An I for an I Epiphany 7A  2/20/2011 Matthew 5:38-48 Grace and peace to you from Christ, our brother, and from God our heavenly Father. So, did you watch Jeopardy the other night? The two all-time, most winning-est Jeopardy brainiacs, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, played Jeopardy against a computer. True that. Not joking. The [...]

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Lose or Choose Epiphany 6A  2/13/11 Grace and peace to you from God our father and from Jesus, God’s Christ and our savior. It’s time to play “Let’s Make a Deal!” And here’s your host—Pastor Tom! “Goood morning, ladies and gentlemen, and those of you in the first row. And welcome to Let’s Make a [...]

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It Is What It Is Epiphany 5A 2/6/11 Matt 5:13-20 Grace and peace to you from God our father, and from the Son of God, Jesus. Slang is the verbal result of a sloppy, lazy, oft times risqué, but wildly popular,  reconstruction or bastardization of proper English, used by the uninformed and uncouth persons in [...]

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Walking With God Epiphany 4 A  1/30/11 Micah 6:1-8, 1Cor 1:26-31, Matt 5:1-12 Grace and peace to you from God, our father, and from God’s son and our brother, Jesus. It’s always good to start a sermon with a quote, or so I’m told. I don’t do that routinely, but once in a while a [...]

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Deadliest Catch Epiphany 3A 1/23/11 (Annual Mtg) Matthew 4:12-23 Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from our lord and savior Jesus, the Christ. When you think of Hansel and Gretel, you probably think of breadcrumbs and a gingerbread house—the old fairytale. I think of the Hansel and Gretel Shop in Melvin [...]

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Cross my heart Baptism of Our Lord A 2011 Matthew 3 Grace and peace to you from God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. Water is good for lots of things. A cool sip of it hits the spot on a warm day, and a hot cup of it makes a [...]

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Word Christmas 2 A  01/02/11 John prolog Written or spoken, language is a powerful thing. And language in essence is words. Individual words used to name and describe. Words strung together to express ideas and convey thoughts. Words can be used for the good, and they can used in service to evil. They can comfort, [...]

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A Random Act of Incarnation? Christmas Eve 2010 Grace and peace be to you this blessed night, from God your father in heaven, and from the child of Bethlehem, the Prince of Peace, the savior of humankind, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God. Ever hear of those flash mobs? Someone emails an invitation to [...]

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Now it happened this way… Advent 4A  12/19/10 Matthew 1:18-25 Grace and peace to you from God our Father, and from his Christ—who was, and is, and is to come—Jesus of Nazareth, Son of David, Son of God. My brother Peter was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, NH that is. And it happened this way—it was [...]

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Already, but not yet Advent 3A  12/12/10 Matthew 11:2-11 Grace, peace and joy be to you from God our Father and from the one who is to come, Jesus, the Messiah. It’s that time of year again. No, not the obvious. The time of year when all high school seniors are thoroughly, albeit somewhat reluctantly, [...]

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