Simply Committed Pentecost   A  Stewardship 11/13/11 Matthew 25:14-30   Faith, hope, and love be to you from God our Father, from the one crucified and risen, Jesus of Nazareth, and from the holy and life-giving Spirit of God present with you now, calling, gathering, and enlightening through the gospel—which is the power of salvation for [...]

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Simply the Truth Reformation/ Confirmation/ Stewardship  10/30/11 John 8: 31-36   Grace and peace and freedom to you, from our God and Father, and from Jesus, the truth.   In John’s portrayal of holy week, when Jesus comes face to face with Pontius Pilate, the official Roman overlord of Judea, Pilate asks if he is, [...]

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Parallel Universes Pentecost 18C  10/16/11 Matthew 22:15-22, (Isa 45:1-7, 1Thess 1:1-10)   Grace and peace to you from the one who was, and is, and is to come, Jesus.   Some people like science fiction—Flash Gordon (not Larry Gordon), Alien, Star Trek (that…old….favorite), and a lot of people like Star Wars (Little Brian Meldrum does [...]

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Rescue Me Pentecost 12 A  09/04/11 Matthew 18:20   Grace and peace to you from God our father, and from Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, the Christ.   It’s ironic. Grace and peace. Peace. Peace comes to us from God. Ironic. How? The Greek word that is translated as “peace” in the bible is…irene. [...]

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Are you being fed? Pentecost 7A  7/31/11 Isaiah 55:1, Matt 14:13-21   Grace and peace from God the Father and founder of the feast, and our savior and host Jesus Christ.   When I was just a lad, mphgumf years ago, each Columbus Day weekend, our family would make the trip from Long Island to [...]

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Hidden in Plain Sight Pentecost 6A  07/24/11 Matt 13:31-33, 44-52   May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of  Jesus Christ.   Matthew the gospel writer catered to his followers when he compiled and wove together the bits and pieces of Jesus’ story that he recalled and collected [...]

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Today’s sermon features congregational participation. I hope. First, I am going to give you three different categories to consider. Your job is to think of something that “fits” that category, and then to signal your willingness to offer up your idea by raising your hand. I will choose one of you to share. Depending upon [...]

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The Very Least You Can Do Pentecost 2A   06/26/11 Matt 10:40-42   Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our savior, Jesus the Christ.   Are you familiar with the notion of Six Degrees of Separation? The concept is that every individual on the planet can be linked to another person [...]

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You’ll Never Walk Alone Holy Trinity A 6/19/11 Matthew 28:20   Blessed be you, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit.   We could talk Holy Trinity, you and I. For hours. Days.   We could talk hypostases, personas, essence. Words with very precise meanings.   We [...]

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Speaking Pentecost Pentecost 2011  06/12/11 Acts 2: 11b, John 20:19-23   Grace and peace be with you, from our heavenly Father, from our savior Jesus Christ, and from our advocate and guide Holy Spirit.   Today is Pentecost. The last in the triple crown of Christian major feast days—Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. And I’m sure [...]

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