Sermons

It was a dark night in the late spring in northern Wisconsin. I bounced along in the passenger seat as we wove our way over rough roads and around the lakes that spill across the landscape. Arriving at our destination, a small boat launch on the water, we found a group of scientists, biologists, already […]

Are you the one that is to come, or are we to wait for another? John’s words come to Jesus, a question spoken through the mouths of his messengers, simple but powerful. It was not that long ago that the Baptist stood on the banks of the Jordan, delivering his fiery sermons to all who

We live in a time of great grumbling. It was an observation I heard this week, specifically about the state of politics in the United States, but it stuck with me. The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the truth of it. And not just in American politics, but in our society

I was home-schooled in high school. It was a decision my parents came to after the first school shooting in Columbine, a tragedy that has been repeated with terrifying frequency in the years and decades that have passed since then. It was a decision I was fine with but one that had an unintended side-effect—it

In the beginning of all things, when the heavens and the earth were first made, God crouched down in the dirt and pulled together the red clay to form the first human. If you have ever worked with clay, or watched someone else work with clay, then you know that there is a quality of

Everyone knew you couldn’t trust a Samaritan. No one needed to ask why. They spoke with funny accents. Those who knew of such things said that they spelled their words with too many letters. Others said that it was with too few letters. The old women down the corner told stories, whenever the topic came

There was something unclean in their midst. It wasn’t immediately obvious to an outside observer. After all, it was a lovely little community nestled there along the water. Homes and shops lined the roads and in the town centre, children played and old men gathered to trade the news and opinions. It was the sort

It was a Sunday morning on the Fourth Sunday in Easter and it was a beautiful spring day in Eastern Connecticut. I was greeting folks as they arrived at a church I served and while shaking the hand of an elderly member I suddenly heard the gentle melody of Howard Goodall’s, “The Lord is My

What an odd group of people to have for a dinner party! A parishioner of mine at a former church made this observation to me years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. Because, you know what? They are right; this is a bizarre dinner party! First, we have Martha, the ever dutiful,

I think we’ve all had times in our lives where we had a clear plan for ourselves. Perhaps a plan related to our career, or a plan for our family, or as was the case for me, a plan for my education. I remember when the first college brochure arrived in the mail when I