Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes one such child…welcomes me.”   In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus says something similar in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew.  Referring to those who are hungry, thirsty, naked, or sick, as...

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.  There is a lot to go over here. This gospel is in three parts, really. So the first part, he's talking about “who am I”, and more important than that almost is “who do you think I am” when he's talking to...

Then looking up to heaven, Jesus sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Let’s start with the deaf man, whose ears are opened, and then work back to the foreigner who...

Be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today's lessons urge us not just to believe in Jesus, but to follow him.  Our faith is worthless. they assert, if it does not change our lives.  The...

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Let’s talk about the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  But (more than that) let’s talk about his presence...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I’ll admit it, I thought about this sermon while we were on vacation.  The fourth chapter of Ephesians has always been an important Scripture to me.  It’s one of the lessons appointed by the...

O LORD my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. We are told that Jairus is a leader of the synagogue.  Although he has likely prayed this psalm hundreds, if not thousands, of...

So then, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please the Lord. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today, I’d like to share with you an old, old story from the first Christian monks.  In Egypt and elsewhere,...

Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. In our culture, Sabbath observance is in decline.  Many of us choose (or are forced) to work on the weekend. ...

We did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but we have received a spirit of adoption.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. When Isaiah sees God seated on the throne, the six-wingèd seraphim speak to him.  As...

Jesus said, “Holy Father, protect them in your Name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today is the Sunday after Ascension Day.  On that day, Jesus returns to the...

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. At one point, my grandmother worked a second job in a bakery.  She got up in the wee hours...

Jesus said, “Touch me and see.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.   This week, we witnessed a total eclipse of the sun.   Tracey and I were in Tyler with Danny.  And so, we were in the “zone of totality.”   It was very cloudy,...

The same stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. "Love itself is a form of knowledge."  These are words...

Jesus said,  “Now is the judgment of this world.  Now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. A couple of weeks...

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that all that believe in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. So we pick up this week pretty much from where Father Bill left off last week,...

The message about the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “There is nothing that you could ever, ever do, that would make God...

Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, for Thee. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. So the picture we have today is, of course, a great crowd and Jesus and the disciples. But this first bit is really just between Jesus and the...

And right away, the Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. In the other Gospels, it says that the Spirit led Jesus out into the wilderness.  But in Mark, the language is much stronger. ...

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.   In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I’d like to draw your attention, right at the start, to our opening hymn.  And it’s always been something that has spoken profoundly...