A sermon preached on February 21, 2021 – the First Sunday in Lent – based upon Mark 1:9:-15 entitled, “The Jarring Story of How Jesus Ended Up in the Wilderness.” In our children’s time we focused on the first famous wilderness temptation story in the Bible – the forty years the Hebrew people spent wandering […]
A sermon preached on February 14, 2021 – Transfiguration Sunday – based upon Mark 9:2-9 entitled, “Catching a Glimpse of the Glory of God in Jesus on the Mountaintop to Sustain Us in Down in the Valley.” In recent weeks we’ve been moving our way through the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Now suddenly we […]
A sermon preached on February 7th, 2021 based upon Mark 1:29 – 39 entitled, “Jesus’ Agenda Is Different from the One We Would Have for Him.” We’re making our way through the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. Previously we’ve heard about Jesus’ baptism by John, his forty days in the wilderness being tempted by […]
A sermon preached on January 31, 2021 based upon Mark 1:21-28 entitled, “What Are We to Make of Jesus’ Power to Cast Out ‘Unclean Spirits’”? I’ve committed myself to an in-depth study of the Gospel of Mark for twelve weeks leading straight through Holy Week, and I am grateful for those who have gathered with […]
The sermon preached on January 17th, 2021 – the Sunday before the Inauguration — based upon John 1:43-51, entitled “Seeing One Another As Jesus Sees Us.” Immediately before this morning’s reading John the Baptist points to Jesus and tells his followers that if they want to know God, get to know that guy. They go […]
A sermon preached on January 10th, 2021 based upon Mark 1:5-11, entitled “On Demagogues and Discerning the Truth”. This Sunday is known as Baptism of our Lord Sunday, in which we remember the baptism of Jesus and the truth revealed when Jesus came down to the River Jordan to be baptized by John. We remember […]
A sermon preached on January 24th, 2021 based upon Mark 1:14-20 entitled, “Catching a Glimpse of Something So Wonderful We No Longer Need to the Knee-jerk Comparison Habit” We are early in the Gospel of Mark. In thirteen verses prior to our reading, John has appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for […]
A sermon preached on November 15th, 2020 based upon Matthew 25:14-30 entitled “A Parable Turned on Its Head.” The parables are generally challenging when it comes to probing their meanings, but man! This parable is particularly perplexing. Did you catch those last words on the lips of the master? “For to all those who have, […]
A sermon preached on October 11, 2020 based upon Philippians 4:4-8 entitled, “Is this ‘Happy Talk’ or Life Lived in Harmony with Reality?” Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with […]
The Eulogy for Ruthann Stefel (July 15, 1945 – September 19, 2020) 1Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 18:1-8 You know how we get all these cards at Christmastime in which the sender includes a letter summarizing the events of the past year in their family? Maybe you’ve done this yourself. I have. They’re nice to receive – […]
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