Sermons

You know, following Jesus wasn’t so bad for the disciples when it consisted mostly of listening to him preach. After all, who doesn’t enjoy sitting back and hanging on the words of a captivating teacher and preacher. And following Jesus wasn’t so hard for them when it involved quiet retreats to the countryside for prayer […]

But when Simon, who would be called Peter, heard all that Jesus had said and saw all that Jesus had done, he fell down on his knees and cried out, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” As I hear his words this morning, I wonder if you, as I, find

I am always interested to ask parents why they want their child to be baptized. I’ve heard lots of answers to this question over the years in my meetings with the parents as a part of the baptismal preparation. While no two answers are the same, a lot of them revolve around some common ideas.

A few years back, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 40th anniversary celebration of the ordination of a good friend and colleague of mine. It was a glorious celebration that started with an extravagant worship service with golden vestments, soaring choral music, and a sea of participants—parishioners and colleagues new and old who

Every time my phone rings, I answer it with suspicion—unsure if it will be a church member or the veterinary office calling me, or if it will be yet another scam call. Normally, it is easy to tell the two apart. But sometimes, sometimes I’m not sure. Like many of you, I’m sure, I get

This time last year, I was slowly sorting through an impenetrable wall of boxes as I unpacked our belongings from the move. I knew that in one of those boxes, somewhere, were our Christmas decorations. But I could not find them. More to the point, even if I had found them, I had nowhere to

“Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die—there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!” It was

In the beginning, when God had created the heavens and the earth, God looked at all that was created, and saw that it was good. The birds in the air flocked together as they flew, the fishes in the sea swam in great schools through the clear waters, the four-legged creatures of the land roamed

Back when my husband, Matt, was first starting at his previous church, he introduced a new practice in worship. At the passing of the peace, rather than launching directly into greeting one another, the worship leader would first say, “The Peace of the Lord be always with you,” and the congregation would respond, “And also

There are many reasons that we welcome people. Sometimes it is simply to be polite. I think that we have all done this before—we run into someone new, someone we don’t know, and we exchange pleasantries with them. “Good morning, how are you?” They respond with some variant of “I’m fine.” This exchange continues until