A Good Name

Sermon for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost
September 8, 2024

I wasn’t really planning on doing a sermon series in September, but that’s the way it’s worked out. Last week, I talked about wisdom literature in the Bible, and how the Letter of James was the main example of New Testament wisdom. And today, I’m talking about what I think many of us see as the quintessential example of Old Testament wisdom—namely, the Proverbs.

New Testament Wisdom

Sermon for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost
September 1, 2024

There are 21 epistles, or letters, in the New Testament, most of them attributed to the Apostle Paul. These are all written to specific churches or specific people. Our scripture reading today, though, came from a letter written by James, and it’s referred to as a general epistle. This means that its intended audience was all Christians.

15th Sunday after Pentecost

September 1, 2024

CALL TO WORSHIP
Sing to God, sing praises to his Name; lift up a song to the One who rides upon the clouds!
Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up.
God is our salvation!

—from Ps. 68:4-5, 19

Words of Life

Sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost
25 August 2024

The reading from John we heard this morning was a little bit misleading. It came from the very end of the sixth chapter, which is very long. It starts out with two stories. The first one is the only miracle of Jesus that’s found in all four gospels—the Feeding of the Five Thousand by the lakeside. The second story is a miracle that’s found in Matthew, Mark, and John, but not in Luke.

Made to Sing

Sermon on the 13th Sunday after Pentecost
August 18, 2024
See Ephesians 5:15-20

To our Almighty Maker, God,
new honors be addressed;
his great salvation shines abroad,
and makes the nations blessed.

That was a version of Psalm 98. I would imagine that none of you think you know that song,

The Kindness of God

Sermon for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost
11 August 2024

A friend of mine told me a couple of weeks ago that they were planning a trip to the Germany to hike in the Bavarian Alps. Now when I picture the German Alps, I picture several things. But near the top of that list is the music I associate with that part of the world, namely yodeling. And I can’t think of German yodeling without remembering one of the funniest comedy sketches I’ve ever seen.