To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Tonight, beloved, we sing God’s new song.  The earth trembles and the trees of the wood shout for joy.  Because God...

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Today, we hear a story about Mary.  And every story about her is also about her Son.   About twenty years ago, a book...

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Our son Danny came home this week.  Tracey and I are dissatisfied with the way his...

May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. The King shall come when morning dawnsAnd earth’s dark night is past;O haste the rising of the morn,The day that e’er...

Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. In many ways, this sermon is a sequel to the one I preached on the eve of the election.  On that occasion, I urged us to make the...

The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord cares for the stranger. He sustains the orphan and widow but frustrates the way of the wicked.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.  So Jesus is teaching and trying to show two of the different sides of...

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Whenever we read this lesson, it reminds me of one of the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer:  “Thy kingdom come, thy...

Thus says the LORD:  I am going to…gather them from the farthest parts of the earth.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. This week, I met with our outreach committee.  I shared with them about a coming initiative to organize a...

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. So today's gospel can be divided into two parts. The first part is the conversation between James and John and Jesus. And then the second...

Looking at the young man, Jesus loved him and said, “You lack one thing.  Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor.  And you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen....

And God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.   Beloved, it is not good for us to be alone.  We are made for community.  Marriages,...

The gospel today is kind of complicated but simple. So it begins with John telling Jesus (and I almost assume probably a little proudly) “Hey Jesus, this guy was trying to do stuff in your name, but he's not one of the disciples and we told him to stop.” And Jesus...

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,...