Using Jesus’ teaching on the apocalypse and Hebrews’ “provoked to love” the preacher speaks to the Christian’s response to bad news and apocalyptic worry. Included are illustrations of 9/11 museum from a recent church tour. Mark 13:8, Hebrews 10:23-25 Image Credit: InSapphoWeTrust/Flickr
Today we have a Gospel lesson from Mark 12 that holds two different approaches to faith in contrast: the approach of the scribes whose motivation is to build themselves up; and the approach of a widow whose motivation is to act in thankful response to the blessings that she knows from God. We are called […]
Many times having our stuff near us gives us a sense of security – we have what we need. So when Jesus challenges the man whom he loved that had kept the commandments to sell what he had and give the money to the poor, he grieved because he had many possessions. Today Jesus reminds […]
Today in our Gospel reading from Mark 9 we hear how the disciples try to stop someone from doing deeds in the name of Christ, but Jesus helps them to understand that those who do things in the name of Christ are a blessing. Today we are reminded that, like the Trinity, the church can […]
Using the texts from James and Mark on ambition and greatness, the preacher uses Jesus’ words “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all,” to challenge the hearer to examine one’s own motives for greatness or not so greatness! Mark 9:30-37, James 3:16
In our readings for today we hear all about the human tongue and what a blessing and a curse it can be. We learn today that we must strive to continually allow God to open our ears and not be rebellious but rather allow God to help us as we attempt to speak so that […]
Today we hear a story where Jesus is planting the seeds for change within the faith community. Christ reminds us today of our need to be open to an understanding of God’s Word as a Living Word which speaks to us anew each and every day. I pray that not only our church, but that […]
Using the African American spiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” the preacher delves into the world of “shepherd-less sheep!” Mark 6: 30-56
If we believe that we are a part of the same family of faith and the same story of faith as the prophets of old and Elijah and John the Baptist and Jesus and the disciples, then we have a call to do the same deeds that they were doing and share the same words […]
When Jesus is on the go, he gets resistance in his home town. How does the church proclaim the Gospel when it meets resistance? The preacher recounts a story when a fishing mission gets “sinkholed!” Mark 6:1-13