness and love…

Celebrating Our Parish Family

Luke 7:11-17
Today is Picnic Sunday. You don’t find that in the prayer book… It’s a good time in the middle of the year to be together in fellowship and delight in who we are, who we’ve been, and who we can be. There’s so much in the life of this parish that happens that we don’t all see or experience, and yet we’re a part of it.

Beyond Boundaries

Luke 7:1-10 At first glance, this gospel reading sounds like a healing story… Jesus healed someone… We think that’s the end of the story, but I think on a deeper level, there’s a lot we can hear from this reading besides a healing story. This really in many ways is a story of Jesus breaking down some of the barriers of his tradition.

Bishop’s Visit on Trinity Sunday

John 16:12-15
What a joy it is to be with you at St. Paul’s Cary… Today is Trinity Sunday, the only day in the church year that celebrates a doctrine rather than an event in the drama of God’s reaching out to humankind… It was the experience of Christians in the first centuries of the church’s life that led to the creedal formularies of Trinitarian faith. As Christians listened to the spirit-filled stories of Jesus and experienced the power of faith in action, their conclusion was that God is not static but an eternal expression of love as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a dynamic dance that touches all humankind.